National Geographic: NYC's Lush High Line Park By Night

The beautiful High Line Park on the west side of New York's Meatpacking District was once a decaying black steel structure supporting an elevated rail line built in the early 1930s that brought freight cars into factories and warehouses.

During much of the '90s, NYC Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was frothing to tear down the 1.5-mile structure, which was abandoned in 1980, so that the gentrifying nabe could build more generic red brick condos. But fortunately a private group, Friends Of the High Line, raised funds to convert it into a stunning urban oasis that leaves the original train tracks, with a rich tapestry of foliage & fauna.The first section opened in June 2009, with an extension scheduled to debut later this year. The April 2011 issue of National Geographic offers some lush picolas of the park at night in a spread called "Miracle Above Manhattan."