High Line Portrait Project

I ran across this display unexpectedly while carousing Chelsea on 10th Avenue near the High Line - a 1.45 mile elevated rail structure running through the Westside of Manhattan from the Meatpacking District all the way to 30th Street. Click here to see a short film. This rail line was originally built in the 1930s to elevate trains from the city streets. The line, which has been unused since 1980 and leaving an abandoned elevated structure overgrown with weeds, is being converted to a huge park to open in 2008. Until recently, the High Line has been unknown to many New Yorkers and visitors but this unique project promises to be a major contribution to parkland and quality of life in the city. It can be easily seen overhead on 10th Avenue in Chelsea. From the projects website: "The High Line Portrait Project was inspired by the many High Line supporters who have helped bring the project from an unlikely dream to a reality. When Friends of the High Line was founded in 1999, the High Line was a rusty industrial relic under threat of demolition. Now construction is underway to transform the structure into a one-of-a-kind public open space, the first section of which is expected to open in 2008. Photographer Tom Kletecka created portraits of more than 800 High Line supporters in front of a backdrop by Joel Sternfeld. Each participant was asked to share his or her dream." Click here to go to their site to view the photos ...