Opening Season Update on the High Line
The new section of the High Line is now open, connecting three neighborhoods along Manhattan's West Side. We have some exciting highlights to share with you since we cut the ribbon on the new section two weeks ago.
Mornings and Evenings Are the Best Times to Visit the High Line
Since the new section opened, the High Line has experienced a record number of visitors. More than 220,000 people have visited the new section since it opened!
Weekday mornings and evenings are our favorite times to stroll the park. Our neighbors and fellow New Yorkers know this is when there are fewer crowds and the park is at its most tranquil.
Weekends continue to be the busiest time on the High Line, but now that the park is twice as long, running one mile along the West Side, the additional space means we have not reached capacity as many times as we did when we opened the first section of the park in 2009. On two occasions, both on the weekends between 3:00 and 6:00 PM, the high volume of people in the park forced us to limit entry, but the crowds dispersed quickly and people waiting to enter were able to do so within 30 minutes.
Sustaining the 23rd Street Lawn
The 23rd Street Lawn is a favorite new gathering space on the High Line, offering open green space for picnicking, sunbathing, and people-watching.
In keeping with our commitment to sustainable park operations, the Lawn is maintained with monthly applications of compost tea and organic amendments. Restoration also plays a major role in sustaining the Lawn. To this end, the Lawn will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays throughout the busy season to allow the grass to recover. The Lawn may also be closed on additional days following periods of heavy rain or foot traffic. This will help keep the Lawn a welcoming green space all season long.
Please follow us on Twitter or check the High Line Web site for updates on park operations.
New High Line Food Vendors for the 2011 Season
We have a new group of food vendors who are partnering with us this summer to bring welcoming, seasonal food to park visitors that is as unique as the High Line itself.
The vendors were selected through an open, competitive process as part of High Line Food, a program that connects the park and its visitors to the bounty of the region's sustainable farms and purveyors.
All season long, park visitors will find the following food vendors on the High Line: Blue Bottle Coffee, The Green Table, La Newyorkina, Melt Bakery, and People's Pops. Learn more.
Purchasing food from our vendors helps the High Line; a portion of the proceeds from sales supports the maintenance and operations of the park, helping us keep the High Line thriving as a safe and welcoming public space.
The Lot Is Open: Eat, Drink, Play under the High Line
Visitors love the new temporary public plaza located under the High Line at 30th Street and 10th Avenue. More than 20,000 people visited The Lot the first weekend it opened!
The Lot is where you can find a rotating series of food trucks, free events, and The Lot on Tap, a new outdoor bar operated in partnership with Colicchio & Sons.
Please follow us on Twitter or check the High Line Web site for the daily schedule of food trucks and updates on free events at The Lot.
Visit Rainbow City Before It Closes on July 5
Before it's too late, we encourage you to visit Rainbow City, a temporary art installation by artists FriendsWithYou and presented by AOL. Located within The Lot, Rainbow City features interactive, colorful, inflatable sculptures, including a bouncy house for people of all ages. Rainbow City will be installed at The Lot until mid-July, at which time we will most likely have news of another large-scale installation to share with you.
More Than 100 Public Programs Coming Up This Season
We were thrilled to see many of you last week at Step to the High Line, a festival of youth step performances presented in partnership with Youth Step USA and Hudson Guild, our local community center. More than 2,000 people came to the High Line to see our city's teens perform! We hope you will join us this summer at one of the many free public programs we have planned, including stargazing, walking tours, bird-watching, poetry readings, nature scavenger hunts for kids, arts workshops, live salsa music and dancing, and more.
Future of the High Line at the Rail Yards
Now that the new section of the park is open, we are getting lots of questions from visitors about the section north of West 30th Street, called the High Line at the Rail Yards. Still overgrown with wildflowers and grasses, the final section represents one-third of the entire High Line (about one-half mile), and it is still owned by the railroad company, CSX Transportation, Inc.
There is still more work to be done before it is opened to the public, but we took a major step forward this month. At the ribbon-cutting for Section 2, The Tiffany & Co. Foundation launched the Rail Yards Challenge, a fundraising effort to drive the future design and capital construction of the High Line at the Rail Yards, and build an endowment for long-term park maintenance and operations. The Foundation pledged $5 million, and long-time supporters of the High Line, Donald Pels and Wendy Keys pledged an additional $5 million to double the challenge grant.
We hope you will join us in the coming months to help realize our collective vision of transforming the entire High Line into public open space.
Please Share Your Feedback
We have heard positive comments from many of our visitors in recent days, and we hope you will continue to share your experiences with us. Please email us at info@thehighline.org with comments and questions. If you have great photos from your visit, please upload them to our High Line Flickr Pool.
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The High Line in the Press
The High Line has been in the news a lot in the past few weeks. Here are some of our favorite pieces:
The Second Phase of the High Line Is Even Better Than the First Fast Company
High Line Phase II - Check Out This Horticulture Gothamist
Can't Wait for the Sequel New York Magazine
Here Now, An Impressionistic Stroll Up Phase 2 of the High Line Curbed
High Line, NYC's Garden in the Sky CBS News
High Line Is a Reminder of the Impermanence of New York New York Post
As the High Line Grows, Business Falls in Love with a Public Park WNYC
The High Line's Beery Locavorism New York Times
High Notes: New Art on the High Line T Magazine
It's a Rail Shame if This Is the End of the Line New York Post
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A Bittersweet Farewell and a New Chapter for High Line Art
Last week, we bid farewell to Lauren Ross, our Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Curator & Director of Arts Programs. When Lauren first came to us in 2009, we were in the final stages of construction on the first section of the High Line, and Creative Time was helping us install our first public art installation: A River That Flows Both Ways by Spencer Finch.
Since then, Lauren has created and expanded High Line Art, commissioning temporary public art that responds to the distinct character of the High Line. During her time with the High Line, Lauren commissioned ten site-specific installations, including a photography and performance piece by Demetrius Oliver, sound art by Julianne Swartz, and sculptures by Kim Beck, Richard Galpin, Valerie Hegarty, and Sarah Sze. She has also facilitated partnerships between Friends of the High Line and external organizations, like Creative Time, Performa, and the Trisha Brown Dance Company, to introduce sound art installations, dance performances, family arts workshops, more. Lauren's work was recently acknowledged by the International Association of Art Critics, which awarded High Line Art first place for Best Show in a Public Space.
Lauren leaves the High Line for Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she will serve the Philbrook Museum of Art as the Nancy E. Meinig Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. The search is underway for new curator to lead High Line Art and build on Lauren's success, and we aim to announce her replacement in the coming weeks. We will miss Lauren greatly at the High Line, and we wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.
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Tickets on Sale: Summer Party on the High Line
Join us on Tuesday, June 28, from 7:00 to 10:00 PM for our first annual Summer Party on the High Line.
Tickets begin at $150, for a limited time.
The Summer Party on the High Line promises to be a memorable night, including sunset drinks on the Diller - von Furstenberg Sundeck, delicious food by Bite catering, and dancing into the night with DJ Jesse Marco.
Thanks to the generous support of Coach Men's Collection, 100% of all ticket sales goes directly toward the maintenance and operations of the park. We hope to see you there!
BUY TICKETS
Questions? Email Alicia King at alicia.king@thehighline.org or call (212) 206-9922.
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June 29: Wild Wednesday Lady Bug Launch
Families, join us on Wednesday, June 29 at 4:00 PM for Wild Wednesday, a weekly nature scavenger hunt and activity for kids.
This week, discover why ladybugs are a gardener's best buddy, and help us release 3,500 of them into the park.
This High Line Program is free and open to kids ages four and up. No RSVP required. Visit our Event Calendar for details.
This High Line Program is presented by MetLife.
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Best of the Blog, Facebook, and Twitter
Here are the past few weeks’ most popular items from the High Line Blog, Facebook, and Twitter.
Follow the High Line and stay connected.
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Sustain the Entire High Line
Now that we have opened Section 2 of the High Line, this mile-long park in the sky extends all the way to West 30th Street.
Your membership support
today will help us sustain the entire High Line throughout the busy summer to come.
To recognize your support in this critical year, we're proud to offer special 2011 membership benefits, including a new High Line map, now including Section 2 (member gifts of $40)...an invitation to a members-only tour of the rail yards (rail gifts of $150)…a special, limited-edition High Line keychain (beam gifts of $350 or more).
Become an Opening Season Member—make your membership gift before June 30!
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