9 public gardens in unique places

Just over two miles from the suspended gardens of The High Line, in New York City’s Lower East Side neighborhood, solar collection panels funnel sunlight from a rooftop to an underground tunnel through fiber-optic cables, providing sunlight for the thriving plants growing below.

It’s called the Lowline Lab, and the installation is a preview of what developers hope will become a one-acre public park in the nearby Williamsburg Terminal Trolley Terminal.
The terminal, unused since 1948, features crisscrossing trolley tracks, vaulted ceilings and cobblestone, which Lowline hopes to integrate into the park.

As is, it’s “one of the least green areas in New York City,” the Lowline website points out, and it provides an opportunity to repurpose unused space for the benefit of the public.
This is only one of many public spaces converted to gardens around the world. Cub Barrett, communications director for the Friends of the High Line, pointed to several similar spaces.

The Promenade Plantee  — Paris
A precursor to the High Line, the Promenade Plantee was built on an old railroad bridge in Paris in 1993. Nearly three miles long, it includes an unused but preserved railroad station, expansive views and tunnels.

The Bloomingdale Line — Chicago
This three-mile long walkway, bike trail and park is built on an elevated railroad line in Chicago. It’s the centerpiece of a public space called The 606, which includes public parks, an event space, an observatory and art installations. The first phase was completed in June 2015.

The Beltline — Atlanta
This massive public project is expected to continue through 2030, but four portions of what proponents hope will be a 22-mile-long park on an elevated railway are complete and open to the public. The former railroad corridor circles central Atlanta and aims to add green space and improve transportation in the city.

The Bridge of Flowers — Shelburne Falls
Perhaps the first park to be built on a bridge, this Shelburne Falls, Mass., garden was initiated by the Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club in 1929 after the trolley stopped running, and has been cared for by the group for more than 80 years.

Stay tuned
In Queens, The QueensWay plans to turn a neglected, abandoned NYC railway known for illegal dumping and loitering into a public park. In Philadelphia, Friends of The Rail Park are raising money to turn a three-mile-long abandoned railway into a green space. In Miami, proponents are pushing for the land underneath the city’s Metrorail into a 10-mile long “linear park, urban trail and living art.” Developers in Washington, D.C. are set to start construction on the 11th Street Bridge Park, which has expanded from a park project to one that aims to connect communities and generate jobs, next year.

Image: This Lowline Lab rendering is a preview of what planners hope to expand and transform into an underground public garden. Courtesy of the Lowline Lab.

Nikki is a freelance writer living in Cincinnati, Ohio.