The High Line: Photos of NYC's Innovative New Elevated Park

The creation of the High Line has been a long struggle. Two New Yorkers, Joshua David and Robert Hammond, started the Friends of the High Line in 1999 to make a unique park on the abandoned railway, which was under threat of demolition.

The meandering paths of the High Line, designed by James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio and Renfro, are meant to be conducive to walking the fast-paced city at a slower pace.

The railway tracks were kept visible throughout many parts of the park, creating an interesting visual experience of old and new designs.

The juxtaposition of the peaceful greenery and busy city life made for some, um, interesting views.

The plants and flowers planted along the High Line were inspired by the greenery that popped up on the railway after the train traffic decreased on the railway in the 1950s and eventually stopped permanently in 1980.

An old loading dock that is adjacent to the High Line park has been transformed by Spencer Finch into an art space. The artist has colored 700 panes of glass to represent the water conditions on the Hudson River.

Lounge chairs and benches along the park's path make it easy for New Yorkers to relax and get away from it all. Some of those lounge chairs even roll along the train tracks.

A walk along the High Line offers new views of amazing old architecture in the city's Meatpacking District. Once industrial, the neighborhood that surrounds the park has changed drastically: Million-dollar apartments and high-end restaurants and clothing stores dot the landscape where packing plants and slaughterhouses once stood.

Workers and Friends of the High Line tend to the park's flowers and plants.