Have you ever had to look up above your head to see a park? I don’t mean at a tree or an element of a park, I mean an actual park. Well, if you live or have visited New York City recently that is exactly what you can do, look up and see a public park that exists above street level and winds for over a mile throughout the west side of Manhattan. Robert Hammond and Joshua David are two of the main catalysts behind the very popular High Line Park project in New York City that has transformed an old 1930’s elevated railroad line into a linear public park.

I recently had the opportunity to attend a lecture given by “Friends of the High Line” Co-Founder Robert Hammond, who spoke about how this incredible project was founded, and the process behind its success. His talk was part of a University of Michigan Lecture Series in Ann Arbor that was attended by approximately 400 people, a mix of college students, professors, designers, and those interested in cool urban projects.

The project began in 1999 when Robert discovered the city was looking to tear down an old abandoned rail line, which to him had this great industrial look, and characteristics you just don’t see in new construction today. The massive steel elements with huge rivets and bolted connections have somewhat of a romantic design quality and remind us of the industrial age of the early 1900’s. Not only was the structure itself distinguishable but the beauty that was found on top of it as well. Natural vegetation which had sprung up over time and changed throughout the seasons, gave this a wild but elegant splendor against the hard urban fabric. When walking the old rails he was amazed at the ever-changing vistas of the city above, and the fact that you were isolated from the traffic below, an experience like none other.

So as a thirty something serial entrepreneur without a design background but visions of grandeur, Robert Hammond along with friend Joshua David began the “Friends of the High Line” and the process to preserve this iconic structure and turn it into a public park, for the people and by the people. The design of the park was a collaboration between James Corner Field Operations (Project Lead), Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and planting designer Piet Oudolf. It has been a 3 phased construction process with the second phase being completed this year. The first phase had a cost of approximately 150 million dollars but has brought revenue to the city of approximately 900 million dollars, many times more than originally anticipated. In 2011 over 3 million people visited the High Line making it the 4^th largest attraction in New York City, and one of the most successful projects ever.

I was very impressed by Robert and his passion and vision for this project. I have visited the High Line twice since its opening and I was quite captivated by the entire park. The design is beautiful, it’s very well maintained and it brimming with people, which is truly the ultimate measure of its success. So if you haven’t had the opportunity to visit this unique park, make sure to put it on your list of places to see.

For more about this project make sure to pick up a copy of Robert and Joshua’s book, titled “High Line, The Inside Story of New York City’s Park in the Sky.”