10th Ave Between 17th St and 15th St

I was really excited to finally get myself over to the west side to see what all this Highline hoopla was about. Sure, I've walked by the area many times but besides seeing the abandoned elevated structure from a few blocks away, I had never paid much attention – which is insane, because this sort of stuff is completely up my alley.  I mean, an abandoned RAIL line (I'm a Subway nut in my free time) just sitting there for years, only to be taken over and repurposed as a park (see Curbed's coverage). How could I not be enamored?

As I turned the corner at 17th street, I was thrilled to see actual construction happening.  It was quite the flurry of activity; with debris falling into dumpsters, and men scaling the structure above. From down below, the whole thing looks great. I can't vouch for how everything appeared prior to all this rehab, but the paint seemed fresh, and the structure sound. I can't wait until it's all complete.

Of course, while there's more to this stretch of 10th ave than the highline, it's certainly dominated by it. It gives an interesting taste as to what Manhattan was like when elevated lines roamed the avenues - creating a bizarre, shadowy world...almost like the multi-level city scape in The Fifth Element.

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