Introducing the High Line
New Preface to the Third Edition xiii
Prologue: The Story of the High Line, from Elevated Railroad to Linear Park xxii
Foreword by Rick Darke xxxiv
Joel Sternfeld xxxix
Designing the High Line xli
Piet Oudolf and the Plants of the High Line xlvi
Section One: Gansevoort–14th Street
The Slow Stairs, 5 • Friends of the High Line, 6 • Gansevoort Woodland, 9 • Mannahatta
Then and Now, 11 • The Manhattan Refrigerating Company, 12 • Washington Grasslands,
13 • Wildlife on the High Line, 14 • Whitney Museum , 15 • Gansevoort Pumping Station, 18
• Pier 52 and Day's End, 19 • Thirteenth Avenue and Gansevoort Peninsula, 20 • Pier 54 and
Little Island, 24 • The Meatpacking District, 27 • 14th Street Passage, 29 • P. F. Collier &
Son, 30 • The Louche Hotels, 31
Section Two: 14th–16th Streets
The Bog, 37 • Piers and Pile Fields, 38 • Pier 57, 39 • The Sundeck, 40 • Hoboken Terminal,
40 • Chelsea Market, 41 • The Northern and Southern Spurs, 44 • Merchants Refrigerating
Company Warehouse, 46 • Piet Oudolf's Favorites, 46 • The Spring Cutback, 48 • Other
High Lines, 50
Section Three: 16th–20th Streets
Death Avenue Amphitheater, 59 • The West Side Cowboy, 59 • Tenth Avenue Square, 62 •
Chelsea Grasslands, 63 • New Architecture along the High Line, Part One, 64 • Tenement
Houses, 68 • High Line Art, 70 • Astilbe, Allium 'Mt. Everest', Staghorn Sumac, 70 • The
Chelsea Piers, 71 • Grasses, 73 • Publishing and Printing, 75 • Breaking the Grid, 75 •
Clement Clarke Moore—a.k.a. Seal—Park , 76 • Guardian Angel Church, 77 • Holly on the
High Line, 78
Section Four: 20th–23rd Streets
West Chelsea, 81 • The Chelsea Thicket, 82 • General Theological Seminary, 82 • The Art Deco
Prison, 83 • The Life Savers Building, 84 • The Warehouse Law, 85 • Center of Amusements, 86
• The Spears Building and Seating Steps, 87 • The Prairie Lawn, 88 • The Chelsea Hotel, 90 •
The Empire Diner, 91 • The Gallery and Art Scene, 92 • London Terrace Apartments, 94 • The
Original People's Park, 95
Section Five: 23rd–26th Streets
The Slow Park, 99 • New Architecture along the High Line, Part Two, 99 • The Flyover, 102 •
Tree of Heaven: From Beloved to Bemoaned, 103 • From Global Grocer to World School, 104
• H. Wolff Book Manufacturing Co., 105 • Magnolias, 106 • The Modern Luxury Cruise, 107 •
The Great Spires, 108 • Water Towers, 110 • Heavy Metal in West Chelsea, 111 • Otis Elevator
Company, 112 • Pharmacy in the Sky, 114 • The Lighterage Era, 114
Section Six: 26th–30th Streets
The Wildflower Field, 121 • The High Line Zeitgeist, 121 • Peter Obletz, 123 • New York's
Lumberyard, 124 • The Radial Bench, 124 • "Make the Place Sittable", 125 • 30th Street Cut-
Out, 126 • The Central Stores Complex, 126 • The Morgan General Mail Facility and Abraham
Lincoln, 128
Section Seven: The Interim Walkway
The Crossroads, 135 • The Eastern Rail Yards and the Rail Track Walk, 135 • Keep It Wild: The
Interim Walkway, 137 • The Divine Wild Carrot, 139 • Hell's Kitchen, 140 • The Javits Center
Green Roof, 141 • 34th Street Entry Plaza and CSX Transportation Gate, 142
Section Eight: 30th–34th Streets
The Shed, 147 • Hudson Yards, 147 • Tenth Avenue Spur, 148 • Westyard Distribution Center,
150 • The Moynihan Connector, 151 • The Time Line, 154
Acknowledgments 157
Notes 161
Bibliography 175
Index 179
