Separated by a chicken-wire fence until this week, the first and second sections of the elevated park now blur seamlessly. Completed two years apart, they were designed as a whole. Hence the newly opened run between West 20th Street and West 30th Street is not a sequel, but the realization of the original vision. The now-familiar material palette and building components include concrete decking planks interlaced with greenery, wood benches sprouting out of the ground, cut-out stairwells with clear glass and Corten steel trim, wild and shaggy plantings, preserved iron tracks, and of course the hulking black steel structure built in 1934. Throughout the project, hard and soft elements are spliced artfully together.
![Along the elevated Flyover pathway, an intimate overlook branches off the at West 25th Street. © Iwan Baan, 2011.<br />Top image: Looking south from near the northern terminus, a long wooden bench curves with the pathway for an entire city block. © Iwan Baan, 2011. Along the elevated Flyover pathway, an intimate overlook branches off the at West 25th Street. © Iwan Baan, 2011.<br />Top image: Looking south from near the northern terminus, a long wooden bench curves with the pathway for an entire city block. © Iwan Baan, 2011.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2011/06/10/looking-moving-gathering-functions-of-the-high-line/big_349461_5011_2.%20High_Line_falcone_flyover_21.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
Top image: Looking south from near the northern terminus, a long wooden bench curves with the pathway for an entire city block. © Iwan Baan, 2011.
![Aerial View of the High Line looking south from West 30th Street. The elevated public park now stretches through West Chelsea from Gansevoort Street to West 30th Street. © Iwan Baan, 2011.
Aerial View of the High Line looking south from West 30th Street. The elevated public park now stretches through West Chelsea from Gansevoort Street to West 30th Street. © Iwan Baan, 2011.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2011/06/10/looking-moving-gathering-functions-of-the-high-line/big_349461_6104_3.%20High_Line_Aerial_31.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
The park extends the city’s multi-layered density that Rem Koolhaas called, “the culture of congestion.” The High Line is no antidote to city life; on the contrary, it fuels city life.
![Once a secret garden in the sky, the High Line has spurred new development along its edges, including Neil Denari’s HL23 (front left) and Della Valle Bernheimer’s 245 10th Avenue (middle right). Looking North from West 23rd Street, the path blends with plantings. © Iwan Baan, 2011. Once a secret garden in the sky, the High Line has spurred new development along its edges, including Neil Denari’s HL23 (front left) and Della Valle Bernheimer’s 245 10th Avenue (middle right). Looking North from West 23rd Street, the path blends with plantings. © Iwan Baan, 2011.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2011/06/10/looking-moving-gathering-functions-of-the-high-line/big_349461_9669_4.%20DSR%20Highline%2011-05%200752_UPD1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![The 26th Street Viewing Spur as seen from the street. A large glowing frame at the edge of the platform simultaneously evokes a billboard, and a proscenium arch, a picture window, a camera viewfinder. © Gideon Fink Shapiro. The 26th Street Viewing Spur as seen from the street. A large glowing frame at the edge of the platform simultaneously evokes a billboard, and a proscenium arch, a picture window, a camera viewfinder. © Gideon Fink Shapiro.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2011/06/10/looking-moving-gathering-functions-of-the-high-line/big_349461_1136_5.%20IMG_7035f1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![The High Line widens between West 22nd and West 23rd Street, allowing room for a tiered seating structure made from stacked Ipe wood and a lawn as well as the walkway. ©Iwan Baan, 2011. The High Line widens between West 22nd and West 23rd Street, allowing room for a tiered seating structure made from stacked Ipe wood and a lawn as well as the walkway. ©Iwan Baan, 2011.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2011/06/10/looking-moving-gathering-functions-of-the-high-line/big_349461_2020_6.%20DSR%20Highline%2011-05%200805_UPD1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![The continuous Radial Bench follows the curve of the High Line as the park approaches its northern terminus. The remaining section of the former railway (visible in the middle ground) has not yet been acquired for public use. ©Iwan Baan, 2011. The continuous Radial Bench follows the curve of the High Line as the park approaches its northern terminus. The remaining section of the former railway (visible in the middle ground) has not yet been acquired for public use. ©Iwan Baan, 2011.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2011/06/10/looking-moving-gathering-functions-of-the-high-line/big_349461_5419_7.%20DSR%20Highline%2011-05%201191_UPD1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![The northern end of the 23rd Street Lawn peels up to create a platform for lounging and sunbathing. Looking West, toward the Hudson River. ©Iwan Baan, 2011.
The northern end of the 23rd Street Lawn peels up to create a platform for lounging and sunbathing. Looking West, toward the Hudson River. ©Iwan Baan, 2011.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2011/06/10/looking-moving-gathering-functions-of-the-high-line/big_349461_6325_8.%20High_Line_lawn1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
Gideon Fink Shapiro
![The cutout entrance stair on the High Line at West 23rd Street, passing through old and new architecture. Materials include Corten steel, glass panels, cast concrete, Ipe wood, and plantings rooted in 18 inches of turf, supported by the original 1934 rail structure. © Gideon Fink Shapiro. The cutout entrance stair on the High Line at West 23rd Street, passing through old and new architecture. Materials include Corten steel, glass panels, cast concrete, Ipe wood, and plantings rooted in 18 inches of turf, supported by the original 1934 rail structure. © Gideon Fink Shapiro.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2011/06/10/looking-moving-gathering-functions-of-the-high-line/big_349461_4069_10.%20IMG_68491.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![The linear wildflower garden at dusk, with plantings illuminated and benches peeling up from the 12-in. (30.5cm)-wide concrete planks. © Gideon Fink Shapiro. The linear wildflower garden at dusk, with plantings illuminated and benches peeling up from the 12-in. (30.5cm)-wide concrete planks. © Gideon Fink Shapiro.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2011/06/10/looking-moving-gathering-functions-of-the-high-line/big_349461_3482_11.%20IMG_71161.JPG.foto.rmedium.jpg)