The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long elevated rail structure set to open in 2008 as a public open space. Running through the West Side neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell's Kitchen, it was built in the 1930s to remove dangerous trains from Manhattan’s streets. No trains have run on it since 1980. Friends of the High Line (FHL), a community-based 501(c)(3) non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. FHL is currently working with the City of New York to transform the structure into a park. The High Line south of 30th Street was donated to the City by CSX Transportation in 2005. The team of Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro is now at work on a design for the High Line’s public landscape. Construction began in spring 2006. The first phase (Gansevoort Street to 20th Street) is projected to open in 2008. For more information, and to see designs for the new park, please visit www.thehighline.org.
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