Seventeen years after the first section of the High Line opened, the elevated park is nearly complete. The final stretch of its garden, at the 34th Street end, is planted and scheduled to open next month, according to a report first published by the New York Times and relayed by Curbed.
“When the 34th Street garden opens, the entire High Line will be open and there will not be a construction shed anywhere on it for the first time in anybody’s memory,” Richard Hayden, the High Line’s senior director of horticulture, told the Times.
The new garden covers 2,561 square feet of planting beds and was designed by Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf, who also shaped the rest of the 1.5-mile park. It follows the same naturalistic approach, built around sedges, grasses and Heuchera villosa “Autumn Bride,” a coral bells variety whose white flowers rise above velvety light-green leaves in late summer and early fall. In all, 52 types of shrubs and trees will go in, planted by Field Operations, the landscape design team that worked with Oudolf on the rest of the park.
One feature sets this garden apart. It will be the only section of the High Line planted in the ground. Everywhere else, plantings sit in 18 inches of soil on the elevated structure. The setting is also far from pastoral, with a large parking lot on one side and a road on the other. Curbed describes the contrast between calming greenery and a gritty urban backdrop as quintessentially High Line.
The garden sits within the Rail Yard Preserve, the portion of the park running from 30th to 34th Streets between Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues. According to Friends of the High Line, that section originally received only minimal planting and maintenance, essentially weeding rather than the “curated intervention” that gave the rest of the park its lush feel. The 34th Street entrance will now be fully planted and will include improved signage at Twelfth Avenue intended to make it more welcoming to visitors.
The 34th Street garden is not the only horticultural update. The Prairie Terrace at 17th Street will reopen after nine years under scaffolding because of construction alongside it. That building work also changed the sunlight patterns on the terrace, so the new plantings were chosen to suit the new conditions. They include blackhawks big bluestem, great globe thistle, sea holly and black-eyed Susans.
The milestone lands against a backdrop of heavy change on Manhattan’s West Side. Chelsea and the surrounding area have been reshaped over the park’s lifetime, with starchitect-designed towers clustered around the rail park and the Hudson Yards enclave rising at its northern end. The garden’s completion shows that the High Line’s landscape took longer to mature than the buildings around it.
The source report did not give an exact opening date beyond “next month.”
Frequently Asked Questions
When will the High Line’s 34th Street garden open?
The 34th Street garden is scheduled to open next month, completing the High Line as the first time the entire park will be open with no construction shed on it. The article reports this timing from a New York Times report relayed by Curbed.
Who designed the High Line’s final garden at 34th Street?
The 2,561-square-foot garden was designed by Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf, who also shaped the rest of the 1.5-mile park. Field Operations is planting the 52 types of shrubs and trees.
Why is the 34th Street garden different from the rest of the High Line?
It is the only section of the High Line planted in the ground, while everywhere else plantings sit in 18 inches of elevated soil. The setting also sits between a large parking lot and a road.
Where is the 34th Street garden located on the High Line?
The garden sits within the Rail Yard Preserve, the portion running from 30th to 34th Streets between Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues. That section previously received only minimal planting and maintenance.
When will the Prairie Terrace at 17th Street reopen on the High Line?
The Prairie Terrace at 17th Street is reopening after nine years under scaffolding caused by nearby construction. New plantings were chosen to suit the changed sunlight conditions, including blackhawks big bluestem, great globe thistle, sea holly and black-eyed Susans.
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