History

Friends of the High Line staff take a tour of the Reading Viaduct with members of the non-profit group dedicated to creating a public park in the space, Viaduct Greene. Photo by Rick Darke.

New York City is not the only urban center in the United States with an elevated railway like the High Line.

In Philadelphia, an old freight and passenger rail line called the Reading Viaduct winds above the streets and between buildings just north of the city’s center. Just like the High Line, the trains stopped running decades ago, and since then nature has taken over the tracks. The self-seeded landscape has inspired some local residents to join together to advocate for the historic structure to be transformed into public open space.

We took a field trip to Philadelphia on October 20 to walk the line, observe the wild landscape, and share ideas with Paul vanMeter and Liz Maillie of Viaduct Greene, the non-profit dedicated to creating a new public park on the structure. Follow us after the jump for photos and more.

Before it was transformed into a public park, the High Line carried freight trains to and from the warehouses and factories along Manhattan’s West Side. Today, the High Line serves as a tool to teach kids about the city’s industrial history.

Halloween Hi-Jinks on the High Line is one of several educational initiatives to strengthen our partnerships with the neighborhood public schools, and teach kids about the High Line through fun, interactive, hands-on activities.

We would like to thank the following organizations for supporting our partnerships with local public schools: the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, with additional support from the Altman Foundation; The Brown Foundation, Inc., of Houston; The Concordia Foundation; The Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation; and, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Follow us after the jump for a photo tour of the project.

Designers, architects, engineers, and planning nerds like us will appreciate A.O. Scott’s review of Gary Hustwit’s new film, Urbanized in today’s New York Times.

“Like a really good class taught by a team of enthusiastic professors, Urbanized supplies grist for many late-night arguments or solitary ruminations. It is worth venturing out of your room, climbing on your bike or boarding a low-emissions bus and fighting your way through a crowd to see.”

Carol Levitt's second grade class at the Village Community School used the High Line to study a number of topics this past spring. One element was this structure, which the class constructed as a model of the structure in its current use as a public park.

The High Line is more than place for strolling and enjoying city views—the park's gardens, design, and history are excellent tools for teaching people of all ages. This is especially true for Carol Levitt, a 2nd grade teacher at the Village Community School in the West Village.

Carol saw the High Line as a means of teaching her students about the life-cycle of plants, our city's industrial history, and the importance of community participation. After bringing her students on fields trips with Emily Pinkowitz, our School & Youth Program Manager, Carol's students asked to build a giant model of the High Line in their classroom. Using building blocks, cardboard, construction paper, aluminum foil, plastic, and other found materials, they created a model that takes a look at what the High Line once was, and what it is today.

The students' careful attention to detail shines through in their final result. The model included architectural design features, like the 10th Avenue Square, and prominent neighborhood landmarks near the park, like The Standard Hotel and Pastis. It even featured a garden that used live plants, pebbles, and popsicle-stick railroad tracks to recreate the way the High Line looked when the trains stopped running.

"The children in my group feel as if the High Line somehow belongs to them," Carol says, "They joyfully take their parents, grandparents, and friends of all ages to the High Line and tell them the story. The children followed the approval of the Rail Yards with cheers. How extraordinary that they studied the High Line as it grew and will continue to grow. They see themselves as being the future of the High Line—which they will indeed be."

The photos tell the full story. Follow us after the jump for a tour of their project.