New York City’s High Line, which runs up Manhattan’s west side from 14th Street to 30th Street, has been generating buzz since it opened in 2009, and for good reason: The abandoned, elevated railroad tracks were reincarnated as a floating park that puts visitors eye to window with skyscrapers – and brilliantly utilizes Manhattan’s limited real estate.
The park could eventually reach 34th Street, but don’t wait until the project finishes to trammel the tracks. This summer presents at least three new reasons to head west – not the least of which is the brand new, 10-block section of the park that opened today.
Second Section: The High Line’s second section, from 20th to 30th street, nearly doubles the length of the park. Visitors will encounter a patch of manicured grass at 22nd Street, a steel catwalk rising eight feet above the rails from 25th to 26th streets, and a curved bench that twists with the tracks as they veer west at 29th Street.
Lot on Tap: Restaurateur Tom Colicchio (of Colicchio & Sons) is opening a beer garden underneath the new 30th Street section this month. Dubbed Lot on Tap, the outdoor bar will have space for 350 people to swill craft beers, including Brooklyn High Line Elevated Wheat, a Brooklyn Brewery concoction exclusive to the bar. A rotating collection of food trucks – Red Hook Lobster Pound (lobster rolls), Taim Mobile (falafel), Coolhaus (ice cream sandwiches), and Kelvin Slush (icy cold slushies) – will be on deck to fortify day drinkers.
The Whitney Museum: The Whitney Museum of American Art broke ground on its new, 20,000-square-foot building, scheduled to open in 2015 just below the High Line’s southern terminus, on Gansevoort Street between the park and West Street. The Renzo Piano-designed building will have 50,000 square feet of gallery space, including one 18,000-square-feet exhibition area (the world’s largest, column-free such room) and a series of rooftops for outdoor exhibits.
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