The High Line

The High Line was an elevated rail line built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public/private project called the "West Side Improvement." It lifted rail freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing the dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan's largest industrial district. The last train ran on the High Line in 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 worked in partnership with the City of New York to an elevated public park.

In 2005 New York City took ownership of the High Line from CSX Transportation, Inc., which donated the structure. Construction of the High Line park began in April 2006. On June 9, 2009 Section 1 (Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street) opened, and then on June 8, 2011, Section 2 (West 20th Street to West 30th Street) opened. There is still a section of the High Line which may eventually be converted to the High Line park at 30th Street.

The Friends of the High Line, in partnership with the City of New York run and maintain the elevated High Line public park. More than two million people, residents and tourists, visit the High Line annually.