ON THE HIGH LINE -- BOOK REVIEW -- PART 9

EXPLORING AMERICA'S

MOST ORIGINAL URBAN PARK

Chapter Seven: 30th -- 34th Streets

Annik La Farge's $29.95 gem explains High Line preservationists' goal to Keep It Wild:

"When the High Line opened in June 2990, its signature statement, printed on signs nestled in the plantings, was 'Keep It Wild.'"

"This has been the guiding mandate of the entire preservation project."

"The wildness of the High Line -- the self-seeded plants that grew, over time, into a meadow in the sky -- was the spirit of the place that photographer Joel Sternfeld captured and Friends of the High Line dedicated itself to preserving."

One segment of the old elevated rail line remains wild: the portion that runs at west 30th Street, with a short job east toward midtown."

"When the second half of the park opened in spring 2011 everyone could behold, for the first time, what the early visitors to the former elevated railroad had seen."

"The grasses still grow wild, and the unkempt quality of the railbed beckons with the whisper of history."

"We can really imagine trains passing by on those rusty old rails."

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