Sometimes I take a break from pet photography and bring my camera out to document the wonderful things I see and do.  For Father’s Day 2011, my dad said that he wanted to go to New York City and walk The High Line, a public park built on a 1.45-mile-long elevated rail structure.  We also visited Chelsea Market and The Lot on Tap, a new beer garden below The High Line.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this amazing example of historic preservation, restoration, and innovative design, here is some information:

“The High Line was built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan’s largest industrial district. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park.

The project gained the City’s support in 2002. The High Line south of 30th Street was donated to the City by CSX Transportation Inc. in 2005. The design team of landscape architects James Corner Field Operations, with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, created the High Line’s public landscape with guidance from a diverse community of High Line supporters. Construction on the park began in 2006. The first section, from Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street, opened June 9, 2009. The second section, from West 20th Street to West 30th Street, is projected to open in spring, 2011.” (Source: High Line History)

More info: http://www.thehighline.org/

For a review of The High Line and all its foodie features, check out this guest blog post by my sister Sara, the blogger behind NYC Nom Nom.