In March 2000, Joel Sternfeld began photographing the High Line, an abandoned elevated railway which runs down the
West Side of Manhattan. Sometimes a river of grass, sometimes more like Canadian wheat fields, this unique ruin
permitted Sternfeld to contemplate nature within the city. Walking the path of this true-time landscape, Sternfeld
experienced the seasons as they unfolded in a meandering ribbon within the vertical architecture of New York City, and
he created a suite of images marked by quiet grace and formal rigour. Walking the High Line played a pivotal role in
the struggle to preserve the High Line. In 2009 the High Line Park opened to overwhelming public interest and delight.
The process of its transformation is also documented in this book in a timeline that traces from the historical pre-High-
Line days to the present. Sternfeld’s book is thus a unique record of the High Line at a time when it faced demolition,
and this reprint follows several sold-out editions.
Walking the High Line
von Joel Sternfeld
