The bigger picture [The New York High Line]

A mile-long stretch of abandoned elevated rail line above the streets of New York City is enjoying a new lease of life as a public park. The High Line, running along Manhattan´s lower west side and accessed from a series of entrances at street level, occupies part of a former spur of the city´s Central Railroad which opened to trains in 1934 and connected directly to the area´s factories and warehouses. Although almost half the line was demolished in the 1960s, the remainder survived until a group of local residents began calls for it to be redeveloped as a public space at the end of the 1990s. Construction began in 2006 with $50m in backing from the city government and engineering design by Buro Happold. The southernmost section opened to the public three years later, with a The New York High Line second stretch following in 2011.