Maybe you’ve experienced New York’s “High Line” Park, a 1.45-mile-long linear park traveling through parts of lower Manhattan built using abandoned New York Central elevated railways. The tracks were removed, grass and flowers planted and new walkways were created on the old elevated line threading between buildings in Lower Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.
Philadelphia will soon have something similar and very cool, a 3 mile long overhead and underground linear park, built on unused Reading Railroad elevated railways above and railway tunnels below ground that run from Brewerytown through Center City to Northern Liberties, passing the Art Museum, Community College, under Broad Street near the old Inquirer Building and through historic areas bordering Old City. Funding has been obtained for the first phase of construction. Phase One of the project is planned to be completed by 2018. More info can be found on the website: http://www.therailpark.org. Check out the video below.
by Jerry Wells from stories on therailpark.org and philly.curbed.com
