Recapping High Line Event at the Center
Guest Post by Donald Conrad
On Tuesday, February 7, we had the delightful opportunity to listen to Joshua David and Robert Hammond, co-founders of Friends of the High Line, share their extraordinary journey with us. I say extraordinary because what they have accomplished over the last 13 years could be described as a Herculean. Their endurance and tenacity has given the city one of the most unique park settings found in the world – the park in the sky.
Photo by Lester Echem
Had some very powerful forces succeeded, the High Line would have been obliterated from the landscape from our great city and future generations would not even remember that it had existed. A perfect storm of influences including businesses, landowners and political figures converged to eliminate the High Line. In fact, most people do not realize just how close we came to losing this park. Mayor Giuliani had actually signed the demolition order to have it razed and only because David and Hammond filed a legal challenge was that order stayed.
Joshua David and Robert Hammond, Co-Founders, The High Line; Photo by Lester Echem
We must remember, however, that at that time the High Line was nothing like it is today. It was illegal to even step foot on the abandoned elevated railway. Fenced off and overgrown with wild brush, many city elders and landowners were pressing for something to be done with it and, unfortunately, eliminating it was favored over all other suggestions. Enter David and Hammond.
Photo by Lester Echem
A community board meeting was scheduled in 1999 to discuss the future of the High Line. David and Hammond, who did not know each other, had read a recent New York Times article about the line and it sparked their interest to attend the meeting. Hammond remembers thinking that David “looked cute” and introduced himself at the end of the meeting. Within months this relationship produced the organization known as Friends of the High Line. Their new book, High Line: The Inside Story of New York City’s Park in the Sky, tells the rest of the history, but a history that is not yet finished.
David and Hammond are delightful individuals whose genuine passion for the High Line is quite evident as they discuss their project. Although both are referred to as partners on the project, they are not a couple. The two exhibited a lighthearted and comedic tone as they presented their work. At one point Hammond put up a photograph of himself standing on the High Line and then, without the slightest hesitation, explained the photo by saying, “This has nothing to do with the presentation. I just thought I looked hot in this photo,” to the laughter of the crowd. The two kept the standing-room-only crowd smiling and laughing throughout their hour-long presentation.
Their presentation focused entirely on the LGBT influences that shaped the design of the park. LGBT individuals throughout the community were involved in the planning of the park and more importantly were active participants in Friends of the High Line. David and Hammond readily admit that without this support, the High Line would be vastly different from what it is today. In fact, LGBT individuals in the community suggested many of the elements that make the park unique.
As David described the design meetings held with the architectural firm, Diller Scofidio + Renfro (the firm that is designing the new business district for Fire Island), you couldn’t help but envision something out of a comedy sketch. The Friends of the High Line board would make requests for various park elements and the designers would respond with the feasibility and cost. One such element was the glass wall of the toilets that allowed visitors outside the toilet to see hazy or cloudy images of people inside facilities. To this, a very pro-LGBT designer responded with that very politically incorrect phrase, “That’s so gay,” though it was meant only in lighthearted jest. He began to use the phrase in subsequent meetings and it became an ongoing joke. Then the board asked for something no other park in the world uses, dimmer switches for the outdoor lighting, and the designer responded with, “Now that’s really gay.” Again the audience howled with laughter. But, think about it, who else other than an LGBT individual would think of adjustable mood lighting for a park?
Overall, the time spent listening to David and Hammond was time very well spent. The High Line will become a treasured part of the city and we can be proud that it grew from and flourishes because of the deep roots in the LGBT community that sustain it. We owe these gentlemen a debt of sincere thanks for their efforts.
However, the work is not finished. The third and final segment of the High Line must still be developed. This segment will take the High Line right down along the Hudson River. At present we can only imagine the breath-taking vistas that it will provide. David and Hammond ask that everyone participate in finishing and maintaining the park by joining Friends of the High Line.
For more information, please visit www.thehighline.org where you can also purchase David and Hammond’s new book, High Line, The Inside Story of New York City’s Park in the Sky. Remember, purchasing the book through their website will ensure that all proceeds from the sale go directly to Friends of the High Line.