One of the most exciting public works projects to be undertaken in NYC in a very long time is the High Line, a 22-block-long elevated train track that is currently being transformed from blighted urban eyesore into lush public park space. Built in the 1930s as a quick and easy way to transport goods through Manhattan, by the 1980s the High Line had been abandoned and was quickly swallowed up into the decrepit blight that was West Chelsea. Even after the galleries moved in and the area began to gentrify in the 90s, the High Line remained – rusty, deteriorating, overlooked and unknown even to those New Yorkers who passed underfoot every day.
But then in 1999, a couple of visionary New Yorkers decided to resurrect the High Line and transform it into a beautiful, useful, and integral part of the city’s urban landscape – for use as a park, a gathering place, a way to get away from the city while remaining within it. Robert Hammond and Joshua David soon rallied an army of the concerned citizens, including many local artists, designers, actors, and even politicians, to form an advocacy group they called Friends of the High Line. Today, five years later, the High Line is on the verge of opening to the public. We spoke with Friends of the High Line co-founder Robert Hammond:
PSFK: What’s new with the High Line? What can we expect in 2008?
Two-thirds of the High Line is now under construction. The first section, Gansevoort to 20th Streets, will most likely open in fall 2008. The second section, from 20th to 30th Streets, will probably open next year. Right now the construction is on schedule and under budget to meet those dates.
The construction team is now beginning to install the landscape on top of the High Line structure on Section 1 – it’s very exciting, because up to this point construction has mostly been just removing things from the Line and prepping the steel and concrete. Now the contractors are actually re-installing the original steel rails in exactly the same places they were, as well as a pathway system of concrete planks and built-in seating. They’ve also cut through the steel beams in two places for access points. Stairs and elevators will rise from street level and cut through the structure itself. Later this spring, we will begin work on the plantings themselves. It’s all coming together amazingly quickly — we can see it out our office window and it’s sometimes astonishing to see the progress they’ve made on the Line.
In the meantime, we’ve just launched a membership program, to build support for the park’s ongoing maintenance and operations. We’ve gotten a lot of attention in the couple of years leading up to the High Line’s opening, but it’s very important to us that this positive attention and support carries through after the park is open. In order to be a well-loved neighborhood park (as well as a draw for New York City as a whole) it will need to be maintained at a high standard, and we hope our supporters will be with us for years to come.
PSFK: Can you describe the creative partnerships and artistic collaborations that characterize the project?
I always say that when Joshua David and I founded Friends of the High Line in 1999, we just served as flag-raisers. We drew people’s attention that the High Line might be demolished, and then let people find their own creative ways of helping our cause. Here in Chelsea, we’re in the middle of the largest artistic community in the entire world, so it was a natural connection. Artists and gallerists were really our first supporters.
Joel Sternfeld, a great American photographer, took what’s now a very famous series of photos of the High Line in all seasons, back in 2001. His photos quickly became our most important asset, people had never seen the top of the High Line, but here were those beautiful images of this mysterious found urban landscape, so different and hidden from the streets below. When people saw Joel’s photos, they understood what was so special about the High Line.
We’ve worked with a lot of artists since, and it’s great to see how each project draws on a different aspect of the High Line. We incorporate art into our education program at the Lab School in Chelsea — they’re planning a major High Line-related public art program in the Spring. We’ve held a lot of art auctions and gallery tours as fundraisers and free community events. And we’re working with Creative Time on an installation by Spencer Finch for the High Line, the first of a series of temporary art installations in the Chelsea Market loading dock area.
Basically, I think having creative people around all the time keeps the High Line inspiring.
PSFK: What is inspiring you at the moment, with the High Line and otherwise?
Right now we’re working on a couple of fun and necessary projects I’ve wanted to tackle for a long time. We’re revamping the High Line website so it can be used for people actually planning to visit the park. We want it to be interactive and informative with a lot of images and video, as well as all the information we have on there. All the major parks and attractions in the city have websites, and we’re looking at what works and what doesn’t. It’s very inspiring to me because it’s such a tangible example of how close we are to opening the park. We’re really down to the nuts and bolts.
Another web project I’m excited about is our Rail Yards Blog. We’ve been doing advocacy around saving the High Line at the West Side Rail Yards (where a third of the structure might still be torn down.) There was really no main place for information about the Rail Yards development, and it’s the largest development project in Manhattan right now, twice the size of Ground Zero. Friends of the High Line started on a grassroots level, and the Rail Yards Blog is another kind of grassroots tool to keep our community informed about this important planning project that will drastically change the West Side. You can check it out at www.railyardsblog.wordpress.com. In this year leading up to the High Line’s opening, I’m just trying to slow down and enjoy all the work we’re doing. It can get overwhelming at times, but I’m trying to think of it as a reward. At the beginning we never in a million years thought we would be at this point today. Just stopping all the frenzy for a minute and having that thought is inspiring to me.
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