High Line Blog

This is one of our favorite historical images. The West Side Cowboys were employed by the City to ride in front of street-level freight trains and wave pedestrians out of the way. This was the City's stopgap measure to stop the carnage on what was known as "Death Avenue." The Cowboys were phased out after the High Line was built, raising train traffic to the third story of industrial buildings. The cowboy above is from the 1930's, when the High Line was being built, and the structure is visible in the background. The cowboy below dates from 1911, before the High Line was a glimmer in its daddy's eye.

Photo from Shorpy.com, the 100-Year-Old Photo Blog. Note the guy with the pegleg.
After the jump, the 1934 London Terrace Tatler waxes eloquent about the Cowboys and their brave ponies.

 

When people hear I am from San Antonio they often ask if I hope the High Line becomes like the River Walk. The answer is no. The River Walk is designed for tourists, and my dream is that the High Line is first and foremost a well-loved park for New Yorkers that visitors may also enjoy.

But San Antonio now has the opportunity to be known for a wholly different kind of public space that's designed for residents, not tourists, and it makes an inspiring story.

The last, large tract of undeveloped land just a few miles from downtown's River Walk was the 311-acre Voelcker Dairy Farm. Most of the property had not been cultivated and looked like the land settlers saw when they first came to the area. Some of the trees there were standing at the time of the Battle of the Alamo -- all within the bounds of the tenth largest city in the country.  Plans were in the works to sell the property for housing developments.  Instead the City, at the Mayor's initiative, bought all 311 acres and set about to preserve the landscape and turn it into Voelcker Park, which will be the city's largest park.

And it keeps getting better. Them they hired the team of Steven Stimson Associates and D.I.R.T Studio to oversee the development of a master plan. D.I.R.T is led by one of my favorite landscape designers, Julie Bargmann.
Their winning competition entry is after the jump.

There's a public hearing this Monday, March 10, about another great New York adaptive reuse project that we love.

On Governors Island sits a dilapidated military fort with exciting potential.  It was built to defend the country against the British in the War of 1812 and has an identical blueprint to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.  The New Globe Theater Campaign wants to restore the fort and create an amazing performing arts center in the open courtyard.