1
Life in a big city such as New York is fast paced and exciting. Many people find it invigorating to be surrounded by tall buildings reaching for the sky and pulsing sidewalks alive with people, but others sometimes yearn for a sense of calmness that comes with being surrounded by natural greenery. Outside of Central Park, green space can be hard to find in New York. The last place you would think to discover natural beauty is on an old railroad bed, but that is exactly where one group of New Yorkers proposed making a park. Their proposal has become a successful oasis of green in a sea of gray pavement.
2
During the 1900s, rail transport was common around the United States, including within cities. Imagine a busy city street with people, early-model automobiles, and horse-pulled wagons. Then imagine freight trains running side by side with these other modes of transport. It sounds chaotic and dangerous, doesn’t it? City planners during the 1930s thought so, too. This is why they built an elevated railroad bed, called the High Line, 30 feet above the city streets. This way, trains could transport goods through this industrial portion of the city without endangering people on the street below.
3
As time passed, transporting goods by train became less popular. Interstate highway systems were built connecting the west to the east, and moving goods by truck became the most viable option. By the 1950s, there was a significant drop in rail traffic. The very last train to run on the High Line ran in 1980. Many people wanted the High Line demolished because it was negatively affecting property values in surrounding areas. Others hoped for a resurgence in rail traffic and pushed to reestablish rail service on the line.
4
The line sat undisturbed for many years, until 1999, when residents in neighborhoods surrounding the High Line formed the “Friends of the High Line.” They wanted to preserve the High Line for public use. City planners in New York learned of a similar structure in Paris, France, called the Promenade Plantée. Just like in New York, city officials in Paris had constructed an elevated rail bed to be used for freight traffic. And just like in New York, when rail transport fell out of favor, the rail bed was left abandoned. In the early 1990s, city officials transformed the rusty rail bed into a luscious green space filled with foliage, archways, and benches for the public to enjoy. This was the inspiration for New York’s High Line.
5
The Friends of the High Line’s idea gained momentum, and the city solicited design ideas from over 720 design teams. A design was chosen, and construction began in 2006 and continues today. Portions of the High Line were opened to the public in 2009 to great accolades. When the High Line park is fully complete, it will span one and a half miles and incorporate natural plantings, meandering pathways, and special lighting. Many of the old tracks were preserved and incorporated into the park’s landscape design, much to the delight of preservationists. Many believe the modern-day High Line provides much-needed respite from the chaos in the streets below, just like it did during the 1930s.
Inline Dropdown Question
Choose the word from each drop-down menu that BEST completes the sentence so that it describes a connection between New York and Paris that is mentioned in the text.
A raised bed was made for Query 1
in each city, but when the beds were no longer Query 2
, it was decided to use the beds for Query 3
.
1 responses
trains
wagons
horses
automobiles
2 responses
safe
attractive
useful
popular
3 responses
recreation
education
experimentation
transportation
1 answer
Based on the information provided in the text, the best choices for completing the sentence are:
So the completed sentence would read:
"A raised bed was made for trains in each city, but when the beds were no longer useful, it was decided to use the beds for recreation."
