The Highline is a continuous 1.5 mile elevated park that reimagines the West Side Elevated rail line as a world-class public space.

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Tenth Avenue, a bustling trade and grocery district in the mid 1800s, originally had on grade train lines. With the volume of trains per day, and street traffic, pedestrians were often taking their life into their own hands in order to cross the street. The New York Central Railroad would eventually hire crossing guards mounted on horseback to alert pedestrians of coming trains. Known as the West Side Cowboys, these men worked to keep the area safe. In time the city would prohibit at grade rail crossings and would invest in elevating the railroad in order to improve conditions along Tenth Avenue.

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The elevated line, which opened in 1934, would become a key artery for the city’s food supply. Distribution factories would build along the tracks and create floors at track level to easily load and unload trains with goods. With the investment in the national highway system and increase in trucking, the traffic atop the West Side Elevated Line dwindled leading to its closure in the 1980s.

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The tracks sat vacant for years, allowing the area to grow over with trees and grasses creating a serene escape from the hustle of the city below. Many people who lived in the west side saw the line as an abandoned eyesore and the structure was slated for demolition in 1999. An advocacy group who saw the potential to reuse the tracks as a rails to trails green space began, known as Friends of the Highline.

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With added support from both the city and the neighborhood, Friends of the Highline held a design competition to reimagine the The Highline as a park. Landscape architects James Corner Field Operations, architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and planting designer Piet Ouldolf were selected to transform the space.

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The new park opened its first portion in 2009. The second section to 30th street would open in 2012 and the third phase, around Hudson yards, opened in 2014.

While the park was being planned, nearby developers understood the value the land adjacent to the tracks would soon be. Development speculation skyrocketed creating an array of interesting buildings of all shapes and sizes. Many of these buildings and their design intent and history are highlighted in this guide.