The High Line is an abandoned 1.45 mile section of the former elevated freight railroad of the West Side Line that runs south from 34th Street near the Javits Convention Center to Gansevoort Street in the West Village. Built by the New York Central Railroad in 1930, the original 13-mile long project was designed to go through the center of blocks, connecting directly to factories and warehoses. The rise of interstate trucking in the 50's led to a decline in rail traffic, and parts were torn down during the 1960s. Trains stopped running on the line in 1980, and a 5-block stretch was demolishedin 1991. Privately owned by CSX Transportation, it was left to a state of disrepair, with wild grass and plants growing along most of the route.
In 1999, Joshua David and Robert Hammond founded a community-based group, the Friends of the High Line (FHL), to advocate for the High Line's preservation and reuse as public open space. In 2003, FHL launched "Designing the High Line", an open, international ideas competition, with a goal of attracting visionary design proposals. CSX turned over the line south of 30th Street to the New York City government, who in 2004 committed $50 million to established an elevated park under the guidance of andscape firm Field Operations and architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The southern section, from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street will open to the public in 2009. CSX still owners the northermost section, above 30th Street.
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