Morning View - Highline, 16th & 10th

Here's a cool shot of the Highline at W.16th Street and 10th Avenue. (What follows is old news to locals, of course.) The Highline is a decrepit elevated rail that runs for 22 blocks down the west side of lower Manhattan, terminating in the Meatpacking District. Trains stopped running on the Highline in 1980 and in 2001 Giuliani authorized its demolition, over the protests of preservationists. But smarter minds prevailed when the Friends Of The Highline succeeded in making their vision of the Highline as an elevated urban park a reality.

Work began last year and sometime next year the first segment will open to the public at the southern end. Here's a great history of the Highline. When completed, the Highline will be a scant 6.5 acres in size due to its narrowness, but still will be a gorgeous 1.5 mile long promenade through what are arguably the most exciting and dynamic urban neighborhoods in the country. I can't wait.