Fairy Goes Looking (at High Line & Beyond)

As the weather gets better and better (not that it has really been that bad this winter!) I reminisce about a lovely trip my husband, Ben, and I took to NYC and Boston to visit friends and architectural sites last July. The weather was a perfect, if unusual, 75 degrees. We walked all over Manhattan- up and down, side to side, day in and day out- seeing everything from Renzo Piano’s NY Times building, at least twice, to Norman Foster’s Hearst Tower and Allied Works’ Museum of Art and Design, to the 2 week old (at the time) High Line Park designed by Diller, Scofidio + Renfro. This was the highlight of our visit! It is an amazing and unique elevated promenade on a trestle that was once a railway line for delivery of cattle, out of use since 1980. From this quiet perch, well above street level, framed views of the water and views straight down Chelsea streets abound. It is an urban sanctuary, a contemporary architectural fairy tale gesturing in the direction of Olmsted and Vaux’s Central Park. Bring a picnic, a bottle of wine, a special friend or your own silence and absorb the interface between the natural and urban fabric NYC has to offer. If you are still and observant, you might just be found by a fairy like we were by this one who then followed us home to our children…  If you find yourself in NYC, be sure to find the High Line Public Park! The second of three phases is due to open in the fall ’10. www.thehighline.org