It's a Keeper

One of the LWL* departed from our office several months ago, see Sayonara Sanaya, and is now working for a non-profit organization, Friends of the High Line -- which is dedicated to the preservation and reuse of the High Line - a 1.5 mile, elevated railway that runs along the West Side of Manhattan.

When I first heard about her new job & this Project, I thought, huh? This video explains the concept behind the Friends of the High Line and the conversion of the railway to a public park. As Edward Norton, on of the Members of the FHL explained, the new use for the rail "was a strange and rare fusion of urban preservation and historical preservation and environmental preservation," as a way to create green space in New York.

The Project is featured in the video and an article in the first issue of Good Magazine, Public Domain: The Next Generation of American Public Spaces. The article describes FHL:

The High Line was originally an elevated railroad built in 1929 to lift the industrial infrastructure of New York's waterfront above street level and to separate networks of trains from networks of pedestrians. But in 1980 the trains stopped and the High Line was locked.

* * * *

A few months ago, construction began on the new park version of the High Line, and it seems as though some of that wild urban atmosphere may endure. Following the slogan “Keep it,” the design will build off of the existing train structure, weaving in strands of wilderness and wood decking. Though the park is long and narrow, strategic variation of vegetation will allow you to get lost in it. And the project incorporates new technologies and materials, including the use of a recently invented transparent concrete, as well as lamps designed to reduce light pollution in the night sky. Sustainable features include new plantings of native species and tanks to store water runoff for irrigation.

So OK, I'm convinced. FHL sounds great (and GOOD looks good too). I can't wait until the park is done to explore it. Our former LWL may have made a good move career wise & it may be a great Project to work on -- but I'll bet our lunches are better.

* Ladies Who Lunch (also the name for my office)

Tags: News, Friends of the High Line, Good Magazine, Video