The High Line, New York

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A meandering pathway passes by old and new architecture in West Chelsea, between West 24th and West 25th Streets
©Iwan Baan, 2011

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23rd Street Lawn and Seating Steps, a gathering space between West 22nd and West 23rd Streets
©Iwan Baan, 2011

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Wildflower Field, looking North toward West 29th Street, where the High Line begins a long, gentle curve toward the Hudson River
©Iwan Baan, 2011

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Marking the opening of the new stretch of the High Line, Trisha Brown Dance Company staged a performance of Brown’s seminal work, ’Roof Piece’ from 1971, atop the surrounding buildings. New Yorkers gathered to watch the action
Roof Piece, 2011. Photograph by Kevin Vast, courtesy of the Trisha Brown Dance Company and Friends of the High Line

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As one dancer began improvising fluid movement signals, these were swiftly picked up by the next dancer, so that the piece appeared to ricochet across the rooftops
Roof Piece, 2011. Photograph by Kevin Vast, courtesy of the Trisha Brown Dance Company and Friends of the High Line

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Unable to see all the dancers at once, visitors strolled along the High Line to see them from different vantage points
Roof Piece, 2011. Photograph by Kevin Vast, courtesy of the Trisha Brown Dance Company and Friends of the High Line

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Trisha Brown is an icon of posmodern dance. With strong Minimal roots, she creates performances that defy the limits of traditional dance and incorporate aspects from the visual arts
Roof Piece, 2011. Photograph by Kevin Vast, courtesy of the Trisha Brown Dance Company and Friends of the High Line

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Brown’s work plays with the concept of space and physics, which lent it perfectly to the the architectural setting
Roof Piece, 2011. Photograph by Kevin Vast, courtesy of the Trisha Brown Dance Company and Friends of the High Line

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This performance - also marking the 40th anniversary of Trisha Brown Dance Company - was the first time the work has been staged in its original roof top context since its premiere in 1971
Roof Piece, 2011. Photograph by Kevin Vast, courtesy of the Trisha Brown Dance Company and Friends of the High Line

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Roof Piece was performed four times during the first days of the new section of the High Line’s opening, and is one of a series of works of art commissioned by Friends of the High Line
Roof Piece, 2011. Photograph by Kevin Vast, courtesy of the Trisha Brown Dance Company and Friends of the High Line

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A dancer peforms in front of a sculpture by artist Kim Beck
Roof Piece, 2011. Photograph by Kevin Vast, courtesy of the Trisha Brown Dance Company and Friends of the High Line

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The original performance of ’Roof Piece’ by Trisha Brown in 1971
Photograph by Babette Mangolte, courtesy of the Trisha Brown Dance Company

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Other art commissions for the new stretch of the High Line include an architectural sculpture by Sarah Sze, titled ’Still Life with Landscape (Model for a Habitat)’, 2011
Photograph by Sarah Sze, courtesy of Friends of the High Line

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It forms an open gateway that visitors can walk through, and its architecture acts as a bird, butterfly and insect observatory, with perches, feeding spots and bird baths
Photograph by Sarah Sze, courtesy of Friends of the High Line

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’A Rail Road Artifact’ by Joel Sternfeld (30th St, May 2000, 2000/2010) is the first work in Landscape with Path, a series of photographs that will be presented on a large billboard next to the High Line at West 18th Street
Photograph by Bill Orcutt, courtesy of Friends of the High Line

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Opened in June 2009, the first stretch of the High Line park runs between Gansevoort Street and West 20th Street. The Chelsea Grasslands is a prairie-like lanscape between West 19th Street and West 20th Street
©Iwan Baan, 2009

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The High Line is elevated 30ft above the street. This photograph looks east towards West 20th Street
©Iwan Baan, 2009

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Gansevoort Slow Stair access point on the corner of Gansevoort Street and Washington Street
©Iwan Baan, 2009

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Gansevoort End, Plaza, and stairs at Gansevoort and Washington Streets
©Iwan Baan, 2009

From the archives
This photograph shows the High Line in 1934, the year it opened to trains
© Friends of the High Line, 2011

From the archives
The High Line was constructed in order to lift dangerous freight trains off the streets. Photographed from West 17th Street, looking north, in 1934
© Friends of the High Line, 2011

From the archives
When the trains stopped running in 1980, the tracks lay unused for three decades and it became a wild, self-seeded habitat, which inspired its transformation into a park. Photographed at 30th Street on a morning in May, 2000
Joel Sternfeld © 2000