High Line Goes High Brow With Artsy Topic Tours

The High Line has been an irreplaceable asset to Chelsea from its start in June of 2009 and now The Highline higher-ups have organized a series of monthly Spotlight Tours with specific topics: horticulture, art, architecture and design, and history, each led by volunteer docents that are experts in their respective fields.

In addition to stimulating the neighborhood’s economy, encouraging a sense of naturalism, and boosting the region’s oxygen content with its abundant flora, it has always held a plethora of community events. From salsa dancing to star-gazing to public tours and volunteer opportunities, there is rarely not something going on up there. And even when there isn’t a particular event scheduled, the park is rife with visitors both local and from lands far, far away.

The first of the latest tour series launched September 3, a Horticulture tutorial led by Barbara Rohdie, who, fresh off a knee surgery, still performed unhindered with the aid of a nifty little orthopedic scooter. Rohdie, originally from the Bronx, has volunteered for the High Line for sixteen years, but has significant ties to Chelsea. Her father was the principal of PS11 on West 13th, and in the middle of the formal tour (which remained rather informal throughout) she paused to point out a birds-eye view to the balcony of Penn South where she had taken her wedding photos.

Her enthusiasm is infectious, and her knowledge admirable. Her favorite aspects of the High Line are how it started; she briefly synopsized the fascinating saga of how the train tracks were at one point elevated from their original ground-level state to the tressel that now constitutes the park, how it evolved into disuse and consequently disrepair, and was salvaged by the team behind the High Line (addresed in depth at the History Tour). Another aspect she appreciates is the “broken windows” phenomenon of the park (or lack thereof). One does not see smokers or litter, raucous behaviour or graffiti. There is an inherent sanctity to these grounds that demands reverence: a neatness that certainly does not carry over to the rest of the city. There is a “respect and awe and ownership when they come up here,” beams Rohdie, and the park is treated respectively. Thirdly, she was drawn by gardening, having had six acres in the Hudson Valley she shared with her late husband but had to relinquish when she moved back to the city. Her favorite High Line flora are the July-flowering elderberry, a striking bush year-round with its deep green and maroon foliage, and sprightly hellebores that are hardy harbingers of spring.

Karen Bakus of the Upper West Side joined the inaugural tour, and marveled “it was just wonderful. She (Rohdie) “blended anecdotes and history” in with the horticultural information that made the tour pass by much more quickly than its ninety minute duration implied. All attendees seemed more than conten with the tour, and many lingered afterward to chat with Rohdie, myself, and the other constituents.

Subsequent tours include the Art Tour, guided by Tom Harris, which takes a deep dive into the sometimes controversial art exhibits and installations along the High Line. September 17 features the Architecture & Design Tour, highlighting structures both on the High Line and visible from it, by Frederica Sigel, and next month with Bridget Gramling. The first History Tour will debut, as stated above, September 24, led by Richard Graziano and Brian Kilgannon, and will cover the fascinating evolution of the park from the early 20th century to present.

There are sixteen scheduled Spotlight Tours in total, each specialized topic presented monthly. A calendar of which can be found at: https://www.thehighline.org/events/?pages_loaded=3. Although registration for most of the tours “sold out” (the tours are free) in a flash, with the popularity of the events, Janelle Grace, the PR & Communications manager who also attended the tour, says they plan to continue the program next fall. Signing up for the newsletter is the best way to stay apprised of the park’s offerings, as well as volunteer opportunities. There are currently 37 hort volunteers helping to maintain the High Line’s glory, and you can apply to be one of the approximately eighty volunteers that keep the park going during a four-week registration period that opens up in February.

www.thehighline.org