Saturday, February 20, 2010

Sky Gardens

The buildings in NYC reach for the sky and so do the gardens. 

The High Line
Built in the 1930s to lift freight trains 30 feet into the air to make the streets safer, the High Line fell into disarray.  However, in the summer of 2009, it opened after undergoing a multi-million dollar reconstruction, bringing a new luster to the Meatpacking district.  Strolling along this former track gives you a unique vantage point to the city as you are no longer on the ground, but not too high up to be disconnected from the world beneath you. (Entrance at Gansevoort & Washington Street Map)

 




Rockefeller Center
Best known for its Christmas tree, ice staking rink, The Today Show and high-end shops, Rockefeller Center is also home to an impressive collection of sky gardens.  Perched 140 feet up in the air, The Sky Gardens of Rockefeller Center were constructed with two thousand species of plants, three thousand tons of soil and pipes and pumps to circulate ninety-six thousand gallons of water for the streams and fountains ("Great Fortune," Daniel Orkent). While seldom open to the public, visitors can see the gardens from Rockefeller Center's observation deck, Top of the Rock.  The gardens below are on 5th Avenue between 49th & 50th street on top of the buildings.
 
 
 

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