MARCH 16, 2012 WALKING THE HIGH LIFE AND THE HIGH LINE

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."

Albert Einstein

You must always keep moving. One the best hobbies is walking. Yes this is exercise which already should be part of your everyday exercise lifestyle. Now, you are going to pick a new place to walk. It is not just going around the block, the inside mall of your city when it is cold outside or Central Park. You always must be moving to keep your balance. Moving is part of life. Yes I am talking about moving your body, but I am always talking about moving your mind. That is why you need a hobby. Today I want you to focus on a new New York City Landmark -The High Line.

From http://www.thehighline.org/

The High Line was built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan's largest industrial district. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980.

Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park. The project gained the City's support in 2002. The High Line south of 30th Street was donated to the City by CSX Transportation Inc. in 2005. The design team of landscape architects James Corner Field Operations, with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, created the High Line's public landscape with guidance from a diverse community of High Line supporters. Construction on the park began in 2006. The first section, from Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street, opened June 9, 2009. The second section, from West 20th Street to West 30th Street opened in 2011. Now we hear the High Line will be extended even a little further.

Last Sunday, Rick and I walked the High Line. We haven't been there for more than 6 months. It was a beautiful sunny day, yet chilly. It was great to see New Yorkers and many Europeans walking the High Line. There are great plant species that have been planted. The flowers are blooming early which is not great for the bees, but nice to see. There are amazing crocus and large type willows. The grasses are dry but you know within weeks they will be green and lush again. There is a small new bird sanctuary.

You can read, walk, chat and even needle point or knit on the High Line. It is smoke free and no pets are allowed.

If you haven't been to the High Line I suggest you visit. Also check out their website above. Support the Project if you are a New Yorker. Go to the bookstore and buy the book.

High Line: The Inside Story of New York City’s Park in the Sky is the first comprehensive book about the High Line. Published by Farrar Straus and Giroux and designed by Pentagram, the book tells the story of the project with more than 200 photographs documenting the High Line's transformation and a narrative by Friends of the High Line Co-Founders Joshua David and Robert Hammond about how it all came to be. ( from http://www.thehighline.org/)

I am awaiting for my copy in the mail.

Until tomorrow...