Guest Park Special!
Last fall, we checked out the wild West Side's gestating new park called the High Line. The part we toured then still isn't open to the public, but now this part is, from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District (or "Pricey Bistro District") up to 20th Street in Chelsea. We walked it yesterday, and it's a delight.
The concept: Take the rusting elevated freight line that germinated into a long, green, aerial vacant lot along Manhattan's western edge, and turn it into a secluded oasis with killer views and river breezes. Keep the odd vibe of a post-industrial Eden, but add eco-friendly amenities and trendy design. Last Sunday, it was all gloriously vindicated by happy crowds who waited in a long line to ascend to this garden in the sky. There's even a sunbathing deck for pallid Manhattanites to bask in (although some eco-pamphleteers claimed that the rainforest wood used there is non-sustainable--gasp!)
The garden is a calculated evocation of the original urban-meadow takeover, but using posh perennials (like this echinacea) and ornamental grasses amid the cracks and tracks, with some patches of woodland.
On a building overlooking the line, an incredibly determined mullein showed them how it's done.
Speaking of views from the High Line, it doesn't get much more iconic than this: the Empire State Building and a water tower.
And speaking of water towers, the High Line (on Target's dime) threw one hell of a street fair down in the Meatpacking District to celebrate the park's opening, starting with this "water tower" full of free fresh lemonade, served up by buff kids in cute T-shirts. I avoid typical "sausage and tube socks" street fairs like the plague, but how can you argue with...
fire-eaters and stilt-walkers, plus...
balloon animals elevated to the level of performance art! (These "megamites" are created by a guy named Jason Hackenwerth, who gets his very loyal friends, like this guy, to help blow them up and wear them in public.)
STREET FAIR DOGS OF THE DAY
Happiness: Your bloggeuse admires a dachshund and a Chinese Crested and gets the whole pile of puppies just handed to her! The Crested looks like Paris Hilton and feels like UltraSuede. The dachsi was just happy to get his silky ears rubbed.