In 2009, a section of the High Line running from Gansevoort to Twentieth St. opened as a city park, stunningly designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and landscape architects James Corner Field Operations. Between 1934 and 1980, the elevated railway line supplied passage for freight trains from West Thirty-Fourth to Spring St., then fell into disrepair in the 1980s and 1990s before being rescued by the Friends of the High Line, who worked tirelessly for years to turn the tracks, which were overgrown by weeds and covered in trash, into a usable public space.
And what a public space it is, a gorgeous walkway filled with colorful plants and trees, smartly designed benches and loungers, and a fabulous viewing platform that looks out over Tenth Ave. This summer, the park is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary as one of New York City’s unique treasures, hosting free exercise classes, walking tours, stargazing, children’s workshops, live music and dance, and more. (Advance RSVPs are recommended for most events.) There’s also a guided meditation that you can download here.
As you make your way across the High Line, you’ll find new labels identifying much of the flora while also encountering site-specific art installations, including Tishan Hsu’s car-grass-screen-2 and car-body-screen-2 (be sure to scan the QR code), Oliver Lee Jackson’s five-part A Journey, Giulia Cenci’s secondary forest, Karon Davis’s Curtain Call, Lily van der Stokker’s Thank You Darling, Kapwani Kiwanga’s On Growth, Pamela Rosenkranz’s Old Tree, and Cosima von Bonin’s WHAT IF THEY BARK?
Below are the free events scheduled into September; advance RSVP is recommended.
Karon Davis’s Curtain Call takes a well-deserved bow in honor of the High Line’s fifteenth anniversary (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Ongoing
High Line Tour: From Freight to Flowers, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:00, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:00 am, Gansevoort St.
Daily through September 10
Alberta Whittle: “Salutations to Soothe Weathered Hearts,” featuring screenings of A Black footprint is a beautiful thing and RESET, Fourteenth St., 5:00 - close
Tuesday, July 16
through
Tuesday, August 27
Stargazing, with the Amateur Astronomers Association, Little West Twelfth St., Tuesday at 8:30 (thirty minutes before park closes)
Friday, July 19
through
Friday, August 30
Conversations with Nature: High Line x Ruinart Tours, Gansevoort St., Fridays at 5:30
Saturday, July 20
Family Art Moment: Dream Wilder with Us, ages 5–12, Twenty-Third St. Lawn and Seating Steps, 10:00 am – noon
Wednesday, July 24
Zumba with Maria Assis, High Line Spur at Thirtieth St., 6:30
Saturday, July 27
Dream Wild: Family Art Workshops, ages 5–12, Fourteenth St., 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Wednesday, July 31
Seated Conversations — Rooted in NYC: Happy Anniversary Year, High Line!, High Line Spur at Thirtieth St., 6:30
Saturday, August 3
Dream Wild: Family Art Workshops, ages 5–12, Fourteenth St., 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Friday, August 9
Senior Stretch with Teresa Cuevas, Little West Twelfth St., 12:30
Saturday, August 10
Dream Wild Family Workshops featuring Ayo Nish!, ages 5–12, Fourteenth St., 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Wednesday, August 14
Afro-Brazilian Dance with Maria Assis, High Line Spur at Thirtieth St., 6:30
Thursday, August 15
¡Arriba! with Los Hacheros, Nievas Dance Studio, and DJ Mickey Pérez, between Fifteenth & Sixteenth Sts., 6:00 – 9:00
Saturday, August 17
Chang Yuchen’s “Tree Hole (your secret is safe with me),” 树洞（我会保守你的秘密), site-specific performance in dialogue with Pamela Rosenkranz’s Old Tree in which visitors are invited to share a secret with the artist, who will be acting as a tree hole, High Line Spur at Thirtieth St., 3:00 - 6:00
Wednesday, August 28
Tai Chi with Pin Pin Su, High Line Spur at Thirtieth St., 10:30 am
Seated Conversations: From Freight to Flowers and Local History, Twenty-Second St.
Seating Steps, 11:00 am
Wednesday, September 11
Afro-Brazilian Dance with Maria Assis, High Line Spur at Thirtieth St., 6:30
Wednesday, September 18
Seated Conversations: Wild by Design Since 2009, Twenty-Second St. Seating Steps, 11:00 am
Friday, September 20
Creative Movement with Teresa Cuevas, High Line Spur at Thirtieth St., 12:30
happy birthday, high line! elevated railway park turns fifteen this summer