High Line

The High Line extends for {{convert|1.45|mi}} from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street. At 30th Street the elevated tracks turn west around the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/rail_shot_at_prosperity_high_line_ynMflHoOkraLadcWnI0NbO|title=Rail Shot at Prosperity|work=New York Post|date=December 8, 2006|access-date=August 2, 2009|last=Topousis|first=Tom|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020164236/http://www.nypost.com/p/news/rail_shot_at_prosperity_high_line_ynMflHoOkraLadcWnI0NbO|archive-date=October 20, 2012}} to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on 34th Street. As proposed, the park was to be integrated with the Hudson Yards development and the Hudson Park and Boulevard.{{cite web|url=http://www.hudsonyardsnewyork.com/office/10-hudson-yards/availabilities/building|title=10 Hudson Yards Building Plan|work=Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project|date=January 22, 2014|access-date=April 1, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216051251/http://www.hudsonyardsnewyork.com/office/10-hudson-yards/availabilities/building|archive-date=December 16, 2013}} If Hudson Yards' Western Rail Yard is built, it will be elevated above the High Line Park, so an exit along the viaduct over the West Side Yard will lead to the Western Rail Yard. The 34th Street entrance is at grade, with wheelchair access.

The park is open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. through the warmer months, and until 8:00 p.m. in winter. It can be reached through eleven entrances, five of which are accessible to people with disabilities. The wheelchair-accessible entrances, each with stairs and an elevator, are at Gansevoort, 14th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th Streets. Additional staircase-only entrances are located at 18th, 20th, 26th, and 28th Streets, and 11th Avenue. Street-level access is available at 34th Street via the Interim Walkway, which runs from 30th Street and 11th Avenue to 34th Street west of 11th Avenue.{{cite web|url=http://www.thehighline.org/visit|title=Park Information|publisher=Friends of the High Line|date=June 8, 2011|access-date=September 20, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140921231558/http://www.thehighline.org/visit|archive-date=September 21, 2014}}

File:Chelsea Market IMG 9040.JPG and 16th Street (where the tracks run through the second floor of the Chelsea Market building), with a side track and pedestrian bridge]]

At the Gansevoort Street end (which runs north–south), the stub over Gansevoort Street is named the Tiffany and Co. Foundation Overlook and was dedicated in July 2012; the foundation was a major supporter of the park.{{cite web|url=http://inhabitat.com/nyc/mayor-bloomberg-cuts-ribbon-on-the-high-line%E2%80%99s-newly-renamed-tiffany-co-foundation-overlook/|title=Mayor Bloomberg Cuts Ribbon on the High Line's Newly Renamed Tiffany & Co. Foundation Overlook|work=Inhabitat|date=July 24, 2012|access-date=September 21, 2014|last=Laylin|first=Tafline| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215201857/http://inhabitat.com:80/nyc/mayor-bloomberg-cuts-ribbon-on-the-high-line%E2%80%99s-newly-renamed-tiffany-co-foundation-overlook|archive-date=December 15, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.tiffanyandcofoundation.org/news/article/High_line_2012.aspx|title=The Tiffany and Co. Foundation Overlook Dedicated on the High Line|publisher=Tiffany and Co. Foundation|date=July 2012|access-date=September 21, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924045100/http://www.tiffanyandcofoundation.org/news/article/High_line_2012.aspx|archive-date=September 24, 2014}} The southern terminus of the park also contains a small wooded area called the Gansevoort Woodland.{{Cite news |last=Roach |first=Margaret |date=June 26, 2024 |title=The High Line Opened 15 Years Ago. What Lessons Has It Taught Us? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/26/realestate/high-line-nyc.html |access-date=June 26, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} The route then passes under The Standard, High Line hotel{{cite web|url=http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/archives/0910standard-1.asp|title=Polshek Partnership|publisher=Emap Construct|access-date=April 25, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211154427/http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/archives/0910standard-1.asp|archive-date=February 11, 2012}} and through a passage at 14th Street. At 14th Street, the High Line splits into two sides at different elevations; the Diller-Von Furstenberg Water Feature (opened in 2010) is on the lower side, and a sundeck is on the upper side.{{cite web|url=http://thehighline.org/news/2010/04/22/new-water-feature-coming-to-the-high-line|title=New Water Feature Coming to the High Line|publisher=Friends of the High Line|date=April 22, 2010|access-date=September 21, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616203945/http://thehighline.org/news/2010/04/22/new-water-feature-coming-to-the-high-line|archive-date=June 16, 2010}}

The route passes through the west edge of the Chelsea Market, a food hall, at 15th Street.[http://chelseamarket.com/index.php/About/contact/about-chelsea-market "About Chelsea Market", Chelsea Market website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024062411/http://chelseamarket.com/index.php/About/contact/about-chelsea-market |date=October 24, 2016 }}. Retrieved September 21, 2014. A spur, connecting the viaduct to the National Biscuit Company building and closed to the public, splits off at 16th Street.{{cite web|url=http://forgotten-ny.com/2011/09/high-line-2011-rail-to-trail-opens-from-20th-to-30th-streets/|title=HIGH LINE 2011: Rail to trail opens from 20th to 30th Streets|work=Forgotten NY|date=September 2011|access-date=September 21, 2014|last=Walsh|first=Kevin|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114161115/http://forgotten-ny.com/2011/09/high-line-2011-rail-to-trail-opens-from-20th-to-30th-streets/|archive-date=November 14, 2014}} The railroad tracks on the spur are left in situ but the trackbeds are planted with greenery. The Tenth Avenue Square, an amphitheater on the viaduct, is at 17th Street where the High Line crosses over Tenth Avenue from southeast to northwest. At the 23rd Street Lawn, visitors can rest.{{cite news|last=Kurutz|first=Steven|date=August 1, 2012|title=Close Quarters|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/garden/close-quarters-on-the-high-line.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|url-status=live|access-date=August 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029205144/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/garden/close-quarters-on-the-high-line.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|archive-date=October 29, 2014|issn=0362-4331}} Between 25th and 26th Streets a ramp takes visitors above the viaduct, with a scenic overlook facing east at 26th Street. The Philip Falcone and Lisa Maria Falcone Flyover, named after two major donors to the park, was based on plans for a Phase 1 flyover which was never built.{{cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/05/29/nyregion/20110529_HIGHLINE-6.html?_r=0|title=More Room to Roam on the High Line|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 29, 2011|access-date=September 21, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824014713/http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/05/29/nyregion/20110529_HIGHLINE-6.html?_r=0|archive-date=August 24, 2017}}

The park then curves west to Phase 3 and merges into the Tenth Avenue Spur, which stretches over 30th Street to Tenth Avenue.{{cite web|url=http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/09/04/final_section_of_the_high_line_will_open_on_september_21.php|title=Final Section of the High Line Will Open on September 21|first=Jessica|last=Dailey|date=September 4, 2014|work=Curbed|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912121815/http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/09/04/final_section_of_the_high_line_will_open_on_september_21.php|archive-date=September 12, 2015|url-status=live|access-date=September 9, 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.amny.com/things-to-do/the-spur-high-line-1.27876692|title=Inside The Spur, the new High Line park|last=Weaver|first=Shaye|date=February 28, 2019|website=am New York|access-date=March 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090228/https://www.amny.com/things-to-do/the-spur-high-line-1.27876692|archive-date=March 27, 2019|url-status=live}} The Tenth Avenue Spur is composed of three parts: the Coach Passage, with {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} ceilings; the High Line's largest planted garden; and a plaza with temporary art exhibitions that get replaced every 18 months.{{cite web|url=https://abc7ny.com/5330023/|title=Check out The Spur, the final section of the High Line, now completed|date=June 4, 2019|website=ABC7 New York|access-date=June 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605133030/https://abc7ny.com/5330023/|archive-date=June 5, 2019|url-status=live}} The art exhibition space is named the Plinth, an allusion to London's Fourth plinth, which also displays temporary art.{{cite web | title=The High Line gets a London-style art plinth | website=Phaidon | date=January 19, 2017 | url=https://www.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2017/january/11/the-high-line-gets-a-london-style-art-plinth/ | access-date=August 14, 2024}}{{cite web | title=High Line Plinth: a new landmark destination for contemporary art | website=e-flux | date=January 10, 2017 | url=https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/82610/high-line-plinth-a-new-landmark-destination-for-contemporary-art/ | access-date=August 14, 2024}} Phase 3 has another ramp taking visitors above the viaduct at 11th Avenue and a play area with rail ties and the Pershing Beams (modified, silicone-covered beams and stanchions coming out of the structure), a gathering space with benches, and a set of three railroad tracks where one can walk between the rails.{{cite web|url=http://forgotten-ny.com/2014/10/last-of-the-high-line-chelsea/|title=LAST OF THE HIGH LINE, Chelsea|work=Forgotten NY|date=October 2014|access-date=November 16, 2014|last=Walsh|first=Kevin|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129035415/http://forgotten-ny.com/2014/10/last-of-the-high-line-chelsea/|archive-date=November 29, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thehighline.org/blog/2014/10/23/exploring-new-design-features-at-the-rail-yards|title=Exploring New Design Features at the Rail Yards|publisher=Friends of the High Line|date=October 23, 2014|access-date=October 23, 2014|last=Mullanney|first=Jeanette|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024031518/http://www.thehighline.org/blog/2014/10/23/exploring-new-design-features-at-the-rail-yards|archive-date=October 24, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/09/20/say_hello_to_high_line_at_the_rail_yards_the_parks_final_leg.php|title=Say Hello to High Line at the Rail Yards, the Park's Final Leg|work=Curbed|date=September 20, 2014|access-date=September 21, 2014|last=Rosenberg|first=Zoe|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002221/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2014}} The play area also has a seesaw-like bench and a "chime bench", with keys which make sounds when tapped.{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new-high-line-section-opens-extending-park-34th-st-article-1.1946927|title=New High Line section opens, extending the park to 34th St.|work=Daily News|date=September 21, 2014|access-date=September 21, 2014|last1=Green|first1=Frank|first2=Corinne|last2=Letsch|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140921033407/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new-high-line-section-opens-extending-park-34th-st-article-1.1946927|archive-date=September 21, 2014}} The Interim Walkway, from 11th Avenue and 30th Street to 34th Street divides the viaduct into two sides: a gravel walkway and an undeveloped section with rail tracks. The temporary walkway closed for renovation when the Tenth Avenue Spur was completed.{{cite web|url=https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/09/high-lines-last-section-opens-tomorrow.html|title=The High Line's Last Section Opens Tomorrow, and Here's a First Look|work=New York|date=September 20, 2014|access-date=September 21, 2014|last=Davidson|first=Justin|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920212905/http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/09/high-lines-last-section-opens-tomorrow.html|archive-date=September 20, 2014}} The High Line turns north to a point just east of Twelfth Avenue. At 34th Street it curves east and descends, ending at street level midway between 12th and 11th Avenues.

The High Line Moynihan Connector, a walkway from the Tenth Avenue Spur to Moynihan Train Hall at Ninth Avenue, opened in June 2023.{{cite web |last=Parrott |first=Max |date=June 21, 2023 |title=Serenity above: High Line opens new wooden bridge to Moynihan Train Hall |url=https://www.amny.com/new-york/manhattan/high-line-opens-new-wooden-bridge-to-moynihan-train-hall/ |access-date=June 22, 2023 |website=amNewYork}}{{cite web |last=Yu |first=Janice |date=June 21, 2023 |title=Moynihan Connector ready to welcome visitors to the High Line in Manhattan |url=https://abc7ny.com/moynihan-connector-the-high-line-midtown-manhattan/13410644/ |access-date=June 22, 2023 |website=ABC7 New York}} The {{convert|1,200|ft|adj=on}} spur runs east along 30th Street for one block to Dyer Avenue.{{Cite news|last1=Zaveri|first1=Mihir|last2=Slotnik|first2=Daniel E.|date=January 11, 2021|title=$60 Million High Line Expansion to Connect Park to Moynihan Train Hall|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/nyregion/moynihan-station-high-line.html|access-date=January 11, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111213016/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/nyregion/moynihan-station-high-line.html|url-status=live}} The span above 30th Street uses a V-shaped structure called the Woodlands Bridge, which contains a {{Convert|5|ft|m|-deep|adj=mid}} planting bed. The walkway then turns north to 31st Street across the Timber Bridge, a span shaped like a Warren truss.{{cite web |last=Roman |first=Isabella |date=July 27, 2022 |title=Progress continues to be made on High Line X Moynihan Connector |url=https://www.amny.com/news/progress-on-high-line-x-moynihan-connector/ |access-date=February 1, 2023 |website=amNewYork |archive-date=February 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201020324/https://www.amny.com/news/progress-on-high-line-x-moynihan-connector/ |url-status=live }} It terminates at a public space within Manhattan West that ends at the west side of Ninth Avenue, directly across from Moynihan Train Hall.{{cite web|last=Schulz|first=Dana|date=September 15, 2021|title=See the elevated pedestrian pathway that will connect the High Line to Moynihan Train Hall|url=https://www.6sqft.com/see-the-elevated-pedestrian-pathway-that-will-connect-the-high-line-to-moynihan-train-hall/|access-date=September 17, 2021|website=6sqft|archive-date=September 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916205407/https://www.6sqft.com/see-the-elevated-pedestrian-pathway-that-will-connect-the-high-line-to-moynihan-train-hall/|url-status=live}}

File:The High Line, New York (17643199203).jpgThe landscape design was curated by Dutch landscape architect Piet Oudolf using natural landscaping techniques.{{cite web |title=Wood on the High Line |url=http://www.thehighline.org/news/2009/06/27/wood-on-the-high-line |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028192550/http://www.thehighline.org/news/2009/06/28/wood-on-the-high-line |archive-date=October 28, 2009 |access-date=August 2, 2009 |publisher=Friends of the High Line}} includes sturdy meadow plants (such as clump-forming grasses, liatris, and coneflowers) and scattered stands of sumac and smokebush and is not limited to native plants. At the Gansevoort Street end, a grove of mixed species of birch provides shade by late afternoon.

The High Line viaduct had 161 species of plants before it was converted into a park; the modern park has about 400 species of plants, including grasses and trees.{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Adrian |date=April 8, 2023 |title=Why New York's High Line is the perfect source of gardening inspiration |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/why-new-yorks-high-line-is-the-perfect-source-of-gardening-inspiration/2017/07/03/ed0fbe5a-5a92-11e7-9fc6-c7ef4bc58d13_story.html |access-date=July 25, 2024 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}} There are about 100,000 unique specimens of plants. Each species is selected based on their appearance,{{cite web |last=Rutter |first=Thomas |date=July 14, 2024 |title='One of the most significant public gardens of the 21st century' – what the High Line can teach us about resilient gardening |url=https://www.homesandgardens.com/gardens/high-line |access-date=July 25, 2024 |website=Homes and Gardens}} in addition to how well they survive throughout the year. The park has a team of 10 horticulturists, who trim and prune the plants throughout the year to prevent overgrowth. Throughout the park, the soil has an average depth of {{Convert|18|in}}. The park uses sustainable landscaping and organic lawn management techniques to maintain the space. Native fauna documented in the park include 33 native bee species, butterflies including painted ladies, and migratory birds including warblers.

File:Highline NYC 3705376658 529a375621.jpg and 17th Street, where the "10th Avenue Square & Overlook" provides views of the street from a window placed in the space created by removing the structure's steel beams.[https://www.thehighline.org/park-features/ "Features: 10th Avenue Square & Overlook"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121120311/https://www.thehighline.org/park-features/ |date=November 21, 2018 }} High Line website]]

The park's attractions include naturalized plantings, inspired by plants which grew on the disused tracks,{{cite web|url=http://thehighline.org/design/planting|title=Planting Design|publisher=Friends of the High Line|access-date=August 2, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402194502/http://www.thehighline.org/design/planting|archive-date=April 2, 2010}} and views of the city and the Hudson River. The pebble-dash concrete walkways swell and constrict, swing from side to side, and divide into concrete tines which meld the hardscape with plantings embedded in railroad-gravel mulch. "By opening the paving, we allow the plants to bleed through," said landscape architect James Corner, "almost as if the plants were colonizing the paved areas. There's a sort of blending or bleeding or suturing between the hard paving, the surface for people to stroll on, and the planting ... "{{Cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/07/first-drafts-james-corners-high-line-park/240695/|title=First Drafts: James Corner's High Line Park|last=Keller|first=Jared|date=July 2011|newspaper=The Atlantic|access-date=June 5, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713205900/http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/07/first-drafts-james-corners-high-line-park/240695/|archive-date=July 13, 2016|language=en-US}} Stretches of track and ties recall the High Line's former use, and portions of track are re-used for rolling lounges positioned for river views.{{cite web|url=http://www.thehighline.org/design/construction|title=Construction|publisher=Friends of the High Line|access-date=August 17, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328070346/http://thehighline.org/design/construction|archive-date=March 28, 2010}} The benches use Brazilian Ipê timber,{{cite web |last=Parker |first=Billy |date=September 24, 2009 |title=High Line Called Out For Using Amazon Wood |url=https://gothamist.com/news/high-line-called-out-for-using-amazon-wood |access-date=July 25, 2024 |website=Gothamist}}{{cite web |last=Arak |first=Joey |date=July 10, 2009 |title=Benched! High Line, Washington Square Park Seating Scolded |url=https://ny.curbed.com/2009/7/10/10537740/benched-high-line-washington-square-park-seating-scolded |access-date=July 25, 2024 |website=Curbed NY}} which came from a managed forest certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. According to James Corner Field Operations, the High Line's design "is characterized by an intimate choreography of movement."{{Cite web |last=fo |title=Field Operations – project_details |url=http://www.fieldoperations.net/project-details/project/highline.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103130200/http://www.fieldoperations.net/project-details/project/highline.html |archive-date=January 3, 2017 |access-date=June 5, 2017 |website=www.fieldoperations.net |language=en}}

The High Line also has cultural attractions as part of a long-term plan for the park to host temporary installations and performances. Creative Time, Friends of the High Line, and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation commissioned The River That Flows Both Ways by Spencer Finch as the inaugural art installation. The work is integrated into the window bays of the former Nabisco factory loading dock as a series of 700 purple and gray glass panes. Each color is calibrated to match the center pixel of 700 digital pictures (one taken every minute) of the Hudson River, making up an extended portrait of the river. Creative Time worked with Finch to realize his site-specific concept after he saw the rusted, disused mullions of the old factory, with metal-and-glass specialists Jaroff Design helping to prepare and reinstall.{{cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/arts/design/22voge.html|title=Seeing the Hudson River Through 700 Windows|work=The New York Times|date=May 21, 2009|access-date=July 2, 2011|last=Vogel|first=Carol|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002221/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2014}}

File:30th St 10h Av td (2018-08-16) 05 - High Line Spur.jpg

A mid-2010 sound installation by Stephen Vitiello was composed from bells heard throughout New York. Lauren Ross, former director of the alternative art space White Columns, was the High Line's first curator.{{cite news|url=http://theartnewspaper.com/articles/Taking-the-High-Line-the-art-park-that-rivals-MoMA/20396|title=Taking the High Line: the art park that rivals MoMA|work=The Art Newspaper|date=May 21, 2009|access-date=July 2, 2011|last=Dobrzynski|first=Judith H.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716221732/http://theartnewspaper.com/articles/Taking-the-High-Line-the-art-park-that-rivals-MoMA/20396|archive-date=July 16, 2011}} During the construction of the second phase (between 20th and 30th Streets) several artworks were installed, including Sarah Sze's Still Life with Landscape (Model for a Habitat): a steel-and-wood sculpture near 20th and 21st Streets built as a house for fauna such as birds and butterflies. Kim Beck's Space Available{{Cite web|url=http://artforum.com/video/mode=large&id=27680|title=High Line Art: Kim Beck, Space Available|website=artforum.com|access-date=February 27, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120063010/http://artforum.com/video/mode%3Dlarge%26id%3D27680|archive-date=November 20, 2015}} was installed on the roofs of three buildings visible from the southern end. Three {{convert|20|by|12|ft|m|adj=on}} sculptures, resembling the armature of empty billboards and constructed like theater backdrops, looks three-dimensional from a distance.{{Cite web|url=http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/news/kim-beck-high-line/|title=Kim Beck Riffs on Meatpacking Ads With Empty Signs – News – Art in America|website=www.artinamericamagazine.com|last=Miller|first=Leigh Anne|date=February 28, 2011|access-date=February 27, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304224713/http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/news/kim-beck-high-line/|archive-date=March 4, 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://bombmagazine.org/article/5009/friends-of-the-high-line|title=BOMB Magazine — Friends of the High Line by Tabitha Piseno|website=bombmagazine.org|access-date=February 27, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304135907/http://bombmagazine.org/article/5009/friends-of-the-high-line|archive-date=March 4, 2016}} Also installed during the second phase of construction was Julianne Swartz's Digital Empathy, a work utilizing audio messages at restrooms, elevators, and water fountains.{{cite news|url=https://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/high-notes-new-art-on-the-high-line/|title=High Notes – New Art on the High Line|work=The New York Times|date=June 7, 2011|access-date=June 7, 2011|last=Browne|first=Alex|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610193650/http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/high-notes-new-art-on-the-high-line/|archive-date=June 10, 2011}} Maine artist Charlie Hewitt's sculpture Urban Rattle was permanently installed in 2013.{{Cite web |last=Warren |first=Karen |date=December 13, 2021 |title=Sculpture and Art on New York's High Line |url=https://www.worldwidewriter.co.uk/sculpture-art-new-yorks-high-line.html#comments |website=World Wide Writer}}

In 2012 and 2013, the Ghanaian born Nigerian artist El Anatsui's large scale sculpture "Broken Bridge ll" (at the time his largest work to date) fashioned from recycled pressed tin and broken mirrors was positioned on a wall on the west side of the street between 21st and 22nd streets, facing and sidelining the High Line.{{cite web|title=Broken Bridge II|website=High Line Art|date=November 21, 2012|url=http://art.thehighline.org/project/elanatsui/|access-date=July 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706022806/http://art.thehighline.org/project/elanatsui/|archive-date=July 6, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Exclusive – El Anatsui: "Broken Bridge II"|website=Art21 Magazine|last=Forster|first=Ian|date=February 8, 2013|url=http://magazine.art21.org/2013/02/08/exclusive-el-anatsui-broken-bridge-ii/|access-date=July 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706022938/http://magazine.art21.org/2013/02/08/exclusive-el-anatsui-broken-bridge-ii/|archive-date=July 6, 2018|url-status=live}} In 2016 Tony Matelli's controversial sculpture "Sleepwalker" was exhibited upon the High Line.{{cite web|title=Controversial Statue Comes to the High Line|website=artnet News|last=Perlson|first=Hili|date=January 7, 2016|url=https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/controversial-sleepwalker-sculpture-high-line-403190|access-date=July 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706022457/https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/controversial-sleepwalker-sculpture-high-line-403190|archive-date=July 6, 2018|url-status=live}} Max Hooper Schneider's aquarium was displayed on the linear park in 2017.{{Cite web|last=Solway|first=Diane|date=July 13, 2017|url=https://www.wmagazine.com/story/max-hooper-schneider-high-line-art-aquarium/amp|title=The Personal History Behind Artist Max Hooper Schneider's High Line Aquarium|website=W Magazine|access-date=July 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714170053/https://www.wmagazine.com/story/max-hooper-schneider-high-line-art-aquarium/amp|archive-date=July 14, 2018|url-status=live}} The next year, the High Line hosted the British sculptor Phyllida Barlow's first public commission, "Prop".{{Cite web|last=Dafoe|first=Taylor|url=https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/high-line-phyllida-barlow-installation-1244552|title=Sculptor Phyllida Barlow's Concrete Colossus on Stilts Will Tower over Chelsea This Spring|date=March 14, 2018|website=Artnet|access-date=July 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720052039/https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/high-line-phyllida-barlow-installation-1244552|archive-date=July 20, 2018|url-status=live}}

File:Western Electric complex NYC 1936.jpg, seen from Washington Street in 1936. Only the track segment that runs through the third level of the building, and atop its two-story extension, still exists.]]

In 1847, the City of New York authorized the construction of railroad tracks along Tenth and Eleventh Avenues on Manhattan's West Side. The street-level tracks were used by the New York Central Railroad's freight trains, which shipped commodities such as coal, dairy products, and beef.{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/nyregion/rail-crossings-remain-part-of-new-york.html|title=New York City Rail Crossings Carry a Deadly Past|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|date=February 18, 2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 12, 2018|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213135112/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/nyregion/rail-crossings-remain-part-of-new-york.html|archive-date=February 13, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/pbcote/courses/archive/2010/gsd6447/bighorse/|title=The Highline: past and present|publisher=GeoWeb, Harvard University|date=May 13, 2010|access-date=October 23, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023213640/http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/pbcote/courses/archive/2010/gsd6447/bighorse/|archive-date=October 23, 2014}} For safety the railroad hired "West Side cowboys", men who rode horses and waved flags in front of the trains. However, so many accidents occurred between freight trains and other traffic that the nickname "Death Avenue" was given to Tenth{{cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/realestate/the-railroad-tracks-that-turned-a-street-into-death-avenue.html|title=When a Monster Plied the West Side|work=The New York Times|date=December 22, 2011|access-date=May 12, 2014|author=Gray|first=Christopher|author-link=Christopher Gray (architectural historian)|quote=The New York World referred to the West Side route as Death Avenue in 1892, long after the Park Avenue problem had been solved, saying 'many had been sacrificed' to 'a monster which has menaced them night and day.'|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517135519/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/realestate/the-railroad-tracks-that-turned-a-street-into-death-avenue.html|archive-date=May 17, 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://www.thevillager.com/villager_261/newspaperwasthere.html|title=Newspaper was there at High Line's birth and now its rebirth|work=The Villager|access-date=August 12, 2011|last=Amateau|first=Albert|volume=77|issue=48|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713012549/http://www.thevillager.com/villager_261/newspaperwasthere.html|archive-date=July 13, 2011}} and Eleventh Avenues. In 1910, one organization estimated that there had been 548 deaths and 1,574 injuries over the years along Eleventh Avenue.

File:Westbeth_Complex_vc.jpg in 2017]]

Public debate about the hazard began during the early 1900s.{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1941/06/26/87634941.pdf|title='Death Ave.' Ends as Last Rusty Rail Goes; Huge West Side Improvement Completed|date=June 26, 1941|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 12, 2018|language=en-US}} In 1929 the city, the state, and New York Central agreed on the West Side Improvement Project, conceived by New York City park commissioner Robert Moses.{{cite web|url=http://forgotten-ny.com/2012/09/high-lines-last-frontier/|title="High Line"'s Last Frontier|work=Forgotten NY|date=September 2012|access-date=October 23, 2014|author=Walsh|first=Kevin|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024043604/http://forgotten-ny.com/2012/09/high-lines-last-frontier/|archive-date=October 24, 2014}} The {{convert|13|mi|km|adj=on}} project eliminated 105 street-level railroad crossings, added {{convert|32|acre|ha}} to Riverside Park, and included construction of the West Side Elevated Highway. The plans also included the construction of the St. John's Freight Terminal at Spring Street,{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/03/10/archives/central-files-plan-of-15000000-depot-12story-west-side-freight.html|title=CENTRAL FILES PLAN OF $15,000,000 DEPOT; 12-Story West Side Freight Terminal Expected to Be Completed in Year. TO REPLACE 88 TENEMENTS Project Is Part of the Railroad's $100,000,000 City Program of Improvements.|date=March 10, 1931|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 11, 2020|language=en-US|archive-date=January 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111153321/https://www.nytimes.com/1931/03/10/archives/central-files-plan-of-15000000-depot-12story-west-side-freight.html|url-status=live}} which was completed in 1936{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/06/12/archives/west-side-freight-terminal-to-open-june-28-in-new-york-centrals.html|title=West Side Freight Terminal to Open June 28 In New York Central's $100,000,000 Plan|date=June 12, 1934|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 11, 2020|language=en-US|archive-date=January 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111153323/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/06/12/archives/west-side-freight-terminal-to-open-june-28-in-new-york-centrals.html|url-status=live}} and replaced the street-level St. John's Park Terminal in present-day Tribeca.{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/07/22/archives/razing-freight-depot-nycrr-is-demolishing-its-st-johns-terminal.html|title=Razing Freight Depot; N.Y.C.R.R. Is Demolishing Its St. John's Terminal.|date=July 22, 1936|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 11, 2020|language=en-US|archive-date=January 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111153323/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/07/22/archives/razing-freight-depot-nycrr-is-demolishing-its-st-johns-terminal.html|url-status=live}} The West Side Improvement cost more than $150 million,{{cite web|last=Iovine|first=Julie V.|title=All Aboard the High Line|website=WSJ|date=June 23, 2009|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124571055656438803|access-date=July 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708162631/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124571055656438803|archive-date=July 8, 2018|url-status=live}} worth about ${{Inflation|US|0.15|1929|r=2|fmt=c}} billion in {{inflation-year|US}} dollars.{{inflation-fn|US}} The last stretch of street-level track was removed from Eleventh Avenue in 1941.

The first train on the High Line viaduct, part of New York Central's West Side Line, ran along the structure in 1933.{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/03/realestate/streetscapes-west-side-improvement-lower-west-side-fate-old-rail-line-undecided.html|title=Streetscapes: The West Side Improvement; On the Lower West Side, Fate Of Old Rail Line Is Undecided|last=Gray|first=Christopher|author-link=Christopher Gray (architectural historian)|date=1988|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227034743/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/03/realestate/streetscapes-west-side-improvement-lower-west-side-fate-old-rail-line-undecided.html|archive-date=February 27, 2018|url-status=live}} The elevated structure was dedicated on June 29, 1934, and was the first part of the West Side Improvement Project to be completed.{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1934/06/29/93761914.pdf|title=Mayor Dedicates West Side Project; 'Death to Death Av.' Is Toast to Terminal and Vast System of Tracks on West Side.|date=June 29, 1934|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 12, 2018|language=en-US}} The High Line, which originally ran from 35th Street to St. John's Freight Terminal, was designed to go through the center of blocks rather than over an avenue. As a result, the viaduct's construction necessitated the demolition of 640 buildings. It connected directly to factories and warehouses, allowing trains to load and unload inside buildings. Milk, meat, produce, and raw and manufactured goods could be transported and unloaded without disturbing street traffic. This reduced the load on the Bell Laboratories Building (which has housed the Westbeth Artists Community since 1970){{cite web |author=Shockley, Jay |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/2391.pdf |title=Bell Telephone Laboratories (Westbeth Artists' Housing) Designation Report |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304134134/http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/2391.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |date=October 25, 2011}} and the former Nabisco plant in Chelsea Market, which were served from protected sidings in the buildings.{{cite web|url=http://www.chelseamarket.com/history/|title=History|publisher=Chelsea Market|access-date=July 14, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100709162515/http://chelseamarket.com/history/|archive-date=July 9, 2010|url-status=dead|quote=In 1932, the architect Louis Wirsching Jr. replaced some of the 1890 bakeries on the east side of 10th Avenue with the present unusual structure, which accommodates an elevated freight railroad viaduct. Its great open porch on the second and third floors was taken by the railroad as an easement for the rail tracks that still run through it.}}

The line also passed under the Western Electric complex at Washington Street. Although the section still existed {{as of|May 2008|lc=y}}, it is not connected to the developed park.{{cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/realestate/18scap.html|title=As High Line Park Rises, a Time Capsule Remains|work=The New York Times|date=May 18, 2008|access-date=June 11, 2011|last=Gray|first=Christopher|author-link=Christopher Gray (architectural historian)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425071417/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/realestate/18scap.html|archive-date=April 25, 2012}}

File:HiLine W34 jeh.JPG)]]

File:Highline NYC 4546199798 2fb244ec8b.jpg

The growth of interstate trucking during the 1950s led to a drop in rail traffic throughout the U.S. St. John's Freight Terminal was abandoned in 1960,{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/01/30/archives/freight-yard-to-shut-central-railroad-gets-permit-on-st-johns.html|title=Freight Yard to Shut; Central Railroad Gets Permit on St. John's Station|date=January 30, 1960|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 11, 2020|language=en-US|archive-date=January 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111153326/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/01/30/archives/freight-yard-to-shut-central-railroad-gets-permit-on-st-johns.html|url-status=live}} and the southernmost section of the line was demolished in the following decade due to low use.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42081516/|title=High Line 'park in sky' gets a hearing|date=July 20, 2003|work=New York Daily News|access-date=December 20, 2019|agency=Associated Press|page=11|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}} The West Village Apartments were then built on part of the former segment's right of way.{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/16/nyregion/rail-fan-finds-rusting-dream-of-west-side.html|title=Rail Fan Finds Rusting Dream of West Side|last=Gottlieb|first=Martin|date=January 16, 1984|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 18, 2018|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219031155/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/16/nyregion/rail-fan-finds-rusting-dream-of-west-side.html|archive-date=February 19, 2018|url-status=live}} The demolished section began at Bank Street and ran down Washington Street to Spring Street (just north of Canal Street).{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=op5vO4IXbRkC|title=Opening of the West Side Improvement, October 12, 1937|author=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|publisher=Moore Press, Incorporated|year=1937|access-date=January 11, 2020}}

By 1978, the High Line viaduct was used to deliver just two carloads of cargo per week. The viaduct was shut down in 1980, when owner Conrail had to disconnect the viaduct from the rest of the national rail system for a year. The closure was necessitated as a result of the construction of Javits Center at 34th Street, which required that the curve at 35th Street be rebuilt. The last train on the viaduct was a three-car consist carrying frozen turkeys. During the time the viaduct was disconnected, two large customers along the route moved to New Jersey. The curve to the viaduct from 35th Street was demolished during the construction of Javits Center and was replaced by the current curve at 34th Street.{{cite journal|last=Greenstein|first=J|title=WEST SIDE STORY : THE RISE AND FALL OF MANHATTAN'S HIGH LINE|journal=Trains|volume=62|issue=3|date=April 1, 2002|issn=0041-0934|url=https://trid.trb.org/view/709658|access-date=July 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710163540/https://trid.trb.org/view/709658|archive-date=July 10, 2018|url-status=live}} The tracks leading to the High Line were reconnected in 1981, but as there were no more customers along the route, the curve at 34th Street was never completed, and the viaduct did not see any further usage. At this point, Conrail still owned the right of way and the tracks.

During the mid-1980s, a group of property owners with land under the line lobbied for the demolition of the entire structure. Peter Obletz, a Chelsea resident, activist, and railroad enthusiast, challenged the demolition efforts in court and tried to re-establish rail service on the line.{{cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/nyregion/thecity/13oble.html|title=The Charming Gadfly Who Saved the High Line|work=The New York Times|date=May 13, 2007|access-date=August 12, 2011|last=Freeman|first=John|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708030440/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/nyregion/thecity/13oble.html|archive-date=July 8, 2012}} Obletz offered to buy the viaduct for $10 in order to run a small amount of freight trains on the line, and Conrail accepted, mainly because demolition would have cost $5 million. However, this offer was also disputed in court. By 1988, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was negotiating with Conrail for the possibility for using the line's right of way to construct a light rail route. These negotiations did not proceed further, and by the end of the 1980s, it was expected that the High Line would be demolished.{{cite news|title=The Air Above Rail Yards Still Free|first=Mary|last=Voboril|newspaper=Newsday|location=New York|date=March 26, 2005}}

As part of the construction of the Empire Connection to Penn Station, which opened in spring 1991, the West Side Line tracks north of 35th Street were routed to the new Empire Connection tunnel to Penn Station. A small section of the High Line in the West Village, from Bank to Gansevoort Streets, was taken apart in 1991 despite objections by preservationists.{{cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/15/nyregion/elevated-freight-line-being-razed-amid-protests.html|title=Elevated Freight Line Being Razed Amid Protests|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 15, 1991|access-date=October 23, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029204817/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/15/nyregion/elevated-freight-line-being-razed-amid-protests.html|archive-date=October 29, 2014|last1=Dunlap|first1=David W.}} The remaining riveted-steel elevated structure was unused and in disrepair during the 1990s, but it remained structurally sound. Around this time, it became known to urban explorers and local residents for the tough, drought-tolerant wild grasses, shrubs (such as sumac) and rugged trees which had sprung up in the gravel along the abandoned railway. The administration of mayor Rudy Giuliani planned to demolish the structure.{{cite news|url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2011/04/ny-high-line/goldberger-text|title=Miracle Above Manhattan|date=May 15, 2012|access-date=May 16, 2014|author=Goldberger|first=Paul|work=National Geographic|author-link=Paul Goldberger|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826081922/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2011/04/ny-high-line/goldberger-text|archive-date=August 26, 2014}} The Interstate Commerce Commission approved plans to demolish the structure in 1992, but demolition was delayed due to disputes between various city government agencies and the railroad companies. Ownership of the viaduct ultimately passed to CSX Transportation in 1999.{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/arts/design/how-everyone-jumped-aboard-a-railroad-to-nowhere.html|title=How Everyone Jumped Aboard a Railroad to Nowhere|last=Demonchaux|first=Thomas|date=May 8, 2005|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 11, 2020|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618003251/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/arts/design/how-everyone-jumped-aboard-a-railroad-to-nowhere.html|archive-date=June 18, 2018|url-status=live}}

A nonprofit organization called Friends of the High Line{{cite web|url=http://www.thehighline.org/about|title=High Line History|publisher=Friends of the High Line|access-date=August 2, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922013251/http://www.thehighline.org/about|archive-date=September 22, 2014}} was formed in October 1999 by Joshua David and Robert Hammond. They advocated its preservation and reuse as public open space, an elevated park or greenway similar to the Promenade Plantée in Paris.{{cite web|url=http://www.thehighline.org/blog/2012/02/01/an-elevated-park-%C3%A0-la-fran%C3%A7aise|title=An elevated park à la française|date=February 1, 2012|publisher=Friends of the High Line|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205120403/http://www.thehighline.org/blog/2012/02/01/an-elevated-park-%C3%A0-la-fran%C3%A7aise|archive-date=February 5, 2012|access-date=July 27, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/03/15/highline.qa/|title=Q&A: Friends of the High Line interview|publisher=CNN|date=March 19, 2007|access-date=September 13, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002221/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/nov/18/new-york-high-line-park|title=New York's historic elevated train line becomes a park|work=The Guardian|date=November 18, 2008|access-date=September 13, 2014|author=Owen|first=Paul|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140829002223/http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/nov/18/new-york-high-line-park|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 29, 2014}} The concept also drew inspiration from Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, Germany—a precedent for urban and industrial repurposing in modern landscaping."Étonnants jardins. Le parc paysager de Duisburg-Nord", Pat Marcel, arte 2017 The organization was initially a small community group advocating the High Line's preservation and transformation when the structure was threatened with demolition during Rudy Giuliani's second term as mayor.{{cite web|url=http://www.nycedc.com/project/high-line|title=The High Line|publisher=New York City Economic Development Corporation|access-date=May 19, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002221/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2014}} In 2000, CSX Transportation gave photographer Joel Sternfeld permission to photograph it for a year. Sternfeld's photographs of its meadow-like natural beauty, discussed in an episode of the documentary series Great Museums, were used at public meetings when the subject of saving the High Line was discussed.{{cite episode|title=Elevated Thinking: The High Line in New York City|series=Great Museums|first1=Chesney|last1=Doyle|first2=Susan|last2=Spann|year=2014}} Mary Boone's art gallery, as well as Martha Stewart and Edward Norton, hosted fundraising benefits for the High Line in 2001 and 2002 respectively. Fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg (who had moved her New York City headquarters to the Meatpacking District in 1997) and her husband, Barry Diller, also organized fundraising events in her studio.

In 2003, Friends of the High Line sponsored a design competition that attracted more than 720 participants from 38 countries.{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/03/garden/currents-exhibitions-designers-dream-paper-city-park-called-high-line.html|title=Currents: Exhibitions; Designers Dream on Paper of a City Park Called the High Line|last=Louie|first=Elaine|date=July 3, 2003|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 11, 2020|url-status=live|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229190459/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/03/garden/currents-exhibitions-designers-dream-paper-city-park-called-high-line.html|archive-date=December 29, 2017}} Proposals included a sculpture garden, an elongated swimming pool, and a linear amusement park/campground.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42082174/|title=Effort under way to turn old Manhattan railway into a 'park in the sky'|last=Burkhart|first=Tara|date=December 17, 2003|work=Baltimore Sun|access-date=December 20, 2019|agency=Associated Press|page=B6|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}} In July 2003, Edward Norton and Robert Caro hosted a benefit event at Grand Central Terminal, where the submissions for the design contest were exhibited. The same month, a bipartisan group of city officials began petitioning the federal Surface Transportation Board to hand over title to the viaduct for park use.{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/25/nyregion/move-to-reclaim-rail-line-receives-bipartisan-push.html|title=Move to Reclaim Rail Line Receives Bipartisan Push|last=McIntire|first=Mike|date=July 25, 2003|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 11, 2020|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226193158/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/25/nyregion/move-to-reclaim-rail-line-receives-bipartisan-push.html|archive-date=December 26, 2017|url-status=live}} In anticipation of this handover, the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans for a High Line park that September.{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/25/nyregion/city-unveils-plans-to-turn-old-rail-line-into-a-park.html|title=City Unveils Plans to Turn Old Rail Line Into a Park|last=Hu|first=Winnie|date=September 25, 2003|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 11, 2020|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227040407/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/25/nyregion/city-unveils-plans-to-turn-old-rail-line-into-a-park.html|archive-date=December 27, 2017|url-status=live}} The following year, the New York City government committed $50 million to establish the proposed park. Mayor Bloomberg and City Council speakers Gifford Miller and Christine C. Quinn were among the major supporters. Fundraising for the park raised a total of over $150 million ({{inflation|US|150000000|2009|r=-3|fmt=eq}}).{{cite web|publisher=Rails-to-Trails Conservancy|url=http://www.railstotrails.org/news/recurringFeatures/trailMonth/archives/1110.html|title=Trail of the Month, October 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140806141034/http://www.railstotrails.org/news/recurringFeatures/trailMonth/archives/1110.html|archive-date=August 6, 2014}} The Surface Transportation Board issued a certificate of interim trail use on June 13, 2005, allowing the city to remove most of the line from the national rail system.{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/15/nyregion/rusty-railroad-advances-on-road-to-pristine-park.html|title=Rusty Railroad Advances on Road to Pristine Park|last=Vitello|first=Paul|date=June 15, 2005|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 11, 2020|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501142830/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/15/nyregion/rusty-railroad-advances-on-road-to-pristine-park.html|archive-date=May 1, 2019|url-status=live}} Ownership officially passed from CSX to the city that November.{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/17/nyregion/metro-briefing-new-york-manhattan-city-takes-title-to-high-line.html|title=Metro Briefing {{!}} New York: Manhattan: City Takes Title To High Line|last=O'Donnell|first=Michelle|date=November 17, 2005|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 11, 2020|url-status=live|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529184510/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/17/nyregion/metro-briefing-new-york-manhattan-city-takes-title-to-high-line.html|archive-date=May 29, 2015}}

On April 10, 2006, Mayor Bloomberg presided over a ceremony to mark the beginning of construction. The park was designed by James Corner's New York-based landscape architecture firm Field Operations and architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, with garden design by Piet Oudolf of the Netherlands, lighting design from L'Observatoire International,{{cite news|url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/201110/the-business-of-the-high-line.html|title=The Business of The High Line|work=Inc.|date=October 2011|access-date=September 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111214090600/http://www.inc.com/magazine/201110/the-business-of-the-high-line.html|archive-date=December 14, 2011|url-status=live}} and engineering design by Buro Happold{{cite web|url=http://www.burohappold.com/projects/project/high-line-160/|title=High Line|work=BuroHappold Engineering|access-date=November 27, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140911112112/http://www.burohappold.com/projects/project/high-line-160/|archive-date=September 11, 2014}} and Robert Silman Associates.{{cite web|url=http://inhabitat.com/nyc/high-line-structural-engineering-elevating-the-design-of-new-yorks-preserved-rail/|title=High Line Structural Engineering: Elevating the Design of New York's Preserved Rail|first=Leonel|last=Ponce|date=June 27, 2011|website=Inhabitat New York City|access-date=July 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304143843/http://inhabitat.com/nyc/high-line-structural-engineering-elevating-the-design-of-new-yorks-preserved-rail/|archive-date=March 4, 2012|url-status=dead}} New York City Department of City Planning director and city planning commission chair Amanda Burden contributed to the project's development.{{cite news|last=Satow|first=Julie|title=Amanda Burden, Planning Commissioner, Is Remaking New York City|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 20, 2012|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/nyregion/amanda-burden-planning-commissioner-is-remaking-new-york-city.html|access-date=July 30, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002221/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2014}}{{cite web|title=Amanda Burden: How Can Public Spaces Change A City's Character?|website=NPR|date=January 8, 2016|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/01/08/462285380/how-can-public-spaces-change-a-citys-character|access-date=July 30, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002221/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2014}} Major supporters included Philip Falcone,{{cite news |first=Robin |last=Pogrebin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/arts/30falcone.html |title=Philanthropist With a Sense of Timing Raises Her Profile |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923092706/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/arts/30falcone.html |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |work=The New York Times |date=June 29, 2009 |access-date=June 27, 2012}} Diane von Fürstenberg, Barry Diller, and von Fürstenberg's children Alexander and Tatiana von Fürstenberg.{{cite news|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/coach-inc-agrees-to-occupy-third-of-hudson-yards-tower/|title=Coach Inc. Agrees to Occupy Third of Hudson Yards Tower|work=The New York Times|date=November 1, 2011|access-date=November 28, 2011|last=Taylor|first=Kate|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103053856/http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/coach-inc-agrees-to-occupy-third-of-hudson-yards-tower/|archive-date=November 3, 2011}} Hotel developer Andre Balazs, owner of the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, built the 337-room Standard Hotel straddling the High Line at West 13th Street.{{cite news|title=Industrial Sleek (a Park Runs Through It)|last=Ouroussoff|first=Nicolai|author-link=Nicolai Ouroussoff|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/arts/design/09pols.html|work=The New York Times|date=April 8, 2009|access-date=April 9, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410121241/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/arts/design/09pols.html|archive-date=April 10, 2009}}

The southernmost section, from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street, opened as a city park on June 8, 2009.{{cite news|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/first-phase-of-high-line-is-ready-for-strolling/|title=First Phase of High Line Is Ready for Strolling|work=The New York Times|date=June 8, 2009|access-date=July 8, 2009|last=Pogrebin|first=Robin|author-link=Robin Pogrebin|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002221/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2014}} The section includes five stairways and elevators at 14th Street and 16th Street.{{cite web|publisher=Friends of the High Line|url=http://www.thehighline.org/pdf/high-line-map.pdf|title=High Line Map|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627121853/http://www.thehighline.org/pdf/high-line-map.pdf|archive-date=June 27, 2014|access-date=May 12, 2014}} Around the same time, construction of the second section began.{{cite news|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/new-high-line-designs-are-unveiled/|title=High Line Designs Are Unveiled|work=The New York Times|date=June 25, 2008|access-date=August 12, 2011|last=Chan|first=Sewell|author-link=Sewell Chan|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511053548/http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/new-high-line-designs-are-unveiled/|archive-date=May 11, 2011}} A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on June 7, 2011, to open the second section (from 20th Street to 30th Street), with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City Council speaker Christine Quinn, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and Congressman Jerrold Nadler in attendance.{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/06/07/2011-06-07_hotly_anticipated_second_section_of_the_high_line_opens_adding_10_blocks_of_elev.html|title=Hotly anticipated second section of the High Line opens, adding 10 blocks of elevated park space|work=Daily News|date=June 7, 2011|access-date=June 7, 2011|last=Pesce|first=Nicole Lyn|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609040350/http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/06/07/2011-06-07_hotly_anticipated_second_section_of_the_high_line_opens_adding_10_blocks_of_elev.html|archive-date=June 9, 2011}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/jun/07/high-line/|last=Marritz|first=Ilya|title=As the High Line Grows, Business Falls in Love with a Public Park|work=WNYC|date=June 7, 2011|access-date=June 8, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609204033/http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/jun/07/high-line/|archive-date=June 9, 2011}} CSX Transportation, owner of the northernmost section from 30th to 34th Streets, agreed in principle to donate the section to the city in 2011; the Related Companies, which owns development rights for the West Side Rail Yards, agreed not to tear down the spur crossing 10th Avenue.{{cite news|url=http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/11/01/third_section_of_high_line_is_on_the_docket_on_google_maps.php|title=Third Section of High Line Is On The Docket, On Google Maps|work=Curbed|date=November 1, 2011|access-date=September 10, 2014|author=Keith|first=Kelsey|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108090337/http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/11/01/third_section_of_high_line_is_on_the_docket_on_google_maps.php|archive-date=January 8, 2012}} Construction on the final section was started in September 2012.{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/high-line-begins-construction-third-final-section-photos_n_1901187.html|title=High Line Begins Construction On Third And Final Section (PHOTOS)|newspaper=Huffington Post|date=September 20, 2012|access-date=May 9, 2014|author=Katz|first=Mathew|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002221/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thehighline.org/about/high-line-at-the-rail-yards|title=High Line at the Rail Yards|work=Friends of the High Line|access-date=May 12, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504025058/http://www.thehighline.org/about/high-line-at-the-rail-yards|archive-date=May 4, 2014}}

File:New York City High Line - Urban Forestry - 20150915-OSEC-LSC-0172 (20976525663).jpg

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the High Line's third phase was held on September 20, 2014,{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/20/arts/design/the-high-line-opens-its-third-and-final-phase.html|title=Third and Final Phase Opens|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 20, 2014|access-date=September 20, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920081333/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/20/arts/design/the-high-line-opens-its-third-and-final-phase.html|archive-date=September 20, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/09/20/opening-ceremony-celebrates-completion-of-high-line-park/|title=Opening Ceremony Celebrates Completion Of High Line Park|publisher=CBS New York|date=September 20, 2014|access-date=September 21, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920195223/http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/09/20/opening-ceremony-celebrates-completion-of-high-line-park/|archive-date=September 20, 2014}} followed the next day by the opening of its third section and a procession down the park.{{cite web|url=http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140921/REAL_ESTATE/140919813/high-lines-high-returns|title=High Line's high returns|work=Crain's New York|date=September 21, 2014|access-date=September 21, 2014|author=Geiger|first=Daniel|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328173958/http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140921/REAL_ESTATE/140919813/high-lines-high-returns|archive-date=March 28, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://gothamist.com/2014/09/21/high_line_phase_three_is_officially.php|title=Photos: High Line Phase Three is Officially Open|work=Gothamist|last=Jay|first=Ben|date=September 21, 2014|access-date=September 21, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140923012155/http://gothamist.com/2014/09/21/high_line_phase_three_is_officially.php|archive-date=September 23, 2014}} The third phase, costing $76 million, was divided into two parts.{{Cite web|url=http://chelseanow.com/2013/02/hudson-yards-set-to-alter-skyline-transform-neighborhood/|title=Hudson Yards Set to Alter Skyline, Transform Neighborhood|work=Chelsea Now|date=February 6, 2013|access-date=June 2, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724172516/http://chelseanow.com/2013/02/hudson-yards-set-to-alter-skyline-transform-neighborhood/|archive-date=July 24, 2014}} The first part (costing $75 million){{cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/arts/design/fall-arts-preview-unruly-final-section-of-high-line-to-open.html?_r=0|title=Upstairs, a Walk on the Wild Side|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 3, 2014|access-date=September 10, 2014|author=Raver|first=Anne|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910200112/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/arts/design/fall-arts-preview-unruly-final-section-of-high-line-to-open.html?_r=0|archive-date=September 10, 2014}} is from the end of phase 2 of the line to its terminus at 34th Street, west of 11th Avenue.{{cite web|url=http://www.thehighline.org/blog/2014/09/03/high-line-at-the-rail-yards-opening-september-21|title=High Line at the Rail Yards Opening September 21|publisher=Friends of the High Line|date=September 4, 2014|access-date=September 4, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905101640/http://www.thehighline.org/blog/2014/09/03/high-line-at-the-rail-yards-opening-september-21|archive-date=September 5, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://gothamist.com/2014/09/04/high_line_sept_21_fin.php|title=The High Line's Final Section Will Open This Month|work=Gothamist|last=Carlson|first=Jen|date=September 4, 2014|access-date=September 9, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907031107/http://gothamist.com/2014/09/04/high_line_sept_21_fin.php|archive-date=September 7, 2014}} The second part, a spur above Tenth Avenue and 30th Street, has room to install artworks curated by the public art program.{{cite web|url=http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/11/12/here_now_the_giant_verdant_bowl_in_the_next_high_line_phase.php|title=Here Now, The Giant, Verdant Bowl In The Next High Line Phase – Rendering Reveals|work=Curbed|date=November 12, 2013|access-date=May 12, 2014|author=Alberts|first=Hana R.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002221/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thehighline.org/blog/2016/02/18/new-design-concept-for-the-spur|title=New Design Concept for the Spur|date=February 18, 2016|author=Friends of the High Line|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309075535/http://www.thehighline.org/blog/2016/02/18/new-design-concept-for-the-spur|archive-date=March 9, 2016|access-date=March 8, 2016}}{{cite web|last=Chaban|first=Matt|date=November 13, 2013|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bowl-cap-high-line-article-1.1514243|title=High Line Park will be capped with a giant bowl theater|work=New York Daily News|access-date=February 18, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053900/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bowl-cap-high-line-article-1.1514243|archive-date=March 4, 2016}} The spur was scheduled to open by 2018, but was then delayed to April 2019, and later to June 2019.{{cite web|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/arts/design/high-line-simone-leigh-brick-house.html|title='Brick House' Is Installed at the High Line|last=Aridi|first=Sara|date=April 4, 2019|website=The New York Times|access-date=April 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408182815/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/arts/design/high-line-simone-leigh-brick-house.html|archive-date=April 8, 2019|url-status=live}} It opened on June 4, 2019, with the installation of a plinth as its initial artwork.{{cite web|url=https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/06/04/final-planned-section-of-high-line-the-spur-opens-today/|title='The Spur' Now Completes Original Plans For The High Line|date=June 4, 2019|website=CBS New York|access-date=June 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605133035/https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/06/04/final-planned-section-of-high-line-the-spur-opens-today/|archive-date=June 5, 2019|url-status=live}} It contains entrances to 10 Hudson Yards,{{cite web|url=http://onlinedocs.related.com/HYDocuments/hudson-yards-nyc-10-hudson-yards-building-fact-sheet.pdf|title=10 Hudson Yards fact sheet|publisher=Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project|access-date=September 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006121757/http://onlinedocs.related.com/HYDocuments/hudson-yards-nyc-10-hudson-yards-building-fact-sheet.pdf|archive-date=October 6, 2014|url-status=live}} built above the spur.{{cite web|url=http://newyorkyimby.com/2013/12/10-hudson-yards-construction-photos.html|title=Construction Update: 10 Hudson Yards|work=New York YIMBY|date=December 13, 2013|access-date=May 12, 2014|author=Fedak|first=Nikolai|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002221/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2014}}

File:Whitney Museum and end of High Line.jpg opened its new building on Gansevoort Street, next to the south end of the High Line, in 2015.]]

The High Line closed temporarily in early 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City; while most parks remained open during the pandemic, the High Line is a linear park with few means to spread out for social distancing measures.{{cite web|date=2020|title=Important Parks Department Service Changes Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) : NYC Parks|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/health-and-safety-guide/coronavirus|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512032633/https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/health-and-safety-guide/coronavirus|archive-date=May 12, 2020|access-date=May 15, 2020|website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation}}{{cite news|last=Higgins|first=Adrian|date=June 23, 2020|title=Perspective – The High Line has been sidelined. When it reopens, New Yorkers may get the park they always wanted.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/the-high-line-has-been-sidelined-when-it-reopens-new-yorkers-may-get-the-park-they-always-wanted/2020/06/23/5e2a59e0-acd1-11ea-94d2-d7bc43b26bf9_story.html|access-date=July 3, 2020|newspaper=Washington Post|archive-date=June 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626181557/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/the-high-line-has-been-sidelined-when-it-reopens-new-yorkers-may-get-the-park-they-always-wanted/2020/06/23/5e2a59e0-acd1-11ea-94d2-d7bc43b26bf9_story.html|url-status=live}} The High Line reopened on July 16, 2020, with limited capacity: the section between Gansevoort and 23rd streets was only open to visitors with timed-entry passes. Visitors were able to walk only northbound from Gansevoort Street, with the other access points being for egress only.{{Cite web|first1=Elize|last1=Manoukian|first2=Leonard|last2=Greene|title=A walk in the park: NYC's High Line reopens with several changes after four-month shutdown|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-highline-park-reopening-20200716-qzrczgeokjevxdxuj3jp3itsvq-story.html|access-date=August 13, 2020|website=New York Daily News|date=July 16, 2020|archive-date=November 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116200814/https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-highline-park-reopening-20200716-qzrczgeokjevxdxuj3jp3itsvq-story.html|url-status=live}}

During the pandemic, a team of 60 people hosted a Zoom call twice a week to plan an extension of the High Line.{{cite web |date=January 9, 2023 |title=Elevated High Line park in NYC is expanding |url=https://www.fox5ny.com/good-day/elevated-high-line-park-in-nyc-is-expanding |access-date=February 1, 2023 |website=FOX 5 New York |archive-date=February 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201020326/https://www.fox5ny.com/good-day/elevated-high-line-park-in-nyc-is-expanding |url-status=live }} On January 11, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced proposals to extend the High Line east to Moynihan Train Hall and north to Hudson River Park.{{cite web|first=James|last=Ramsay|title=Cuomo Proposes Expanding The High Line To Penn Station, Hudson River|website=Gothamist|date=January 11, 2021|url=http://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/cuomo-proposes-expanding-high-line-penn-station-hudson-river|access-date=January 12, 2021|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111211335/https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/cuomo-proposes-expanding-high-line-penn-station-hudson-river|url-status=live}} The {{convert|1,200|ft|adj=on}} Moynihan Connector was planned to cost $60 million and run east to Ninth Avenue. A second spur would diverge from the Phase 3 walkway at 34th Street, running north to the Javits Center and then turning west to cross the West Side Highway to Hudson River Park.{{Cite web|last=Weaver|first=Shaye|title=An ambitious new High Line expansion will connect the park to Penn Station|url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/an-ambitious-new-high-line-expansion-will-connect-the-park-to-penn-station-011121|access-date=January 11, 2021|website=Time Out New York|date=January 11, 2021|language=en-US|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111223106/https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/an-ambitious-new-high-line-expansion-will-connect-the-park-to-penn-station-011121|url-status=live}} When the spurs were announced, neither of the projects had been funded. As of September 2021, the Moynihan Connector was funded and was projected to be completed in early 2023 at a cost of $50 million.{{cite web | title=Plans unveiled for $50M High Line to Moynihan Train Hall connector | website=Real Estate Weekly | date=September 16, 2021 | url=https://rew-online.com/plans-unveiled-for-50m-high-line-to-moynihan-train-hall-connector/ | access-date=September 17, 2021 | archive-date=September 16, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916193735/https://rew-online.com/plans-unveiled-for-50m-high-line-to-moynihan-train-hall-connector/ | url-status=live }}{{cite web | last=Offenhartz | first=Jake | title=Cuomo's $50 Million High Line Extension Is Still Happening, Hochul Confirms | website=Gothamist | date=September 15, 2021 | url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/cuomos-50-million-high-line-extension-still-happening-hochul-confirms | access-date=September 17, 2021 | archive-date=September 16, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916200641/https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/cuomos-50-million-high-line-extension-still-happening-hochul-confirms | url-status=live }} A groundbreaking for the Moynihan Connector occurred on February 24, 2022,{{cite web | title=Work to Begin on High Line Connection to Moynihan Hall | website=NBC New York | date=February 23, 2022 | url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/work-to-begin-on-high-line-connection-to-moynihan-hall/3567352/ | access-date=February 24, 2022 | archive-date=February 24, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224192247/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/work-to-begin-on-high-line-connection-to-moynihan-hall/3567352/ | url-status=live }}{{cite web | title=Construction begins on High Line to Moynihan Train Hall connector | website=Spectrum News NY1 | date=February 24, 2022 | url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/manhattan/news/2022/02/24/woodland-bridge-to-connect-high-line-to-moynihan-train-hall- | access-date=February 24, 2022 | archive-date=February 24, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224192245/https://www.ny1.com/nyc/manhattan/news/2022/02/24/woodland-bridge-to-connect-high-line-to-moynihan-train-hall- | url-status=live }} although major construction did not begin until later the same year. The Moynihan Connector opened on June 22, 2023.{{cite web |last=Adcroft |first=Patrick |date=June 22, 2023 |title=High Line-Moynihan Connector officially opens to the public |url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2023/06/22/high-line-moynihan-connector-officially-opens-to-public |access-date=June 22, 2023 |website=Spectrum News NY1 New York City}}

The line is maintained by Friends of the High Line, which was founded by Joshua David and Robert Hammond.{{cite web|url=http://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/joshua-david-and-robert-hammond-friends-of-the-highline|title=Joshua David and Robert Hammond: Friends of the High Line|date=March 31, 2011|publisher=Interview Magazine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707164531/http://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/joshua-david-and-robert-hammond-friends-of-the-highline|archive-date=July 7, 2015|url-status=live|access-date=May 19, 2015}} The organization is credited with saving the structure by rallying public support for the park and convincing Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration in 2002 to support the project by filing a request with the Surface Transportation Board to create a public trail on the site. Friends of the High Line played a role in the line's visual aesthetic, holding a competition in conjunction with the city of New York in 2004 to determine the design team which would lead the project. Since the park's opening in 2009, Friends of the High Line has had an agreement with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to serve as its primary steward.{{cite web|url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/the-high-line|title=The High Line: NYC Parks|publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|access-date=May 19, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150515085752/http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/the-high-line|archive-date=May 15, 2015}} The organization is responsible for the daily operation and maintenance of the park, with an annual budget of over $5 million.{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/nyregion/robert-hammond-executive-director-of-friends-of-the-high-line-will-step-down.html|title=Robert Hammond, Executive Director of Friends of the High Line, Will Step Down|last=Foderaro|first=Lisa W.|date=February 11, 2013|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 11, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715072153/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/nyregion/robert-hammond-executive-director-of-friends-of-the-high-line-will-step-down.html|archive-date=July 15, 2016}} It has an annual operating budget of $11.5 million, in addition to capital construction and management and fundraising expenses.

Friends of the High Line has raised more than $150 million in public and private funds toward the construction of the first two sections of the park. Unlike the first two phases, to which the city significantly contributed, Friends of the High Line was responsible for raising funds for phase three (an estimated $35 million). The organization raises over 90 percent of the High Line's annual operating budget from private donations. When the city donated $5 million to the High Line in 2012, there was criticism that most city parks had received less funding that year, especially since Friends of the High Line had raised an extra $85 million that year.{{cite web|last=Katz|first=Mathew|title=Critics Question $5M City Donation to High Line Expansion|website=DNAinfo New York|date=July 19, 2012|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120719/chelsea/critics-question-5m-city-donation-high-line-expansion|access-date=May 11, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223204711/http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120719/chelsea/critics-question-5m-city-donation-high-line-expansion|archive-date=December 23, 2015}}

The organization has an office on Washington Street, near the park's southern end.{{cite web|url=http://www.thehighline.org/about/staff-and-board-members|title=High Line Staff and Board|publisher=Friends of the High Line|access-date=May 19, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504061600/http://www.thehighline.org/about/staff-and-board-members|archive-date=May 4, 2015}} It has 80 full-time, year-round employees and about 150 full-time summer employees. Friends of the High Line has been run by president and co-founder Josh David after executive director Jenny Gersten stepped down in 2014.{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/03/nyregion/executive-director-leaving-friends-of-the-high-line.html|title=Executive Director Leaving Friends of the High Line|last=Foderaro|first=Lisa W.|date=September 2, 2014|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 11, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002221/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2014}} Co-founder Robert Hammond served as executive director until he stepped down in February 2013. Friends of the High Line has a 38-member board of directors consisting of many New York City businesspeople and philanthropists, including Amanda Burden of Bloomberg Associates, Jane Lauder of Estée Lauder Companies, Jon Stryker of the Arcus Foundation and Darren Walker of the Ford Foundation. In 2017, Friends of the High Line received the Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, for the development of High Line.{{cite web |title= Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design |website= gsd.harvard.edu |url= https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/urban-planning-design/fellowships-prizes-and-travel-programs/veronica-rudge-green-prize-in-urban-design/ |access-date= October 16, 2024 }}

Since its opening, the High Line has become one of the most popular visitors attractions in New York City.{{Cite news|last=Higgins|first=Adrian|date=November 30, 2014|title=New York's High Line: Why the floating promenade is so popular|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/new-yorks-high-line-why-the-floating-promenade-is-so-popular/2014/11/30/6f3e30cc-5e20-11e4-8b9e-2ccdac31a031_story.html|access-date=April 14, 2020|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=September 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930043717/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/new-yorks-high-line-why-the-floating-promenade-is-so-popular/2014/11/30/6f3e30cc-5e20-11e4-8b9e-2ccdac31a031_story.html|url-status=live}} By September 2014, the park had nearly five million visitors annually, and in 2019, it had eight million visitors per year.{{cite web|last=Matthews|first=Karen|date=June 9, 2019|title=New York's High Line park marks 10 years of transformation|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/yorks-high-line-park-marks-10-years-transformation-63587235|access-date=April 14, 2020|website=ABC News|agency=Associated Press|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609190417/https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/yorks-high-line-park-marks-10-years-transformation-63587235|archive-date=June 9, 2019}} Most of these visits came from tourists; a 2019 study found that tourists made up four-fifths of the High Line's total visitor count. Residents quoted in The New York Times stated that the park has become a "tourist-clogged catwalk" since it opened, and one critic called it a "tourist-clogged cattle chute".{{cite web|last=Davidson|first=Justin|date=January 7, 2019|title=The High Line Has Become a Tunnel Through Glass Towers|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/01/the-high-line-has-become-a-tunnel-through-glass-towers.html|access-date=July 3, 2020|website=Intelligencer|archive-date=June 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626193924/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/01/the-high-line-has-become-a-tunnel-through-glass-towers.html|url-status=live}} The New York Times called the High Line "one of the best-known naturalistic gardens anywhere" upon the park's 15th anniversary in 2024.

file:High Line 23 2015.jpg

The recycling of the rail line into an urban park and tourist attraction has revitalized Chelsea, which was "gritty" and in generally poor condition during the late twentieth century.{{cite news|url=https://observer.com/2007/04/high-line-park-spurs-remaking-of-formerly-grotty-chelsea/|title=High Line Park Spurs Remaking Of Formerly Grotty Chelsea|work=New York Observer|date=April 2, 2007|access-date=August 12, 2011|last=Koblin|first=John|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125085036/http://www.observer.com/2007/04/high-line-park-spurs-remaking-of-formerly-grotty-chelsea/|archive-date=January 25, 2012}} It has also spurred real-estate development in the neighborhoods along the line.{{cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/realestate/commercial/11highline.html|title=As a Park Runs Above, Deals Stir Below|last=Gregor|first=Alison|date=August 10, 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 10, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507142639/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/realestate/commercial/11highline.html|archive-date=May 7, 2011}} According to mayor Bloomberg, by 2009 more than 30 projects were planned or under construction nearby, and by 2016 more than 11 projects were under construction.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-high-lines-halo-effect-on-property-1470608556|title=The High Line's 'Halo Effect' on Property|last=Barbanel|first=Josh|date=August 7, 2016|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|issn=0099-9660|access-date=August 8, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807230659/http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-high-lines-halo-effect-on-property-1470608556|archive-date=August 7, 2016|url-access=subscription}} It has also helped raise the value of properties directly adjacent to the High Line by an average of 10 percent over properties a few blocks away. At least 20 properties abutting the High Line have sold for at least $10 million since the park's opening in 2009, with an apartment in a building directly adjacent to the park selling for an average of $6 million. Apartments located near Phase 1 of the High Line are, on average, more than twice as costly as those between Seventh and Eighth Avenues (two blocks east).{{Cite web|url=http://ny.curbed.com/2016/8/8/12401622/high-line-real-estate-development-effect|title=Condos padding the High Line are ridiculously pricier than their neighbors|last=Nonko|first=Emily|date=August 8, 2016|website=Curbed NY|access-date=August 8, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809131105/http://ny.curbed.com/2016/8/8/12401622/high-line-real-estate-development-effect|archive-date=August 9, 2016}} In August 2016, the park continued to increase real-estate values along it in an example of the halo effect.{{cite news|url=http://www.amny.com/real-estate/high-line-spurs-jump-in-nearby-home-prices-streeteasy-1.12149516|title=High Line spurs jump in nearby home prices: StreetEasy|last=Pereira|first=Ivan|date=August 8, 2016|work=AM New York|access-date=August 10, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003191837/https://www.amny.com/real-estate/high-line-spurs-jump-in-nearby-home-prices-streeteasy-1.12149516|archive-date=October 3, 2019}}

Residents who have bought apartments next to the High Line adapted to its presence in various ways, but most responses were positive. However, many established businesses in west Chelsea have closed due to loss of their neighborhood customer base or rent increases.{{cite news|last=Moss|first=Jeremiah|date=August 21, 2012|title=Disney World on the Hudson|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/opinion/in-the-shadows-of-the-high-line.html?smid=pl-share|url-status=live|access-date=August 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515122204/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/opinion/in-the-shadows-of-the-high-line.html?smid=pl-share|archive-date=May 15, 2013|issn=0362-4331}}{{cite web |last=Stewart |first=Alison |last2=Green |first2=Luke |date=July 24, 2024 |title=How the High Line changed NYC: A 'poster child' for gentrification and adaptive reuse |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/how-the-high-line-changed-nyc-a-poster-child-for-gentrification-and-adaptive-reuse |access-date=July 25, 2024 |website=Gothamist}} Among the businesses that have closed are gas stations and auto-repair stores, as well as a parochial school. Chelsea has significant racial-minority communities, many of whom live in two large public housing developments.{{Cite journal|last=Reichl|first=Alexander J.|date=August 17, 2016|title=The High Line and the ideal of democratic public space|journal=Urban Geography|volume=37|issue=6|pages=904–925|doi=10.1080/02723638.2016.1152843|s2cid=147331601|issn=0272-3638}} In a 2017 interview, Friends of the High Line co-founder Robert Hammond said that he "failed" the community; the High Line did not fulfill its original purpose of serving the surrounding neighborhood, which had become demographically divided around the park.{{Cite news|last=Bliss|first=Laura|date=February 7, 2017|title=The High Line's Biggest Issue—And How Its Creators Are Learning From Their Mistakes|language=en-US|newspaper=CityLab|url=http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2017/02/the-high-lines-next-balancing-act-fair-and-affordable-development/515391/|url-status=live|access-date=February 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221014517/http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2017/02/the-high-lines-next-balancing-act-fair-and-affordable-development/515391/|archive-date=February 21, 2017}}

Due to the High Line's popularity, several museums were proposed or built along its path. The Dia Art Foundation considered (but rejected) a proposal to build a museum at the Gansevoort Street terminus.{{cite news|last=Vogel|first=Carol|date=October 25, 2006|title=Dia Art Foundation Calls Off Museum Project|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/25/arts/design/25muse.html|url-status=live|access-date=July 8, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061025195805/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/25/arts/design/25muse.html|archive-date=October 25, 2006|issn=0362-4331}} On that site, the Whitney Museum has built a new home for its collection of American art. The building, designed by Renzo Piano, opened on May 1, 2015.{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Roberta|date=April 30, 2015|title=New Whitney Museum Signifies a Changing New York Art Scene|newspaper=New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/02/arts/design/new-whitney-museum-signifies-a-changing-new-york-art-scene.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520075046/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/02/arts/design/new-whitney-museum-signifies-a-changing-new-york-art-scene.html|archive-date=May 20, 2017|issn=0362-4331}}

Crime has been low in the park. Shortly after the second section opened in 2011, The New York Times reported that there had been no reports of major crimes (such as assault or robbery) since the first phase opened two years earlier. Parks Enforcement Patrols have written summonses for infractions of park rules such as walking dogs or riding bicycles on the walkway at a lower rate than in Central Park. Park advocates attributed this to the visibility of the High Line from surrounding buildings, a feature of urban life espoused by author Jane Jacobs nearly fifty years before. According to Joshua David, "Empty parks are dangerous ... Busy parks are much less so. You're virtually never alone on the High Line."{{cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/11/nyregion/the-high-line-park-is-elevated-its-crime-rate-is-not.html|title=The Park Is Elevated. Its Crime Rate Is Anything But|work=The New York Times|date=June 10, 2011|access-date=June 11, 2011|last=Wilson|first=Michael|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614144518/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/11/nyregion/the-high-line-park-is-elevated-its-crime-rate-is-not.html|archive-date=June 14, 2011}} In a review of the Highliner restaurant—which has now reverted to its previous name, the Empire Diner—Ariel Levy wrote in The New Yorker that... "The new Chelsea that is emerging on weekends as visitors flood the elevated park ... [is] touristy, overpriced, and shiny."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/08/08/the-highliner|title=The Highliner|magazine=The New Yorker|date=August 8, 2011|access-date=August 3, 2011|last=Levy|first=Ariel|author-link=Ariel Levy (writer)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826174924/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/08/08/the-highliner|archive-date=August 26, 2014}}

The High Line's success in New York City has encouraged leaders in other cities such as Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, who sees it as "a symbol and catalyst" for gentrifying neighborhoods. Several cities nationwide have plans to renovate railroad infrastructure into parkland,{{Cite web|url=https://landscapearchitecturemagazine.org/2017/02/28/underneath-overlooked/|title=Underneath, Overlooked|last=Mortice|first=Zach|date=February 28, 2017|website=Landscape Architecture Magazine|access-date=June 5, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714201856/https://landscapearchitecturemagazine.org/2017/02/28/underneath-overlooked/|archive-date=July 14, 2017}} including Philadelphia's Rail Park, Atlanta's Belt Line, and Chicago's Bloomingdale Trail.{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/arts/design/15highline.html|title=After Elevated Park's Success, Other Cities Look Up|last=Taylor|first=Kate|date=July 14, 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 30, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927094150/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/arts/design/15highline.html|archive-date=September 27, 2015}} The High Line has helped pioneer the creation of elevated parks worldwide.{{Cite journal|last=Gastil|first=Ray|date=October 1, 2013|title=Prospect parks: walking the Promenade Planteé and the High Line|journal=Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes|volume=33|issue=4|pages=280–289|doi=10.1080/14601176.2013.807650|s2cid=162260743|issn=1460-1176}}{{Cite news|last=Bevilacqua|first=Matt|date=April 3, 2013|url=https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/photos-the-differing-destinies-of-elevated-urban-parks|title=Photos: The Differing Destinies of Elevated Urban Parks|website=Next City|access-date=May 30, 2017|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930143743/https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/photos-the-differing-destinies-of-elevated-urban-parks|archive-date=September 30, 2015}} In Queens, the Queensway (a proposed aerial rail trail) is being considered for reactivation along the right-of-way of the Long Island Rail Road's former Rockaway Beach Branch.{{cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/nyregion/queens-wants-to-transform-an-abandoned-railway-into-a-park.html|title=In Queens, Taking the High Line as a Model|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 7, 2013|access-date=October 23, 2014|author=Foderado|first=Lisa W.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029205125/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/nyregion/queens-wants-to-transform-an-abandoned-railway-into-a-park.html|archive-date=October 29, 2014}} Other cities around the world have planned elevated rails-to-trails parks in what has been called the "High Line effect".{{cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/architecture/the-high-line-effect-why-cities-around-the-world-including-toronto-are-building-parks-in-the-sky/arti|title=The High Line Effect: Why Cities Around The World (Including Toronto) Are Building Parks in the Sky|work=The Globe and Mail|date=October 1, 2014|access-date=October 24, 2014|last=McGinn|first=Dave|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002221/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2014}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.metropolismag.com/architecture/landscape/high-line-effect-new-parks-trojan-horses-gentrification/|title=The High Line Effect: Are Our New Parks Trojan Horses of Gentrification?|last=Betsky|first=Aaron|date=December 13, 2016|website=Metropolis|language=en-US|access-date=March 13, 2020|archive-date=June 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625021347/https://www.metropolismag.com/architecture/landscape/high-line-effect-new-parks-trojan-horses-gentrification/|url-status=live}}{{cite web | title=The High Stakes of the High Line Effect | website=Architect | last=Flynn | first=Katherine | date=February 26, 2019 | url=https://www.architectmagazine.com/aia-architect/aiafeature/the-high-stakes-of-the-high-line-effect_o | access-date=June 4, 2024}} The conversion of the Tokyo Expressway in Tokyo was also inspired by the High Line.{{cite web | last=Glass | first=Mia | title=A New York-Style High Line Is Coming to Tokyo | website=Bloomberg.com | date=May 27, 2024 | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-05-27/new-york-style-high-line-in-tokyo-set-to-open-in-2029 | access-date=May 29, 2024}}{{cite web | last=Ryall | first=Julian | title=Walk this way: Tokyo’s Ginza to get New York-like ‘High Line’ makeover | website=South China Morning Post | date=April 5, 2025 | url=https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3305318/tokyo-transform-congested-ginza-motorway-new-york-high-line-inspired-green-space | access-date=April 6, 2025}}

According to some estimates, it costs substantially less to redevelop an abandoned urban rail line into a linear park than to demolish it. Landscape architect James Corner (who led the High Line's design team) noted that "The High Line is not easily replicable in other cities," however, observing that building a "cool park" requires a "framework" of neighborhoods around it to succeed.{{cite news|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/realestate/commercial/cities-see-another-side-to-old-tracks.html|title=Cities See the Other Side of the Tracks|work=The New York Times|date=August 3, 2011|access-date=August 3, 2011|last=Shevory|first=Kristina|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825192715/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/realestate/commercial/cities-see-another-side-to-old-tracks.html|archive-date=August 25, 2011}}

In 2016, Friends of the High Line launched the High Line Network to support similar infrastructure re-use projects being developed in other cities.{{Cite news|url=https://www.dezeen.com/2017/06/22/high-line-network-website-launch-offer-advice-avoiding-gentrification/|title=High Line creators launch website to advise on avoiding gentrification|last=Gibson|first=Eleanor|date=June 22, 2017|work=Dezeen|access-date=August 23, 2017|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711202447/https://www.dezeen.com/2017/06/22/high-line-network-website-launch-offer-advice-avoiding-gentrification/|archive-date=July 11, 2017}} {{As of|2017}}, there are 19 projects in the network, including River LA, the Atlanta Beltline, Crissy Field, Dequindre Cut, the Lowline, Klyde Warren Park, the Bentway, Bergen Arches, Destination Crenshaw and the Trinity River Project.{{Cite news|last=Bliss|first=Laura|date=February 7, 2017|url=https://www.citylab.com/solutions/2017/02/the-high-lines-next-balancing-act-fair-and-affordable-development/515391/|title=The High Line's Biggest Issue—And How Its Creators Are Learning From Their Mistakes|work=CityLab|access-date=August 23, 2017|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824014711/https://www.citylab.com/solutions/2017/02/the-high-lines-next-balancing-act-fair-and-affordable-development/515391/|archive-date=August 24, 2017}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/aug/15/new-york-high-line-crowd-london-garden-bridge-urban-design|title=Want to join New York's High Line crowd? Don't listen to Joanna Lumley|last=Marshall|first=Colin|date=August 15, 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=August 23, 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823002823/https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/aug/15/new-york-high-line-crowd-london-garden-bridge-urban-design|archive-date=August 23, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.curbed.com/2017/6/21/15845064/high-line-nyc-park-adaptive-reuse-projects|title=High Line launches forum to advise similar projects around the country|last=Eldredge|first=Barbara|date=June 21, 2017|website=Curbed|access-date=August 23, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824014711/https://www.curbed.com/2017/6/21/15845064/high-line-nyc-park-adaptive-reuse-projects|archive-date=August 24, 2017}}

The line was depicted in a variety of media before its redevelopment. The 1979 film Manhattan includes a shot of the High Line as director and star Woody Allen speaks the first line: "Chapter One. He adored New York City."{{cite web|url=http://www.thehighline.org/blog/2008/02/21/chapter-one-he-adored-the-high-line|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616214056/http://thehighline.org/blog/2008/02/21/chapter-one-he-adored-the-high-line/|title=Chapter One: He Adored the High Line|publisher=Friends of the High Line|date=February 21, 2008|access-date=September 9, 2014|archive-date=June 16, 2010|url-status=dead}} See also: {{YouTube|id=0o6QKpNK9Cc|title=the corresponding video}} Director Zbigniew Rybczyński shot the music video for Art of Noise's single, "Close (to the Edit)" on the line in 1984.{{cite web|url=http://gvshp.org/blog/2011/05/23/it-happened-here-80s-music-videos/|title=It Happened Here: 80s Music Videos|publisher=Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation|date=May 23, 2011|access-date=September 9, 2014|first=Andrew|last=Berman|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910215721/http://gvshp.org/blog/2011/05/23/it-happened-here-80s-music-videos/|archive-date=September 10, 2014}}

In 2001 (two years after the formation of the Friends of the High Line), photographer Joel Sternfeld documented the High Line's flora and dilapidation in his book, Walking the High Line. The book also contains essays by writer Adam Gopnik and historian John R. Stilgoe.{{cite book|last1=Sternfeld|first1=Joel|last2=Stilgoe|first2=John R.|last3=Gopnik|first3=Adam|author-link=Joel Sternfeld|author-link2=John R. Stilgoe|author-link3=Adam Gopnik|title=Walking the High Line|year=2001|publisher=Steidl/Pace/MacGill Gallery|location=New York|isbn=978-3-88243-726-3}} Sternfeld's work was regularly discussed and exhibited during the 2000s as the rehabilitation project developed. Alan Weisman's 2007 book, The World Without Us, cites the High Line as an example of the reappearance of the wild in an abandoned area.{{cite web|url=http://www.thehighline.org/blog/2009/01/22/the-high-line-without-us|title=The High Line Without Us|publisher=Friends of the High Line|access-date=September 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100314124007/http://thehighline.org/blog/2009/01/22/the-high-line-without-us|archive-date=March 14, 2010}} Kinetics & One Love's 2009 song, "The High Line", uses the line (before its conversion to a park) as an example of nature's reclamation of man-made structures.{{YouTube|id=cXT0RLdnw_U|title=Kinetics & One Love – The High Line}}

A number of films and television programs have utilized the High Line since the park opened. In 2011, the television series Louie used it as a setting for one of the title character's dates.{{cite web|url=http://splitsider.com/2012/06/the-louie-map-of-new-york/|title=The "Louie" Map of New York|work=Splitsider|date=June 15, 2012|access-date=September 9, 2014|author=DeLucia|first=Greg|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002221/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2014}} Other works with scenes on the High Line since its conversion include The Simpsons{{'}} 2012 episode "Moonshine River"{{cite web|url=http://www.royaluxury.com/blog/tourism-tuesday-featuring-new-york-city-high-line/|title=Tourism Tuesday Featuring New York City High Line|publisher=Royal Limos New York|date=March 5, 2013|access-date=September 9, 2014|author=Sheppard-Vaughn|first=Danette|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910215835/http://www.royaluxury.com/blog/tourism-tuesday-featuring-new-york-city-high-line/|archive-date=September 10, 2014}} and the 2012 film What Maisie Knew.{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|title='What Maisie Knew' invites us to see the world through her eyes|work=The Boston Globe|date=May 23, 2013|access-date=September 9, 2014|first=Ty|last=Burr|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002221/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/05/23/movie-review-what-maisie-knew/ZoKdWOxMNe4Me071pBzJdM/story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2014}}

{{Portal|Architecture|New York City}}

{{div col|colwidth=23em}}

• 10-Minute Walk
• Camden Highline
• Coulée verte René Dumont, Paris, France
• List of linear parks
• List of rail trails in the United States
• Min Hi Line
• Rose de Cherbourg
• Park conservancy

{{div col end}}

• Meatpacking District, Manhattan
• Chelsea, Manhattan
• Whitney Museum
• Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
• Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project
• 15 Hudson Yards
• The Shed (Hudson Yards)
• West Side Rail Yard

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/03/15/highline.qa/|title=Q&A: Friends of the High Line interview|date=March 19, 2007|work=CNN.com|access-date=August 9, 2007|archive-date=October 24, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024002214/http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/03/15/highline.qa/|url-status=live}}
• {{cite book|title=High Line: The Inside Story of New York City's Park in the Sky|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|year=2011|location=New York|isbn=978-0-374-53299-4|last1=David|first1=Joshua|last2=Hammond|first2=Robert}}
• {{cite news|title=Elevated|first=Justin|last=Davidson|url=https://nymag.com/arts/architecture/features/57176/|magazine=New York|date=June 7, 2009}}
• {{Cite book|last1=James Corner Field Operations|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/908991241|title=The High Line: foreseen, unforeseen|last2=Diller Scofidio + Renfro|date=2015|publisher=Phaidon Press |isbn=978-0-7148-7100-4|language=English|oclc=908991241}}
• {{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-15208873|title=Millions stroll in New York's 'park in the sky'|work=BBC News|author=Maher|first=Michael|type=Video|date=October 7, 2011}}
• {{cite news|title=The High Line: It Brings Good Things to Life|first=Adam|last=Sternbergh|url=https://nymag.com/news/features/31273/|magazine=New York|date=April 29, 2007}}
• {{cite book|last1=Zambelli|first1=Matteo|last2=Alves|first2=Henrique Pessoa|year=2012|title=La High Line di New York|location=Milano|publisher=Mimesis|isbn=978-88-575-0705-7}}

{{Commons category|High Line (New York City)}}

• [https://www.thehighline.org/ Official website]
• {{Cite news|year=2018|first1=Andrea|last1=Sachs|first2=Jesse (photographer)|last2=Dittmar|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/lifestyle/travel/high-line/|title=Highly esteemed: An end-to-end walk along Manhattan's High Line: A visitor's guide to points of entry, events and attractions on and off the storied elevated park: Explore the High Line in 360° Video|newspaper=The Washington Post|issn=2641-0702|oclc=8787120|access-date=July 12, 2020|archive-date=July 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712024033/https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/lifestyle/travel/high-line/|url-status=dead}}.
• {{HAER |survey=NY-557 |id=ny2427 |title=New York Central Railroad, West Side Elevated Freight Line, From Gansevoort Street to West 34th Street, mainly along the Tenth Avenue corridor, New York County, NY |photos=51 |cap=10}}

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Category:Parks in Manhattan

Category:Rail freight transportation in New York City

Category:Urban public parks

Category:West Side Line

Category:Closed railway lines in the United States