It was the last day in the big smoke, we caught the subway out to the Chelsea District to visit the Market and walk the High Line followed by a visit to the Tenement Museum.
The district of Chelsea is a big gay area, rainbow flags were flying from the tenements and it is a hub for art galleries all things trendy. The Chelsea Market has an 8000 foot concourse and is a gourmet food lovers paradise.
The market is pretty swanky, there are individual shops selling all the best of everything green and organic, plus retailers selling everything from baskets to knives, cookware, stationary and olive oils.
Among these beautiful shops are eyecatching artworks from local artists which adorn the walls as you walk from one shop to another.
Rosie and The Operator were passing through, and purchased coffee and a bagel for breakfast as our destination was above the streets, in the newest park in New York…..and it was amazing!
The High Line is a 1.5 mile stretch of old, elevated train track that rises above the city and has been reclaimed as a breezy, bushy park.
Stairs and lifts give you access from the street, yet from street level it looks like an old iron victorian snake winding through the district.
The tracks vertically follow a road formally known as ‘Death Avenue’, today it is 10th Avenue. In the heyday of shipping, cargo was bought from the docks to midtown rail yards along that road….many a horse, pedestrian or driver who were too slow crossing the busy tracks came to a sticky end.
The City finally elevated the train tracks in the 1930s, trains blared along them until the mid 1980s….then industry abandoned the city centre and the tracks lay abandoned and unused. With the silence came the birds, wild grasses and urban creatures who just took over the area. It fell into disrepair and was slated for demolition in 2002 until a group of inspired artists and philanthropists convinced city officials to make it a sustainable city park. It has since proven so popular it is going to be extended.
It is great to get a higher vantage point in this city, the height of the buildings overwhelms and dwarfs you. Up on the high line when you look down on the city it opens up the view and gives you perspective to the city below.
Vibrant murals on walls and art works positioned along the walk make for interesting discoveries, just remember you are exposed to full sun and the day starts to heat up mid morning….Rosie is glad they came early because it would be a killer in the heat of the day!
The landscaping of the tracks is impeccable, hardwood decking has been used everywhere with concrete flower beds, beautiful furniture has been crafted and in some areas you can still see the train tracks level with the decking. The plantings did look abit scrubby and unkept as all wildflower beds do at this time of the year, but they had a gardening crew cleaning up plantings as we spoke.
We exited the tranquillity of the high line and headed through Soho to the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side.
http://www.tenement.org/about.html
Check out the website, it was the most awesome, informative and poignant 1 hour tour Rosie and The Operator has ever been on.
That evening we went into Times Square to do abit of souvenir shopping….you know, it has to be done…..The Metropolitan Opera was broadcasting a show live in the Square on every big screen you could see…..The sopranos were soaring and the tenors were booming……all in super screen high definition….CRAZY! Seats were laid out in the square and there were thousands of people sitting watching…..CRAZY
Cool photos