On the High Line: Exploring America's Most Original Urban Park - Softcover

LaFarge, Annik

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0500291411 ISBN 13: 9780500291412

Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 2014

Synopsis

A fully revised, updated edition of the award-winning guide to the High Line, the park that transformed an entire neighborhood and became an inspiration to cities around the globe

When the High Line opened in 2009 it was expected to attract around 300,000 visitors a year. In 2013, more than four million came. A survey by Travel & Leisure ranked it #10 on a list of the world’s most popular landmarks.

On the High Line, first published in 2012, is an engaging guide to everything a visitor sees when strolling through the park: the innovative gardens and their thousands of native and exotic plant species; the architecture, both old and new, industrial and residential; and a neighborhood whose colorful history includes the birth of the railroad, the Manhattan Project, S&M clubs, and the legendary Tenth Avenue Cowboy.

In 2014, the final half-mile section of the park will open, and visitors will encounter a very different High Line experience: stunning vistas of the Hudson River; a birds-eye view of the trains in the working Hudson Rail Yards; and the original, self-sown landscape that emerged in the abandoned rail bed and inspired the High Line’s early champions. Striking new views of the city will be opened throughout.

The updated edition includes sixteen new pages devoted to the final section of the park, with original photography, design renderings, and a new essay by Rick Darke. The book has also been updated throughout to reflect dozens of changes in the neighborhood since first publication.

About this title

About the Author:

Annik LaFarge is a lifelong New Yorker who currently lives along the High Line in Chelsea, where she writes the blog Livin’ the High Line.

Rick Darke’s many books include The Encyclopedia of Grasses for Livable Landscapes.

Review:

“Great . . . I thought there wasn't much I did not know about the High Line but I learned so much about the history and the neighborhood. People are going to love it.”
- Robert Hammond, co-founder, Friends of the High Line

“With hundreds of photos spanning the years before, during and after the site’s construction, the book lends context to the reclaimed urban space that has become one of the city’s most popular attractions.”
- The Wall Street Journal

“Fascinating. . . . A must for anyone who plans to visit the High Line.”
- Chicago Tribune

“Plenty of fascinating historical anecdotes.”
- The Baltimore Sun

“Engrossing. . . . Bursting with insights on history, botany, geography, architecture, and the arts, La Farge takes readers on a tour of the park from the ‘Slow Stairs’ at the southern end to the Tenth Avenue Spur. Gorgeous full-color photographs enhance the view on nearly every page. A marvelous guidebook for visitors and readers interested in New York City history or urban planning.”
- Publishers Weekly

“Reading this revised edition of the 2012 guide will make the casual tourist, and perhaps even an oblivious Manhattanite, seek out a section of the park (or maybe even the entire route) for a stroll. . . . The prize goes to the volume’s photographs. . . .Recommended for those living in or planning to visit New York City.”
- Library Journal

“[Annik LaFarge’s] book, with its plentiful facts and photographs and 3-foot-long foldout map, is the perfect guide to take . . .”
- Interior Design

“Packed with photos expressing exactly how much the High Line Park has contributed to city life...the book captures exactly the delightful design and planting [and] the spirit of each little section of the park...It has the gentle reader reaching for the internet to start looking for plane tickets.”
- The Independent UK

“Lafarge’s revised edition incorporates many changes, large and small, including those wrought by Hurricane Sandy.”
- Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries

“LaFarge gives a good account of the campaign to save and transform the High Line and along the way―quite literally―she drip-feeds us with a torrent of informative snippets, both generally municipal and specifically horticultural.”
- Hortus

About this edition

• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0500291411
• ISBN 13: 9780500291412
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 230