Walking the Line@Arch

Nicolai Ouroussoff writes:

“The High Line is one of the most thoughtful, sensitively designed public spaces built in New York in years.”

Photo: Iwan Baan, 2009, Courtesy of Friends of the High Line

The first phase of the High Line, which opened Tuesday, is a series of gardens and lounge areas that seem to float above the noise and congestion below.

Photo: Iwan Baan, 2009, Courtesy of Friends of the High Line

“A subtle play between contemporary and historical design, industrial decay and natural beauty sets the tone.”

Photo: Librado Romero/The New York Times

“A 30-foot-high steel deck, supported on big steel columns and sliced off brutally at one end, makes for a striking contrast with the green, leafy landscape atop it.”

Photo: Librado Romero/The New York Times

“The gardens have a wild, ragged look that echoes the character of the old abandoned track bed when it was covered with weeds, just a few years ago. Wildflowers and prairie grasses mix with Amelanchier bushes, their branches speckled with red berries.”

Photo: Librado Romero/The New York Times

“Occasionally, you catch a glimpse of a fragment of track lying in the grass, a carefully placed reminder of the High Line’s former life.”

Photo: Librado Romero/The New York Times

“What saves all this from becoming a saccharine exercise in nostalgia is the sophistication with which these elements are fused together. The benches, for example, have a sleek contemporary feel; they are made of simple wood slats that lock into the deck’s concrete planks.”

Photo: Librado Romero/The New York Times

“But as mesmerizing as the design is, it is the height of the High Line that makes it so magical, and that has such a profound effect on how you view the city.”

Photo: Iwan Baan, 2009, Courtesy of Friends of the High Line

“Lifted just three stories above the ground, you are suddenly able to perceive, with remarkable clarity, aspects of the city’s character you would never glean from an office window.”

Photo: Iwan Baan, 2009, Courtesy of Friends of the High Line

“At the same time, you are still close enough to make eye contact with people on the sidewalks, so that you never lose your connection to the surrounding street life.”

“It is the only place in New York where you can have this experience — one that is as unique, in its way, as standing on the observation deck of the Empire State Building.”

Photo: Iwan Baan, 2009, Courtesy of Friends of the High Line

@Source from: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/06/09/arts/20090609_HIGH_SLIDESHOW_index.html