10 Parks that Changed America

MUSIC (GEOFFREY) PARKS CAN OFFER RELIEF FROM THE GRITTY CITY... THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT OF CENTRAL PARK IS TO FORGET THAT YOU WERE IN THE CITY.

(GEOFFREY) THEY CAN GIVE US PLACES TO GATHER...

PLACES TO BE SOCIAL!

TO BE CULTURAL!

(GEOFFREY) THEY CAN EVEN TEACH US WHAT THIS COUNTRY IS ALL ABOUT...

THE PARK REALLY BECOMES THE FOCUS FOR CREATING THE AMERICAN IDENTITY.

I'M GEOFFREY BAER.

IN THIS SHOW WE'LL TREK THROUGH TEN CITY PARKS THAT CHANGED AMERICA.

FROM TINY PUBLIC SQUARES...

THE SAVANNAH PLAN WAS REALLY UNPRECEDENTED.

(GEOFFREY) ...TO PARK-LIKE CEMETERIES.

IT WASN'T JUST THE DEAD BODIES WHO WERE FEELING CROWDED.

(GEOFFREY) FROM THE "VENICE OF TEXAS"... SEE THAT DOORWAY RIGHT THERE, THAT SPANISH DOORWAY?

OH, LOOK AT THAT!

(GEOFFREY) TO A FREEWAY IN SEATTLE... FREEWAY PARK.

WHOEVER THOUGHT OF A FREEWAY AND A PARK TOGETHER?!

BUT THERE IT WAS!

WE'LL VISIT PARKS BUILT IN UNUSUAL PLACES.

MOST PEOPLE THAT KNEW ABOUT IT ACTUALLY WANTED TO TEAR IT DOWN.

(GEOFFREY) AND PARKS THAT SERVED UNEXPECTED PURPOSES.

A PLACE TO COME AND BATHE, TO JUST BE ABLE TO CLEAN YOUR BODY.

(GEOFFREY) PARKS THAT CONSERVED OUR PRECIOUS RESOURCES.

YOU HAVE TO HAVE WATER FOR A CITY TO FUNCTION.

(GEOFFREY) AND THAT PRESERVED PIECES OF OUR PAST.

THESE ARE OUR GREAT FEATS OF THE 20TH CENTURY.

WHY ERASE THEM?

FIND OUT WHICH GREAT GREEN SPACES MADE THE LIST... ...OF "10 PARKS THAT CHANGED AMERICA."

MUSIC AND FUNDER CREDITS (GEOFFREY) NOW, LET'S VISIT 10 CITY PARKS THAT CHANGED AMERICA, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.

STARTING WITH A COLONIAL TOWN THAT WAS GREEN FROM THE GET-GO... AT A TIME WHEN MOST OF EUROPE'S GREEN SPACES WERE THE PRIVATE PLAYGROUNDS OF THE UPPER CRUST... SAVANNAH BUILT SIX PUBLIC SQUARES.

EUROPE COULD HAVE ALL ITS OLD CULTURE AND ITS OLD BUILDINGS AND ALL OF THAT STUFF; WE HAD WILDERNESS AND NATURE AND BOUNTY.

THESE OPEN SPACES LIKE SAVANNAH REALLY EMPHASIZED THAT THAT WAS WHAT WAS GOING TO MAKE US ENTIRELY DIFFERENT.

(GEOFFREY) THE SQUARES WERE PART OF THE UTOPIAN VISION OF A FORMER BRITISH POLITICIAN.

JAMES OGLETHORPE LED A SHIP OF POOR LABORERS AND TRADESMEN OUT OF ENGLAND IN 1732 TO FORM AN EGALITARIAN COLONY.

IN GEORGIA, SLAVERY WAS BANNED, INDIAN PROPERTY RESPECTED, AND EVERY FAMILY GOT A PIECE OF LAND.

GEORGIA WAS CONCEIVED FROM THE BEGINNING AS A CHARITABLE COLONY THAT GAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PEOPLE WHO WERE BEING PERSECUTED, EITHER FOR THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OR FOR BE DEBTORS IN ENGLISH PRISONS.

THAT THEY HAD A SECOND CHANCE.

(GEOFFREY) THIS IDEALISTIC VISION WASN'T JUST WRITTEN INTO LAW, IT WAS STITCHED INTO THE URBAN FABRIC OF GEORGIA'S FIRST CITY.

OGLETHORPE DESIGNED SAVANNAH AS A SERIES OF EQUALLY-SIZED NEIGHBORHOODS CALLED "WARDS".

EACH INCLUDED EQUAL SPACE FOR CIVIC BUILDINGS... AND HOUSING ON IDENTICAL LOTS... AND AT THE CENTER OF EACH WARD WAS THAT PUBLIC SQUARE.

SO EVERYBODY WAS NEAR A GREEN SPACE?

YES, EVERY TWO BLOCKS IN WHICHEVER DIRECTION YOU WALK, YOU'RE GOING TO ENCOUNTER ANOTHER SQUARE.

(GEOFFREY) TOWN SQUARES WERE NOTHING NEW, BUT JAMES OGLETHORPE TRANSFORMED THEM INTO SOMETHING DISTINCTLY AMERICAN: COMMUNITY GATHERING PLACES, OPEN TO EVERYONE.

THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT MOVE, THAT THERE'S A PLACE AT THE CENTER OF A COMMUNITY WHERE WE CAN ALL COME TOGETHER.

THIS IDEA THAT EVERY COMMUNITY NEEDED ITS PARK.

(GEOFFREY) REMEMBER, AT THE TIME, A VISIT TO A EUROPEAN PARK WAS OFTEN AN INVITATION-ONLY AFFAIR.

YOU'RE THERE AT THE BENEFICENCE OF THE ROYALTY OR THE WEALTHY FAMILY OR THE POPE.

AT ANY ONE POINT IF YOU'RE NOT BEHAVING PROPERLY THEY CAN ASK YOU TO LEAVE.

(GEOFFREY) SAVANNAH'S PUBLIC SQUARES SERVED SOME HIGHLY PRACTICAL PURPOSES.

CITIZENS COULD COLLECT CLEAN WATER...

SO EVERY SQUARE HAD A PUMP IN IT.

(GEOFFREY) BAKE THEIR BREAD...

THE BREAD OVEN WAS IN THE SQUARE.

(GEOFFREY) ATTEND PUBLIC MEETINGS...

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS READ IN BOTH THIS SQUARE AND IN REYNOLDS SQUARE.

(GEOFFREY) AND THE SQUARES SERVED MILITARY FUNCTIONS TOO.

(ROBIN) SOLDIERS OR LIVESTOCK COULD BE QUARTERED DURING A SIEGE.

(GEOFFREY) BUT SAVANNAH'S CITIZENS ALSO USED THE SQUARES IN WAYS MORE FAMILIAR TO TODAY'S PARK-GOERS.

THEY WERE ALSO JUST PLACES TO ENJOY THE OUTDOORS.

ABSOLUTELY, WHERE PEOPLE COULD COME OUT AND DO PROMENADING... (GEOFFREY) STROLLING... (ROBIN) YES, STROLLING, AND PICNICKING.

THE TREES PROVIDED SHADE.

PLACES OF RECREATION.

(GEOFFREY) OGLETHORPE'S EGALITARIAN VISION DID NOT ENTIRELY TURN OUT AS PLANNED.

GEORGIA REVERSED ITS SLAVERY BAN IN 1750.

AND SOON A HIERARCHY DEVELOPED.

THE WEALTHY BUILT IMPRESSIVE HOMES FRONTING THE CENTRAL SQUARES, WHILE THE POOR WERE RELEGATED TO THE EDGES.

LIKE ALL UTOPIAS, IT'S IDEAL ON PAPER.

(GEOFFREY) AND YET OGLETHORPE'S REMARKABLE CITY PLAN STILL OFFERED UNPRECEDENTED ACCESS TO GREEN SPACE... AS THE CITY GREW THE NUMBER OF SQUARES GREW WITH IT.

TODAY THERE ARE 22.

THEY'RE A GIFT TO THE PEOPLE OF SAVANNAH... FROM THE COLONISTS WHO TAUGHT AMERICA THE VALUE OF OPEN SPACE.

(THAISA) AMERICA SEEMED TO OFFER THIS WHOLE NEW OPPORTUNITY.

SO-CALLED "UNTOUCHED WILDERNESS," IT'S NATURE, IT'S THE LANDSCAPE THAT MAKES US DIFFERENT AND SO OUR CITIES GREW UP AND OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF HUNDRED YEARS KEPT PUTTING PARKS IN VARIOUS WAYS INTO THE CITY.

(GEOFFREY) IT WASN'T FOUNDED ON HIGH IDEALS.

FAIRMOUNT PARK WAS CREATED TO SAVE A RESOURCE WE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT.

(THAISA) YOU HAVE TO HAVE WATER FOR A CITY TO FUNCTION.

(GEOFFREY) THIS CITY IS SURROUNDED BY WATER.

PHILADELPHIA'S LUCKY.

THEY HAVE TWO MAJOR RIVERS.

(GEOFFREY) AND YET AFTER THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, THERE WAS HARDLY A DROP TO DRINK.

MOST PEOPLE EITHER DRANK FROM THE FILTHY DELAWARE RIVER, OR GATHERED RAINWATER IN BARRELS AND CRUDELY-DUG TRENCHES.

THIS WORRIED A FOUNDING FATHER.

BEN FRANKLIN IS THE ONE THAT BELIEVES THAT THE CITY SHOULD HAVE A CLEAN WATER SUPPLY.

(GEOFFREY) AND PHILADELPHIA DID PROVE THE PERFECT BREEDING GROUND FOR MOSQUITOS CARRYING YELLOW FEVER...

THOUGH SCIENCE HADN'T QUITE FIGURED THAT OUT YET.

WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS THAT IT WAS BEING CAUSED BY STAGNANT POOLS OF WATER AND MIASMAS COMING OUT OF THOSE STAGNANT POOLS.

THE MIASMAS?

MIASMAS, GASSES.

(GEOFFREY) THE DISEASE CLAIMED THOUSANDS OF LIVES IN 1793, AND NEARLY HALF OF THE CITY'S POPULATION FLED.

SO THE QUESTION ON THEIR TABLE WAS, HOW DO WE GET CLEAN WATER TO THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY?

(GEOFFREY) THE ANSWER WOULD BE A REVOLUTIONARY NEW KIND OF PARK... ON THE BUCOLIC BANKS OF PHILADELPHIA'S OTHER RIVER.

THE CITY WOULD NOW DRAW ITS DRINKING WATER FROM THE SCHUYLKILL RIVER, WITH A STATE-OF-THE-ART WATERWORKS.

ITS STEAM-POWERED PUMPS MOVED WATER UP TO A RESERVOIR ON WHAT WAS KNOWN AS THE "FAIR MOUNTE"-- IT'S NOW HOME TO THE CITY'S ART MUSEUM.

AND WHY?

WHY DID THEY BUILD IT HERE?

IT'S A HIGHER ELEVATION THAN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA ITSELF.

GRAVITY IS ACTUALLY WHAT ALLOWS WATER TO GO INTO THE SERIES OF PIPES SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE CENTER CITY.

KIND OF BRILLIANT, RIGHT?

(ROB) YEAH!

REALLY BRILLIANT!

OF COURSE THE QUALITY OF THE CITY'S DRINKING WATER NOW HINGED ON THE PRESERVATION OF THE SCHUYLKILL.

SO CITY LEADERS TOOK AN UNPRECEDENTED STEP: THEY TURNED THE PRIVATE WATERFRONT INTO PUBLIC PARKLAND.

(ROB) IT IS VERY UNPRECEDENTED.

THIS IS A CAPITALIST COUNTRY THAT ENCOURAGES INDUSTRY AND BUSINESS AND DEVELOPMENT.

(GEOFFREY) KEEP IN MIND, WATERFRONTS AROUND THE WORLD HAD TYPICALLY BEEN GOBBLED UP BY PRIVATE INTERESTS.

IF YOU LOOK TO EUROPE, ALL THE WATERFRONTS, THAT'S WHERE BUSINESS WENT ON.

(GEOFFREY) BUT IN PHILADELPHIA, THEY KICKED OUT THE INDUSTRY, AND ADDED THE PROPERTY TO FAIRMOUNT PARK.

THEY ACQUIRED ELEGANT RIVERFRONT ESTATES AND PRESERVED THEM AS PART OF THE PARK.

AND WHEN POLLUTION FROM A DISTANT TRIBUTARY THREATENED THE RIVER, THEY ADDED ACRES OF UPSTREAM WILDERNESS.

BY 1867 IT WAS UP TO ABOUT THREE THOUSAND ACRES ALONG THE RIVER TO TRY AND PROTECT IT.

(GEOFFREY) BUT AS THE PARK CONTINUED TO SPREAD...

MILES FROM THE WATERWORKS...

IT SEEMED CITY LEADERS WEREN'T JUST CONCERNED WITH CLEAN WATER.

THEY WERE ENSURING ACCESS TO FRESH AIR.

(THAISA) PEOPLE KNEW THAT DIRTIER PLACES SEEMED TO HAVE MORE ILLNESS.

FRESH AIR SEEMED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

(GEOFFREY) AS SMOKESTACKS SPROUTED ACROSS AMERICAN CITIES, THIS NEW IDEA WOULD CATCH ON, THAT A PARK COULD SERVE AS THE "LUNGS OF THE CITY."

SO IF YOU CREATED A GREEN LUNG YOU WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE CLEANER AIR AND A HEALTHIER CITY AND THAT YOU'D GET PEOPLE OUTSIDE.

(GEOFFREY) WITH FAIRMOUNT PARK, PHILADELPHIA WAS OFFERING A NEW MODEL FOR AMERICAN PARKS.

IN WHICH A CITY WOULD PRIORITIZE PUBLIC HEALTH OVER PRIVATE INDUSTRY... AND PRESERVE ITS WATERFRONT FOR ITS PEOPLE.

FAIRMOUNT PARK WAS DOING, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY WHAT A LOT OF CITIES ARE TRYING TO DO IN THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY AND INTO THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY.

REMOVE THE BARRIERS FOR PEOPLE TO GET TO THE WATER.

(GEOFFREY) IT WAS ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST POPULAR TOURIST DESTINATIONS.

VISITORS CAME TO STROLL, PICNIC, AND PAY THEIR LAST RESPECT THIS WASN'T JUST A PLACE TO BURY PEOPLE.

IT WAS A PARK.

A PUBLIC PARK!

ABSOLUTELY, PART OF THE THINKING WAS THAT THIS WOULD BE A PLACE FOR THE LIVING.

(GEOFFREY) BEFORE MOUNT AUBURN, MOST BURIAL GROUNDS IN THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY WERE OVERCROWDED AND UNSANITARY.

THEY WERE PLACES THAT WERE PRETTY DISMAL.

SOMETIMES YOU'D GET PLACES THAT IN FACT HAD LAYERS OF PEOPLE BURIED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER.

(GEOFFREY) IN BOSTON A CHORUS OF CRITICS WARNED THESE GRAVEYARDS WERE SPREADING DISEASE... AND TAKING UP PRECIOUS REAL ESTATE, IN A CITY THAT WAS BOOMING.

PEOPLE FELT CROWDED...

IT WASN'T JUST THE DEAD BODIES WHO WERE FEELING CROWDED.

(GEOFFREY) AMONG THOSE CRITICS WAS DOCTOR JACOB BIGELOW OF HARVARD.

HE REALLY, REALLY MISSED LIVING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE WHERE HE HAD GROWN UP, AND HE THOUGHT THAT CITIES WERE BECOMING TOO CROWDED; TOO POLLUTED, AND NEEDED A GOOD DOSE OF NATURE.

(GEOFFREY) A MAN OF SCIENCE WHO'D RAILED AGAINST THE PRACTICE OF BLOODLETTING, BIGELOW PUBLISHED SEMINAL WORKS ABOUT BOTANY.

(AARON) AND HE'S KNOWN AS THE COINER OF THE WORD 'TECHNOLOGY.'

(GEOFFREY) DOCTOR BIGELOW INVITED A DOZEN PROMINENT FRIENDS TO HIS HOME IN 1825... TO DREAM UP A HEALTHIER KIND OF BURIAL GROUND.

IT WOULD NOT ONLY DIGNIFY THE DEAD IN A SPACIOUS, SERENE SETTING.

BUT IT WOULD SERVE THE LIVING AS A PARK, WHERE URBANITES COULD ESCAPE THE CITY FOR THE GREAT OUTDOORS.

THEY WERE SPECIFICALLY THINKING OF THAT IDEA OF COMMON SPACE, WHERE ALL THE VILLAGERS COULD MINGLE IN A BEAUTIFUL, NATURAL SETTING.

AND IT REALLY MEANT EVERYBODY: IT MEANT COMMONERS; THE WORKERS FROM THE LOCAL MILLS COULD COME AND RELAX ON SUNDAY, THEIR DAY OFF.

(GEOFFREY) DR. BIGELOW'S RADICAL NEW CONCEPT WOULD BE CALLED A RURAL 'CEMETERY.'

(AARON) IT WAS A NEW WORD TO REFER TO A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WERE BURIED.

(GEOFFREY) WHILE MANY VISITORS MAY HAVE THOUGHT MOUNT AUBURN WAS A SLICE OF NATURE RIGHT OUTSIDE THE CITY, THIS WAS A CAREFULLY-CRAFTED ILLUSION.

THIS PIECE OF PARADISE HAD BEEN DESIGNED BY HENRY DEARBORN, THE PRESIDENT OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

HE WAS PRACTICING A CRAFT THAT WOULD SOON BECOME KNOWN AS "LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE."

(THAISA) MOUNT AUBURN'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT ESTABLISHES THE ROLE OF DESIGN OF A NATURAL LOOKING LANDSCAPE.

(GEOFFREY) DEARBORN SHAPED PONDS AND MEADOWS, AND STRATEGICALLY PLANTED FLOWERS AND TREES-- ALWAYS WITH AN EYE TOWARD THE SITE'S NATURAL TOPOGRAPHY.

AND HE LAID OUT THE CEMETERY'S MEANDERING PATHS.

THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AS DISTINCT FROM THE GRIDS THAT ARE BEING LAID DOWN IN CITIES.

AND HERE THE WHOLE POINT IS ACTUALLY TO BE IN TOUCH WITH THE CONTOURS OF THE LAND AND TO GET LOST IN THE LANDSCAPE.

(GEOFFREY) THIS WAS NO FORMAL, FRENCH GARDEN.

DEARBORN DESIGNED IT IN THE ENGLISH LANDSCAPE STYLE.

THESE NATURAL-LOOKING GARDENS-- SOMETIMES RUGGED... OTHER TIMES PASTORAL-- LOOKED LIKE ARISTOCRATIC ENGLISH ESTATES.

IT'S BASICALLY THE KIND OF LANDSCAPE THAT YOU CAN IMAGINE SHEPHERDS WALKING THROUGH WITH THEIR FLOCK.

OH MY GOSH, THERE'S A TURKEY WALKING THROUGH THE CEMETERY.

(GEOFFREY) HEY, ALRIGHT.

THIS NATURALISTIC BURIAL GROUND WOULD SOON INSPIRE THE CONSTRUCTION OF OTHER 'RURAL CEMETERIES' ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

PEOPLE CAME HERE AND LOVED IT AND IMMEDIATELY SAID, "WE NEED ONE OF THESE FOR OUR CITY".

(GEOFFREY) AND MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY WOULD HELP INTRODUCE THE ENGLISH LANDSCAPE STYLE TO AMERICA, A STYLE THAT WOULD BECOME STANDARD IN AMERICAN PARKS.

MOUNT AUBURN ESTABLISHED A DIFFERENT VOCABULARY.

THIS WAS A LANDSCAPE OF CURVILINEAR PATHS AND ROCK OUT CROPPINGS AND TREE GROVES.

IT'S MORE NATURAL, AND THAT'S WHAT WE THINK PARKS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE.

(GEOFFREY) AS IMMIGRANTS FLOODED NEW YORK, CENTRAL PARK OFFERED ITS DIVERSE PEOPLE A PATCH OF COMMON GROUND.

CENTRAL PARK WAS BUILT WITH THE WHOLE IDEA THAT PEOPLE WOULD COME TOGETHER AND MIX FROM ALL DIFFERENT WALKS OF LIFE.

AND THEY'LL ALL LEARN THAT WE'RE ALL THE SAME.

(GEOFFREY) THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT NEW YORK NEEDED.

IT HAD BECOME THE LARGEST CITY IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE BY THE MID-19TH CENTURY.

AND MORE THAN HALF OF ITS CITIZENS WERE FOREIGN BORN.

IMMIGRANTS CRAMMED INTO AREAS LIKE THE LOWER EAST SIDE-- SAID TO BE THE MOST DENSELY POPULATED NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE WORLD.

I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO LIVE IN A 19TH CENTURY CITY WITH THE RISE OF INDUSTRIALIZATION, THE TENEMENT.

I THINK THE CITY AT THAT TIME IS A PRETTY HARD, HARD PLACE TO BE AT.

(GEOFFREY) CENTRAL PARK WAS CONCEIVED AS A MUCH-NEEDED REFUGE.

THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT OF CENTRAL PARK IS TO FORGET COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY THAT YOU WERE IN A CITY.

(GEOFFREY) THE PARK WOULD MAKE ITS DESIGNERS INTO CELEBRITIES.

WHILE CALVERT VAUX WAS ALREADY AN ACCOMPLISHED ARCHITECT, WHO HAD DESIGNED THE WHITE HOUSE GROUNDS... FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED HAD NEVER DESIGNED ANYTHING.

THE MAN WHO WOULD SOON BE CALLED "THE FATHER OF AMERICAN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE," HAD TRIED HIS HAND AT FARMING AND JOURNALISM.

OLMSTED LOVED PUBLIC PARKS.

HE LOVED LANDSCAPE.

BUT DID HE SEE HIMSELF AS WORKING IN IT?

NO.

(GEOFFREY) BUT IN HIS TRAVELS, OLMSTED HAD WITNESSED THE POWER OF PARKS TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER.

AT BIRKENHEAD PARK-- ENGLAND'S FIRST FULLY PUBLIC GREEN SPACE-- OLMSTED FELT CLASS DISTINCTIONS MELT AWAY.

AND THROUGH HIS EXPERIENCES, HE SEES THAT MAYBE IT CAN BE THE TRUE DEMOCRATIC SPACE, WHERE PEOPLE CAN COME TOGETHER, DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS IN LIFE AND ACTUALLY SEE EACH OTHER AS THE SAME.

(GEOFFREY) OLMSTED AND VAUX WON A COMPETITION TO DESIGN CENTRAL PARK IN 1858, WITH A PLAN THAT TRANSFORMED THE SWAMPY, ROCKY SITE... NOT A VERY ATTRACTIVE PIECE OF LAND.

(GEOFFREY) ...INTO A SERIES OF NATURAL-LOOKING SCENES IN THAT ENGLISH LANDSCAPE TRADITION.

OLMSTED AND VAUX'S DESIGN WAS A WORK OF ART.

AND THEY REARRANGED THE LANDSCAPE IN A FAR MORE RADICAL WAY THAN MOST OTHER ENTRIES INTO THE COMPETITION.

(GEOFFREY) BEFORE CENTRAL PARK COULD BE BUILT, THE CITY REMOVED A VILLAGE OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS WHO HAD INHABITED THE SITE.

THEN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PARK TOOK MORE THAN A DECADE, AND THE LABOR OF 20,000 MEN.

(SARA) THE SWAMPS HAVE BEEN FILLED IN.

EVERYTHING WAS PLANTED.

DYNAMITE WASN'T INVENTED YET AND THEY HAD TO BLAST OUT ALL OF THESE ROCK OUT CROPS SO THEY HAD TO DO IT WITH GUN POWDER.

(GEOFFREY) OLMSTED AND VAUX DESIGNED THE PARK FOR CALMING ACTIVITIES, LIKE SLOW CARRIAGE RIDES, OR SIMPLY STROLLING-- THE TRAFFIC WAS SEPARATED BY A REVOLUTIONARY SYSTEM OF BRIDGES AND UNDERPASSES.

SPORTS WERE STRONGLY DISCOURAGED HERE.

THE IDEA WAS TO BE IN NATURE, TO JUST WALK, SMELL A FLOWER, AND GET THE MENTAL REFRESHMENT AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL RELEASE THAT YOU NEED TO GET AWAY FROM THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF THE CITY.

(GEOFFREY) CURVING PATHS GUIDED VISITORS THROUGH A SERIES OF QUIET, CAREFULLY-COMPOSED VIEWS.

(SARA) THEY WANTED YOU TO GO FROM SCENE TO SCENE.

REALLY NO DIFFERENT THAN WHEN YOU GO TO A MUSEUM AND YOU ADMIRE A BEAUTIFUL SCENE, YOU TAKE A FEW STEPS, YOU SEE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SCENE.

(GEOFFREY) THESE LANDSCAPES WERE WHAT DESIGNERS CALLED "PICTURESQUE."

THIS POPULAR APPROACH TRIED TO CAPTURE THE IRREGULARITY OF THE NATURAL WORLD IN PICTURE-PERFECT VIEWS.

PUTTING THE LANDSCAPE IN THE PERFECT COMPOSITION -- FOREGROUND, MIDDLE GROUND, BACKGROUND.

AND AS YOU MOVE THROUGH THE SCENERY, IT CAN OPEN AND UNFOLD.

(GEOFFREY) OLMSTED AND VAUX PAINTED A VARIETY OF PICTURES.

THE "SHEEP MEADOW" ALLOWED NEW YORKERS TO EXPERIENCE THE WIDE-OPEN VISTAS OF A PASTURE.

AND THERE WERE REAL SHEEP.

YES, THERE WERE REAL SHEEP AND A REAL SHEPHERD.

THE SHEEP CUT THE GRASS, AND THEY FERTILIZED IT AS WELL.

(GEOFFREY) OTHER LANDSCAPES WERE DESIGNED TO LOOK WILD LIKE "THE RAMBLE."

(SARA) A PLACE WHERE YOU WOULD REALLY FEEL LIKE YOU WERE DEEP IN NATURE.

(GEOFFREY) OLMSTED THOUGHT THESE LANDSCAPES WOULD HAVE A CIVILIZING EFFECT ON THE POOR.

SOME HOPED IMMIGRANTS MIGHT EVEN BE AMERICANIZED.

BECAUSE THE IDEA WAS IF YOU WERE REALLY AN AMERICAN, YOU HAD TO BE ABLE TO TOUCH AMERICAN SOIL TO KNOW THE TREES AND LEARN ABOUT THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE.

(GEOFFREY) ELSEWHERE, OLMSTED AND VAUX DESIGNED FORMAL, SYMMETRICAL SPACES, LIKE "THE MALL"... ...AND "BETHESDA TERRACE."

ONLY ACCESSIBLE BY FOOT, THESE SPOTS FORCED THE WEALTHY OUT OF THEIR CARRIAGES, BRINGING THE SOCIAL CLASSES FACE-TO-FACE.

YOU COULD WATCH HOW OTHER PEOPLE BEHAVED.

YOU COULD WATCH HOW PEOPLE, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT MIGHT WEAR NICER CLOTHES SO YOU COULD WATCH THEM.

YOU COULD WATCH THEIR POSTURE.

THE IDEA THAT IF YOU SORT OF RUB SHOULDERS YOU WOULD ALL LEARN FROM EACH OTHER.

(GEOFFREY) IT WAS LIKE NO OTHER PARK AMERICA HAD SEEN.

AND IT MADE FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT OF HIS DAY.

EVERYBODY IN AMERICA WANTED OLMSTED TO DESIGN A PARK FOR THEM.

(GEOFFREY) SOON OTHER LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS WERE BUILDING SIMILAR SO-CALLED "PLEASURE GROUNDS" ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

IF YOU WANTED TO BE MODERN CITY, A CITY OF THE CENTURY THEN YOU HAD TO HAVE A PUBLIC PARK.

AND THIS PUBLIC PARK HAD TO BE ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYBODY, IT HAD TO BE A BIG ENOUGH SCALE THAT SPOKE OF YOUR ASPIRATIONS.

AND IT CELEBRATED THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE IN THE MIDDLE OF THESE DEVELOPING CITIES.

(GEOFFREY) WE'RE VISITING 10 CITY PARKS THAT CHANGED AMERICA, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.

NEXT IS A SYSTEM OF PARKS... THAT OFFERED MORE THAN FRESH AIR... A LOT OF PEOPLE COULDN'T SPEAK ENGLISH, SO HERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO HAVE ENGLISH LESSONS, AMERICAN CIVICS CLASSES.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING.

THERE WERE ALL KINDS OF MEETINGS AND CLUBS AND CLASSES.

(GEOFFREY) THESE PARKS GAVE NEW IMMIGRANTS THE HELP THEY DESPERATELY NEEDED.

(BACHRACH) THERE WAS SUCH A DIRE NEED FOR CLEAN AND HEALTHY BREATHING SPACE IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS.

(GEOFFREY) IN THE YEARS SINCE CENTRAL PARK OPENED, CHICAGO HAD FOLLOWED NEW YORK'S LEAD IN BUILDING "PLEASURE GROUNDS."

TWO WERE DESIGNED BY FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED HIMSELF.

BUT THESE KINDS OF PARKS SIMPLY WEREN'T SERVING THE WORKING CLASS.

THEY TENDED TO BE IN MIDDLE AND UPPER MIDDLE CLASS NEIGHBORHOODS THEY WERE NOT HERE WHERE PEOPLE WORKING CLASS PEOPLE COULD EASILY ACCESS THEM.

SURE YOU COULD TAKE A STREET CAR, BUT A STREET CAR COST A NICKEL.

THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY WHEN YOU'RE MAKING FOURTEEN AND A HALF CENTS AN HOUR.

(GEOFFREY) PLUS, OLMSTED'S HOPE THAT THE POOR COULD BE UPLIFTED BY SIMPLY BREATHING FRESH AIR AND RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH THE RICH, IGNORED NEW IMMIGRANTS' VERY REAL NEEDS.

PEOPLE HAD REALLY NO ACCESS TO ANY KIND OF BATHING.

THEY HAD NO RUNNING WATER, THEY HAD VERY LITTLE IN THE WAY OF ANY KIND OF HEALTHCARE.

EVEN FRESH MILK WAS A TERRIBLE CONCERN.

(GEOFFREY) A PROGRESSIVE PARK SUPERINTENDENT NAMED J. FRANK FOSTER ARGUED THAT PUBLIC PARKS WERE THE BEST PLACES TO ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS.

THIS BECOMES A PROGRESSIVE ISSUE AND THE PROGRESSIVES BELIEVED IN GOVERNMENT.

THEY BELIEVED THAT GOVERNMENT WAS THE ANSWER TO A LOT OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS.

(GEOFFREY) INSTEAD OF ASKING CHICAGO'S TENEMENT-DWELLERS TO TRAVEL TO ONE CENTRALLY-LOCATED PARK, FOSTER CREATED AN ENTIRE SYSTEM OF PARKS, WHERE THEY WERE NEEDED MOST.

THE IDEA WAS YOU WOULD BRING PARKS TO THE PEOPLE RATHER THAN HAVE PEOPLE GO TO THE PARKS.

(GEOFFREY) THEY WERE DESIGNED BY A FAMILIAR NAME.

JOHN OLMSTED AND FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED, JR TOOK A DIFFERENT APPROACH FROM THEIR FAMOUS FATHER.

INSTEAD OF SPRAWLING, NATURAL-LOOKING LANDSCAPES, DESIGNED FOR A GENTLE STROLL...

THESE TINY PARKS WERE JAM-PACKED WITH POOLS, GYMS, AND BALL FIELDS; WHERE IMMIGRANTS COULD GET A HEALTHY DOSE OF EXERCISE.

NOT ONLY TO PROVIDE RECREATION FOR THEM, BUT TO MAKE THEM MORE AMERICAN.

THE IDEA THAT BASEBALL WOULD MAKE PEOPLE MORE AMERICAN.

(GEOFFREY) AND WHILE FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED WAS HESITANT TO PUT ANY BUILDINGS IN CENTRAL PARK, HERE THERE WAS A BUILDING IN EVERY PARK.

(BACHRACH) J. FRANK FOSTER FELT VERY STRONGLY THAT THE NEW PARKS HAD TO BE USED ALL YEAR ROUND.

CHICAGO IS A VERY COLD CITY, AND IN ORDER TO DO THIS THERE HAD TO BE A NEW TYPE OF BUILDING, WHICH WAS CALLED THE FIELD HOUSE.

(GEOFFREY) IN THE "FIELD HOUSE," THE WORKING POOR COULD GET FREE HEALTH CARE... (BACHRACH) DOCTORS AND NURSES WOULD COME AND DO IMMUNIZATIONS.

(GEOFFREY) ENJOY A HOT MEAL IN THE LUNCH ROOM... (BACHRACH) HOME COOKED FOOD.

(GEOFFREY) TAKE CLASSES... (BACHRACH) A LOT OF CRAFT CLASSES, KITE MAKING, WOODWORKING.

(GEOFFREY) PERFORM ON A STAGE... (BACHRACH) A LOT OF VERY PATRIOTIC AMERICAN KINDS OF PLAYS.

(GEOFFREY) AND FOR THOSE WHOSE TENEMENTS LACKED RUNNING WATER... (DOMINIC) YOU COULD TAKE A SHOWER HERE.

YOU COULD GET A TOWEL AND A BAR OF SOAP.

WORKING SIXTEEN HOURS OR TWELVE HOURS A DAY IN A PACKINGHOUSE, YOU SMELL, OKAY?

SO AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK YOU WANT TO TAKE A SHOWER.

(GEOFFREY) THE OLMSTED BROTHERS ALSO INCLUDED AN INNOVATION THAT WOULD FOREVER CHANGE THE LIVES OF AMERICAN CHILDREN.

PLAYGROUNDS WERE BUILT AS PART OF A NATIONAL MOVEMENT TO GIVE CITY KIDS A SAFE HAVEN.

WHERE WERE THEY PLAYING BEFORE THERE WERE PLAYGROUNDS?

(BACHRACH) IN THE STREET.

WHEN THE CHILDREN WERE PLAYING IN THE STREET THEY WERE OFTEN PLAYING IN HEAPS OF GARBAGE.

CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR THESE CHILDREN?

KIDS WHO WERE WORKING.

A LOT OF THESE CHILDREN HAD TO WORK TO HELP THEIR FAMILIES.

IF THEY WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE TIME OFF, THIS IS WHERE THEY WANTED TO COME, BECAUSE THIS WAS LIKE HEAVEN TO THEM.

(GEOFFREY) THE PLAYGROUNDS WERE SUPERVISED BY SO-CALLED "PLAY LEADERS."

(BACHRACH) THE THOUGHT WAS THAT IF CHILDREN HAD STRUCTURED RECREATION THAT IT WOULD HELP THEM BECOME GOOD UPSTANDING CITIZENS.

(GEOFFREY) CHICAGO'S EXPERIMENTAL NEW PARKS REDEFINED WHAT AN AMERICAN PARK COULD BE.

AND SOON OTHER CITIES WERE INSPIRED TO BUILD THEIR OWN SMALL PARKS, FILLED WITH THE AMENITIES THE WORKING CLASS NEEDED MOST.

(BACHRACH) A LOT OF OUR IDEAS ABOUT WHAT A PARK SHOULD BE ALL COME BACK FROM THIS MOVEMENT, WHICH REALLY BEGAN IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY IN CHICAGO.

(GEOFFREY) IT'S NOW A SPANISH REVIVAL FANTASYLAND IN THE HEART OF TEXAS.

THIS BEAUTIFUL NARROW TIGHT LITTLE CHANNEL THAT REMINDS YOU OF SOME EUROPEAN CITIES.

(GEOFFREY) BUT THIS WAS ONCE AN INFAMOUS HAZARD.

THEY HAD THIS CATASTROPHIC FLOOD IN 1921 AND THEY KNEW THEY HAD TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT.

(GEOFFREY) THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER HAD ALWAYS BEEN PRONE TO FLOODING.

BUT THE GREAT FLOOD OF 1921 WAS BIBLICAL...

CLAIMING MORE THAN 50 LIVES.

(RADIO ANNOUNCER) TORRENTIAL RAINS IN THE DARK OF THE TEXAS NIGHT BROUGHT HIGH WATERS AND HAVOC ROARING INTO THE CITY STREETS OF SAN ANTONIO.

(GEOFFREY) ONE PLANNER PROPOSED A DRASTIC MEASURE TO TAME THE RIVER.

(PETER) LET'S PAVE IT OVER.

BECAUSE THERE'S ELEVEN ACRES OF DEVELOPABLE LAND THERE.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST TERRIBLE MISTAKE.

(GEOFFREY) BUT A 27 YEAR OLD ARCHITECT NAMED ROBERT HUGMAN HAD ANOTHER IDEA... ONE THAT WOULD DO MUCH MORE THAN KEEP THE WATERS AT BAY.

WOULD YOU CALL HIM A VISIONARY?

ABSOLUTELY, A REAL VISIONARY AND A PERSON WHO ACTUALLY FELT THAT DESIGNING THE RIVER WALK WAS HIS MISSION IN LIFE.

(GEOFFREY) A PROUD SON OF SAN ANTONIO, HUGMAN HAD LIVED IN NEW ORLEANS AFTER ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL... WHERE HE WAS BLOWN AWAY BY THE UNIQUE FLAVOR OF THE FRENCH QUARTER.

HE FELT IT OFFERED VALUABLE LESSONS FOR THE FUTURE OF HIS HOMETOWN.

HE GOT A SENSE OF FRENCHNESS THAT HE THOUGHT HE COULD TRANSFER TO SAN ANTONIO AS A SENSE OF SPANISHNESS.

(GEOFFREY) SAN ANTONIO HAD USED ITS RIVERFRONT AS PARKLAND IN THE PAST.

BUT IT HAD BEEN A TRADITIONAL, TREE-LINED PARK THAT COMPLETELY IGNORED THE CITY'S SPANISH HERITAGE.

SAN ANTONIO AT THAT TIME WAS TRYING TO BE MORE LIKE OTHER CITIES ELSEWHERE, IT WAS KIND OF A WEIRD PLACE.

(GEOFFREY) INSTEAD, ROBERT HUGMAN TRANSFORMED THE FLOOD-RAVAGED BANKS OF THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER INTO A SPANISH REVIVAL PROMENADE.

21 BLOCKS OF FANCIFUL WALKWAYS AND BRIDGES, MADE OF THE SAME NATIVE LIMESTONE USED BY THE REGION'S EARLY SPANISH SETTLERS.

HUGMAN TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE DRAMATIC CHANGE IN GRADE BETWEEN THE STREET AND THE RIVER, TO REMOVE VISITORS FROM THE BUSTLING CITY.

BECAUSE IT'S SHELTERED FROM COLD WINTER WINDS DOWN HERE, THEY COULD PLANT TROPICAL TREES...

TRULY TRANSPORTING VISITORS TO ANOTHER PLACE.

(LEWIS) AND TOTALLY, TOTALLY RADICAL, THAT WOULD REALLY BE THE PROPER TERM FOR IT BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE THOUGHT OF A PARK AS BEING SOMETHING THAT'S VERY PROPER, YOU HAVE GRASS, YOU HAVE TREES YOU HAVE SIDEWALKS AND MAYBE SOME PRETTY FLOWERS HERE AND THERE, BUT HUGMAN REALLY BROKE THE MOLD.

(GEOFFREY) THIS WAS ALL MADE POSSIBLE BY A CLEVER FEAT OF ENGINEERING, TO KEEP THE FLOODWATERS AT BAY.

A DAM UPSTREAM PREVENTS SURGING TIDES.

AND A BYPASS CHANNEL DETOURS HIGH WATER PAST THE HEART OF THE BUSINESS DISTRICT.

THEN FLOODGATES REGULATE THE FLOW OF WATER... TO THE PERFECT DEPTH FOR VENETIAN-STYLE GONDOLAS.

SO THAT THE GONDOLIER COULD STAND UP AND PULL HIS GONDOLA INSTEAD OF HAVING TO GO LIKE THAT.

(GEOFFREY) BUT PERHAPS THE MOST REMARKABLE PART OF ROBERT HUGMAN'S PLAN WAS HIS SALES PITCH: THIS WASN'T JUST A LOVELY SPOT TO ESCAPE THE CITY, IT WAS A PLACE TO SPEND MONEY.

IN THE PAST, BUSINESSES HAD TURNED THEIR BACKS ON THE HAZARDOUS RIVER.

(FISHER) WELL, THEY HAD TO-- THERE WERE A COUPLE THAT TRIED STARTING DOWN AT THE LEVEL OF THE RIVER, BUT THEY WERE FLOODED OUT.

(GEOFFREY) NOW HUGMAN SUGGESTED THAT PROPRIETORS CUT NEW ENTRANCES AT THE WATER'S EDGE, SO ELEGANT SHOPS AND LIVELY CAFES COULD APPEAL TO THE HORDES OF PEDESTRIANS WHO WOULD UNDOUBTEDLY BE DRAWN TO THE PARK.

(LEWIS) MY FAVORITE PLACE IS THAT, SEE THAT DOORWAY RIGHT THERE, THAT SPANISH DOORWAY.

THAT WAS JUST CUT INTO THE BACK OF THE BUILDING.

(GEOFFREY) JUST RIGHT IN THE BACK OF THE BUILDING.

NOT EVERYONE APPRECIATED ROBERT HUGMAN'S VISION-- THE FATHER OF THE RIVER WALK WAS FIRED HALFWAY THROUGH ITS CONSTRUCTION.

(FISHER) AND AFTER THAT, HUGMAN NEVER REALLY DID ANYTHING MAJOR IN HIS LIFE.

(GEOFFREY) BUT IN HUGMAN'S LIFETIME IT WOULD BECOME THE ECONOMIC BOON HE IMAGINED.

THERE'S THOUSANDS OF HOTEL ROOMS, ALL THE BIG ORGANIZATIONS HAVE THEIR CONVENTIONS THERE BECAUSE IT'S SO MUCH FUN TO GO THERE.

IT'S SO SPECIAL, IT'S SO MEMORABLE.

(GEOFFREY) THIS PARK NOT ONLY TRANSFORMED SAN ANTONIO, IT SHOWED OTHER AMERICAN CITIES THAT PARKS CAN BE QUITE LITERALLY VALUABLE.

MAYORS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY GO THERE ALL THE TIME SAYING HOW CAN WE DO THIS OURSELVES?

AND MANY PLACES HAVE TRIED TO COPY IT IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, BUT NOBODY'S GOTTEN IT AS PERFECT AS SAN ANTONIO.

(GEOFFREY) IT WAS THE DAWN OF THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM.

AND AMERICA'S PARKS WERE UNDER ATTACK.

IN SAVANNAH, THREE SQUARES WERE WIPED OFF THE MAP.

IN PHILADELPHIA, FAIRMOUNT PARK WAS DISFIGURED.

YOU HAD TO FIND A PLACE TO PUT THE HIGHWAYS IN THESE CROWDED, BUILT UP CITIES.

SO, THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE WOULD BE THROUGH PARKLAND.

(GEOFFREY) BUT IN MEMPHIS, AN UNLIKELY GROUP OF ACTIVISTS WOULD STOP THE INTERSTATE IN ITS TRACKS.

IN OVERTON PARK, THE PEOPLE SAID 'NO.'

(GEOFFREY) IT'S A TREASURE OF THE MEMPHIS PARK SYSTEM.

OVERTON PARK WAS THE EQUIVALENT OF CENTRAL PARK FOR MEMPHIS.

SO, WHAT WOULD THE HIGHWAY HAVE DONE TO THIS PARK?

ESSENTIALLY IT WOULD HAVE CUT THE PARK IN TWO.

(GEOFFREY) IT WAS ANNOUNCED IN 1957 THAT A SIX LANE FREEWAY WOULD PLOW THROUGH THE HEART OF OVERTON PARK.

YOU'D HAVE BEEN LEFT WITH JUST A SHADOW OF WHAT IT HAD BEEN BEFORE.

(GEOFFREY) IT WAS PART OF A PLAN TO REVITALIZE THE CITY'S AILING DOWNTOWN.

CIVIC LEADERS HOPED A NEW HIGHWAY WOULD MAKE THEIR BUSINESS DISTRICT MORE ACCESSIBLE FROM THE BALLOONING SUBURBS.

PEOPLE WANTED THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO OUT TO THE SUBURBS AND BE ABLE TO ZOOM BACK INTO TOWN.

(GEOFFREY) WITH HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION LOOMING, A FEW MOSTLY MIDDLE CLASS HOMEMAKERS STARTED A CAMPAIGN TO SAVE THEIR PARK.

WHY DID YOUR MOTHER FEEL COMPELLED TO JOIN THIS FIGHT?

SHE JUST THOUGHT THAT IT WAS WRONG.

(GEOFFREY) SALLY HINES, LIKE MOST IN THE GROUP, WAS NO DIEHARD ENVIRONMENTALIST.

SHE WAS A CONSERVATIVE IN THE SENSE THAT YOU CONSERVE THINGS.

THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS SHE SUPPORTED THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

(GEOFFREY) WITH LEAFLETS AND PETITIONS IN HAND, THEY SET OUT TO TURN THE TIDE OF PUBLIC OPINION AGAINST THE FREEWAY.

THEY DID FUNDRAISERS.

THEY HAD AN ENORMOUS AUCTION OF STUFF.

A LOT OF FAMILY ANTIQUES AT OUR HOUSE VANISHED.

(GEOFFREY) POLITICIANS AND BUSINESSMEN LINED UP AGAINST THEM.

THE ACTIVISTS WERE DERIDED AS 'LITTLE OLD LADIES IN TENNIS SHOES.'

THEY HAD A LOT OF OPPOSITION, DIDN'T THEY?

THEY CERTAINLY DID.

INCLUDING THE DEATH THREATS.

LIKE, PEOPLE CALLING ON THE PHONE SAYING THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE YOU UNDER ONE OF THOSE TREES IN THAT PARK.

(GEOFFREY) THE STATE MOVED QUICKLY TO BUILD THE EXPRESSWAY.

IT STARTED RAZING HOMES, CHURCHES, AND BUSINESSES ON EITHER SIDE OF THE PARK.

THEY WANTED TO FORCE IT SO IT WAS GOING TO BE INEVITABLE AND IMPOSSIBLE TO UNDO THIS.

(GEOFFREY) THE ACTIVISTS TURNED TO THE COURTS, FILING A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE U.S. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION.

AND THEY GOT A HAND FROM KEY PLAYERS IN THE BUDDING ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT.

(PETER) THIS WAS HAPPENING AT A TIME WHEN THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT WAS JUST STRENGTHENING.

SO TWO FORCES COLLIDED JUST AT THE TIME OF THIS LAWSUIT.

(GEOFFREY) TWO LOWER COURTS RULED AGAINST THEM, SO THEY FILED AN EMERGENCY MOTION WITH THE U.S. SUPREME COURT.

SHE TYPED THE SUPREME COURT BRIEFS?

YES, AT NIGHT AFTER ALL THE DISHES WERE DONE AND WE WENT OFF AND GONE TO SLEEP.

SHE WOULD SIT UP AND TYPE THIS BRIEF.

(GEOFFREY) SALLY HINES TOOK A BUS TO WASHINGTON TO HEAR THE ARGUMENT.

THOUGH THEIR CASE WAS A LONG SHOT, SHE HAD NO DOUBT.

SHE BELIEVED IN THE SYSTEM.

SHE WAS ULTIMATELY COMMITTED TO THE DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM AND OF OUR COUNTRY.

(GEOFFREY) THEIR SUPREME COURT VICTORY WOULD NOT ONLY PRESERVE OVERTON PARK...

BUT GREEN SPACES ALL OVER AMERICA.

THE RULING FORCED THE GOVERNMENT TO PROVE THERE WAS NO 'FEASIBLE AND PRUDENT ALTERNATIVE' BEFORE RUNNING A HIGHWAY THROUGH PARKLAND.

T WAS A VERY STRONG STATEMENT, SAYING THAT, 'WE'RE GOING TO REALLY MAKE YOU THINK 'WHETHER THERE'S NO ALTERNATIVE TO RUINING ALL THESE PARKS WITH FREEWAYS.'

(GEOFFREY) THE CASE WAS AN IMPORTANT WIN FOR THE GROWING CONSERVATION MOVEMENT.

AND IT GAVE A POWERFUL LEGAL TOOL TO PRESERVATIONISTS AND PLANNERS-- LIKE THE DAUGHTER OF SALLY HINES, WHO BECAME AN ARCHITECT.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MOTHERS GAVE THEM THEIR APPLE PIE RECIPE.

MY MOTHER LEFT ME A LANDMARK SUPREME COURT DECISION.

I'LL TAKE THAT.

(GEOFFREY) IN SEATTLE, THE DAMAGE WAS ALREADY DONE.

A FREEWAY CUT THE CITY IN HALF IN 1966.

RIGHT SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS OTHERWISE BEAUTIFUL CITY.

(GEOFFREY) BUT HERE A DESIGNER WOULD HEAL THE WOUND WITH A RADICAL, NEW KIND OF PARK.

(THAISA) IT WOULD DO SOMETHING THAT NO OTHER CITY HAD DONE.

SO IT WOULD PUT SEATTLE ON THE FOREFRONT IN BRINGING NATURE BACK INTO THE CITY.

(GEOFFREY) THE CONCRETE HAD BARELY DRIED ON INTERSTATE 5, WHEN SEATTLE STARTED SUFFERING BUYER'S REMORSE.

THE CITY DEBATED WHAT TO DO WITH THIS EYESORE THAT NOW DIVIDED ITS DOWNTOWN FROM THE RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS TO THE EAST.

(THAISA) THE PRIDE AND JOY OF SEATTLE IS THAT FROM ALL OF ITS HIGH POINTS YOU CAN SEE WATER, MOUNTAINS AND TREES.

SUDDENLY YOU HAVE THIS BIG RUSHING FREEWAY THAT WAS LOUD, THAT WAS UGLY.

(GEOFFREY) A LOCAL ARCHITECT NAMED PAUL THIRY OFFERED AN IDEA THAT WOULD REUNITE THE CITY, AND ADD MUCH-NEEDED DOWNTOWN PARKLAND... WHY NOT BUILD A PARK ON TOP OF THE FREEWAY?

HE WAS LAUGHED OUT OF CITY COUNCIL.

AND TEN YEARS LATER, OF COURSE, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO.

(GEOFFREY) TO MAKE THIS CRAZY IDEA A REALITY, SEATTLE TURNED TO LAWRENCE HALPRIN.

A PRODUCT OF THE 1960S COUNTERCULTURE, HALPRIN FELT HIS JOB WAS TO MAKE INSPIRATIONAL LANDSCAPES, WHERE PEOPLE MIGHT REALIZE THEIR CREATIVE POTENTIAL.

HE DIDN'T SEE FREEWAYS AS EYESORES, BUT AS AVENUES OF OPPORTUNITY.

(THAISA) LARRY HALPRIN HAD ACTUALLY WRITTEN A BOOK ON FREEWAYS.

HE WAS FASCINATED BY THE MODERNIZATION OF FREEWAYS, THE POWER OF FREEWAYS.

(GEOFFREY) TO BUILD A PARK ON TOP OF A FREEWAY, HALPRIN WOULD FACE CHALLENGES NO LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT HAD EVER CONFRONTED.

HE HAD TO DESIGN A 5 ACRE PARK THAT NOT ONLY SITS ATOP A CONCRETE LID, BUT THAT WEAVES AROUND PARKING GARAGES, A CITY STREET, AND A DENSE JUNGLE OF URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT A PLAN OF FREEWAY PARK YOU THINK, WELL WHY IS IT SUCH A CRAZY SHAPE?

AND IT'S A CRAZY SHAPE BECAUSE IT IS BENDING AND TWISTING, THE FREEWAY BENDS.

THE FREEWAY'S GOT ONRAMPS AND OFF-RAMPS.

IT'S GOT THE AVENUE THAT GOES OVER THE TOP OF THE PARK.

IT'S GOT CITY STREETS THAT GO UNDER THE PARK.

(GEOFFREY) TO LIMIT THE WEIGHT OF THE PARK ON THE CONCRETE LID, HALPRIN USED LIGHTWEIGHT SOIL, WHICH IS OFTEN ONLY A FOOT DEEP.

LARGE TREES SIT IN HUGE PLANTERS THAT HANG DOWN THROUGH HOLES IN THE LID.

THE ENGINEERING IS KIND OF MIND BOGGLING.

IT'S MIND BOGGLING.

AND IT'S ONLY WHEN YOU ACTUALLY WALK THROUGH IT YOU REALIZE WHAT IT HAS ACCOMPLISHED.

(GEOFFREY) LIKE PARKS WE'VE SEEN THROUGHOUT THIS SHOW, LAWRENCE HALPERN'S DESIGN OFFERS SPACES FOR QUIET CONTEMPLATION.

THERE'S ONE RIGHT HERE.

(GEOFFREY) HERE PARK-GOERS CAN ESCAPE THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF THE CITY.

I DO, I FEEL LIKE I'M THE WOODS.

YEAH.

(GEOFFREY) BUT WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT FREEWAY PARK IS THAT HALPERN DIDN'T IGNORE THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT.

YOU CAN HEAR THE CITY, YOU CAN SEE THE CITY, YOU'RE WALKING ON CONCRETE.

(GEOFFREY) IN MANY PLACES, PARK GOERS ARE BROUGHT FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE FREEWAY.

YOU CAN'T IGNORE A FREEWAY, AND IF WE HAD TRIED TO PRETEND IT WASN'T THERE WE WOULD ESSENTIALLY HAD COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT'S FAKE AND, TO ME, WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT FREEWAY PARK IS THAT IT'S REAL.

(GEOFFREY) AND HALPRIN MADE EXTENSIVE USE OF THE VERY MATERIAL FROM WHICH THE FREEWAY IS BUILT.

(THAISA) IT'S A CONCRETE PARK.

THERE'S CONCRETE PAVERS, THERE ARE CONCRETE WALLS.

UNLIKE MANY PARKS YOU NEVER HAVE A MOMENT OF 'OH, THIS MUST BE A PIECE OF WILDERNESS THAT WAS LEFT OVER.'

(GEOFFREY) AT THE SAME TIME THIS URBAN MATERIAL IS OFTEN USED TO EVOKE SEATTLE'S NATURAL SURROUNDINGS.

(THAISA) THE CONCRETE FORMS ARE AN ABSTRACTION OF THE MOUNTAINS.

THEY'RE AN ABSTRACTION OF THE BIG GRANITE BOULDERS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND THE FORMS OF THE MOUNTAINS.

(GEOFFREY) AT A FOUNTAIN CALLED "THE CANYON," WATER DROPS 30 FEET DOWN TO A 'RIVERBED' OF SORTS, WHICH IS ACTUALLY THE FREEWAY'S MEDIAN STRIP.

WHERE ARE WE RIGHT NOW?

WE ARE STANDING ACTUALLY BETWEEN THE TWO LANES OF TRAFFIC.

OH, ONE LANE AND THE OTHER.

WE'RE-WE'RE SUNK DOWN TO THE LEVEL OF THE FREEWAY.

(GEOFFREY) AT A MORE SERENE FOUNTAIN CALLED "THE CASCADES", WATER TUMBLES OVER CONCRETE "BOULDERS," DROWNING OUT THE ROAR OF TRAFFIC.

THE METAPHOR IS, THAT I'M IN THE CASCADES, AND I'M IN THE MOUNTAINS, AND THE CITY IN A WAY IS PART OF THAT.

(GEOFFREY) WITH FREEWAY PARK, LAWRENCE HALPERN SHOWED US HOW A PARK COULD EMBRACE BOTH NATURE AND THE CITY AT THE SAME TIME.

AND HE SHOWED CITIES ACROSS AMERICA HOW TO CREATE PARKS IN UNEXPECTED PLACES.

(WALTER) AND YOU START TO SEE PARKS BECOMING ALMOST ANY PIECE OF LEFTOVER LAND IN THE CITY.

PARKS TAKING THE PLACE OF A STREET SOMETIMES.

THAT THE PARK ETHIC IS SO INGRAINED IN AMERICAN CULTURE THAT WE JUST WANT IT IN THE CITY, AT ALL COSTS.

(GEOFFREY) IT WAS AN UNLIKELY PLACE FOR A PARK: A TOXIC WASTE SITE, OOZING WITH SLUDGE.

I CALLED IT INDUSTRIAL AFTERBIRTH.

(GEOFFREY) AND YET ITS LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT PRESERVED PIECES OF THE VERY INDUSTRY THAT POISONED THE SITE.

WELL, THERE IS NO OTHER VISUAL EXPERIENCE LIKE THIS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD YOU MIGHT SAY IT'S A DINOSAUR.

THE GAS WORKS.

IT'S A JURASSIC PARK OF THE PAST.

(GEOFFREY) RICHARD HAAG WAS NOT THE FIRST TO SEE POTENTIAL IN THIS SPOT.

NATIVE AMERICANS ONCE CONSIDERED IT SACRED LAND.

AND THE OLMSTED BROTHERS RECOGNIZED ITS IDYLLIC LOCATION.

(THAISA) SO IN 1903, OLMSTED HAD ACTUALLY DONE A PLAN FOR SEATTLE AND HE HAD IDENTIFIED THIS SITE AS A BEAUTIFUL SITE FOR A PARK.

(GEOFFREY) THE SEATTLE LIGHTING COMPANY GOT THE LAND INSTEAD.

BUT AFTER A HALF CENTURY OF SYNTHETIC GAS PRODUCTION, IT CLOSED UP SHOP IN 1956, LEAVING BEHIND AN UGLY MESS.

GAS WORKS PARK IN 1956 WAS A BIG BLACK HOLE ON THE CITY AND IT HAD NINE TO FOURTEEN FEET OF SLUDGE.

(GEOFFREY) WHEN THE CITY ACQUIRED THE SITE, MANY ASSUMED SEATTLE WOULD FINALLY GET THE PARK THE OLMSTEDS ENVISIONED.

ROLLING GRASS LAWN WITH TREES, BIG TREES THAT ARE EMBLEMATIC OF SEATTLE.

A LOVELY PARK, LIKE THE OTHER PARKS.

(GEOFFREY) BUT THE GUY WHO GOT THE JOB TO DESIGN GAS WORKS PARK... HAD A VERY DIFFERENT IDEA.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME YOU SAW THIS SITE?

I DO, VERY DISTINCTLY.

I WAS IN A ROWBOAT.

RIGHT OUT THERE?

YEAH.

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

WELL WE SAW THIS GHOSTLY SILHOUETTE.

AND I SAID, 'WHAT THE 'F' IS THAT?

[LAUGHS] (GEOFFREY) RICHARD HAAG ACTUALLY STARTED LIVING ON THE TOXIC SITE, TO GET A BETTER FEEL FOR ITS POSSIBILITIES.

(HAAG) SLEEPING BAG, I MOVED AROUND IN THESE VACANT BUILDINGS.

(GEOFFREY) HE QUICKLY FELL IN LOVE WITH THE HULKING RUINS.

THE MOST SACRED ELEMENT ON THE SITE WAS THE BIG TOWER RIGHT THERE.

SO I DECIDED QUITE EARLY THAT I WOULD GO DOWN TO THE WIRE TO SAVE THAT TOWER.

IT HAS FOUR CHILDREN THERE.

THAT'S THE BIG MOMMA.

THE BIG MOTHER- HAS THESE CHILDREN.

SO WHO WOULD SPLIT UP A FAMILY?

(GEOFFREY) BUT SAVING THESE STRUCTURES WOULD BE AN UPHILL BATTLE.

HAAG HAD TO OVERCOME YEARS OF OPPOSITION FROM PUBLIC OFFICIALS WHO CONSIDERED THE GAS WORKS AN UGLY REMINDER OF SEATTLE POLLUTED PAST.

THERE WERE TWO TYPES OF POLLUTION HERE.

ONE WAS THE MINDSET OF THE OFFICIALS.

(GEOFFREY) AND THEN HE HAD THAT TOXIC SOIL TO CONTEND WITH.

I DON'T THINK YOU COULD REALLY CALL IT SOIL.

(GEOFFREY) RATHER THAN REMOVING THE "SLUDGE," RICHARD HAAG HAD THE UNHEARD OF IDEA OF SAVING IT.

HE WOULD CLEAN THE SOIL IN PLACE, USING A NEW SCIENCE CALLED BIOREMEDIATION.

(THAISA) SO YOU ADD SOME OXYGEN AND YOU ADD ORGANIC MATERIALS, YOU ADD SOME HAY AND SAND.

THEY ADDED ALL OF THIS, LIKE A GOOD FARMER WOULD DO WITH LAND THAT HAD BEEN OVERUSED AND ABUSED.

AND WHAT YOU ACTUALLY GET IS SOIL, WHICH THEN THINGS COULD GROW ON.

(GEOFFREY) HAAG PILED THE SLUDGE THAT WAS TOO TOXIC TO CLEAN AND CAPPED IT WITH CLAY AND SOIL, CREATING WHAT'S KNOWN AS KITE HILL.

SO YOU BURIED THE DEBRIS THAT LIVED OFF THIS SITING AND YOU MADE A HILL?

EXACTLY.

(GEOFFREY) THE ROLLING HILLS ARE MORE THAN JUST A THING OF BEAUTY.

HAAG DESIGNED THEM TO STEER PURIFYING RAINWATER THROUGH THE SITE.

SO THE IDEA WAS TO CREATE THE SITE THAT WOULD HEAL ITSELF FOR THE MOST PART.

(GEOFFREY) BUT THE VISUAL CENTERPIECE OF THE PARK IS THE FAMILY OF TOWERS THAT HAD SO ENTRANCED RICHARD HAAG.

HE REPURPOSED THE INDUSTRIAL RUINS AS FUNCTIONAL SPACES FOR PICNICKING AND PLAYING.

SO IT'S REALLY LIKE AN INDUSTRIAL PLAYGROUND?

YEAH, WOULDN'T YOU WANT TO PLAY?

ABSOLUTELY.

MY KIDS THEY CAME DOWN WITH ME AND PLAYED.

(GEOFFREY) HAAG SCOURED THE GRIMY, SOOT-COVERED MACHINES...

THERE WAS PIGEON GUANO ALL OVER THE FLOOR.

(GEOFFREY) ...AND TRANSFORMED THEM INTO JUNGLE GYMS.

IT TAKES A LOT OF IMAGINATION.

THANK YOU.

[LAUGHS] (GEOFFREY) BUT THESE SALVAGED INDUSTRIAL RUINS ALSO SERVE A SYMBOLIC FUNCTION.

THEY ARE IMPORTANT REMINDERS OF THE HISTORY OF SEATTLE-- AND AMERICA.

WELL, OUR INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE -- THESE ARE OUR GREAT FEATS OF THE 20TH CENTURY WHY ERASE THEM?

THEY ALLOW US TO SORT OF UNDERSTAND WHO ARE, WHERE WE'VE BEEN AND HOPEFULLY THEY BEGIN TO SUGGEST WHERE WE CAN GO IN THE FUTURE.

(GEOFFREY) RICHARD HAAG'S UNUSUAL DECISION TO SAVE THESE RUSTING TOWERS EARNED HIM INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION WHEN THE PARK OPENED IN 1975.

A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT WAS A CRAZY IDEA.

YES...

SOME STILL DO.

(GEOFFREY) AND YET RICHARD HAAG'S PARK HAS ULTIMATELY CHANGED AMERICA'S PERSPECTIVE ON OUR INDUSTRIAL PAST.

IT WAS SHAMEFUL FOR THE CITY TO HAVE THIS UGLY SPOT RIGHT SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY.

AND YET WHAT HAAG AND OTHER ARTISTS SAW WERE A PIECE OF HISTORY THAT WAS ACTUALLY IMPORTANT TO SEATTLE AND A CHANCE TO RETHINK WHAT SHOULD BE PRESERVED, WHAT WAS IMPORTANT TO US.

(GEOFFREY) ITS CREATORS MADE WHAT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE A REALITY.

THEY TOOK A DERELICT RAIL-LINE AND TRANSFORMED IT INTO A PARK THAT DRAWS NEARLY 5 MILLION VISITORS A YEAR.

WHAT TO ME IS POWERFUL IS I THINK IT CAN MAKE THE CRAZY CREDIBLE.

SO PEOPLE THAT HAVE REALLY IDEAS THAT ARE NEW, DIFFERENT, THAT PEOPLE WILL THINK THAT'S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT THEY CAN POINT TO THE HIGHLINE AND SEE HOW SOMETIMES THESE DREAMS ACTUALLY COME TRUE.

(GEOFFREY) NOT SO LONG AGO THE HIGH LINE WAS A RUNDOWN RUIN, CUTTING ACROSS 1 MILE AND A HALF OF NEW YORK'S LOWER WEST SIDE.

IT WAS A RELIC OF ANOTHER AGE, WHEN FREIGHT TRAINS TRANSPORTED FOOD TO AND FROM FACTORIES AND WAREHOUSES HERE.

BUT BY THE 1990'S IT WAS USED TO TRAFFIC ILLICIT ACTIVITY.

HEROIN NEEDLES, DISCARD NEEDLES, PROPHYLACTICS, IT WAS DISCARDED FURNITURE, ALL SORTS OF STUFF.

YEAH, EITHER PEOPLE WANTED TO TEAR IT DOWN OR JUST DIDN'T CARE.

MOST PEOPLE JUST DIDN'T CARE.

(GEOFFREY) WHERE MANY SAW AN EYESORE, ROBERT HAMMOND SAW A PIECE OF THE PAST WORTH SAVING.

(HAMMOND) WHEN I CAME UP HERE, THERE WERE WILDFLOWERS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY.

SO YOU HAD THIS JUXTAPOSITION OF NATURE OVERTAKING THIS MANMADE STRUCTURE.

WILDFLOWERS WITH VIEWS OF THE HUDSON RIVER AND THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING.

(GEOFFREY) WITH THE HIGH LINE THREATENED BY THE WRECKING BALL, HAMMOND ATTENDED A COMMUNITY MEETING ABOUT ITS FUTURE.

I SAT NEXT TO A GUY I DIDN'T KNOW WHO LIVED IN CHELSEA.

AND BY THE END OF THE MEETING WE REALIZED WE WERE THE ONLY TWO PEOPLE INTERESTED IN IT.

(GEOFFREY) THE STRANGER WAS A WRITER NAMED JOSHUA DAVID.

THE TWO FORMED A GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN CALLED FRIENDS OF THE HIGH LINE... ...AND HIT ON AN IDEA TO TURN THE FREIGHT LINE INTO SOME SORT OF PUBLIC SPACE.

WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE.

WE WEREN'T ARCHITECTS, WE WEREN'T PLANNERS.

SO WE ACTUALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN HERE.

(GEOFFREY) THEY SLOWLY BUILT COMMUNITY SUPPORT, ENLISTING THE HELP OF A PROMINENT PHOTOGRAPHER TO CONVEY THE SITE'S ALLURE.

AND SOON CELEBRITIES JOINED THEIR CAUSE.

BUT WE ALSO MADE THE ECONOMIC CASE THAT THIS MADE FINANCIAL SENSE.

THAT IT WOULD HELP REVITALIZE THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

THAT IT WOULD BRING NEW TAX REVENUES TO THE CITY.

(GEOFFREY) THEY HAD THE MONEY TO START CONSTRUCTION BY 2006.

BUT BEFORE THE STRUCTURE COULD BE TRANSFORMED INTO A PARK, IT HAD TO BE COMPLETELY OVERHAULED.

WE HAD TO CHECK THE STRUCTURE AND WATERPROOF IT AND MAKE SURE IT WAS SOUND.

WE SURVEYED ALL THE RAILS THAT WERE HERE.

WE NUMBERED ALL THE RAILS THAT WERE HERE AND WE PUT THEM ALL BACK IN THE EXACT PLACE THAT THEY CAME FROM.

(GEOFFREY) THE PARK'S DESIGNERS-- JAMES CORNER AND DILLER SCOFIDIO RENFRO-- FELT THERE WAS A CERTAIN MAGIC TO THE DERELICT URBAN RUIN.

AND THEY WERE DETERMINED TO PRESERVE THAT MAGIC... RAILS AND ALL.

WERE YOU AFRAID OF RUINING THE RUIN?

HA-HA, YES AND WE WERE ALSO AFRAID OF MAKING TOO MUCH ARCHITECTURE, ACTUALLY.

BECAUSE IT REALLY INVOLVED THE LIGHTEST TOUCH TO KEEP THAT EDGINESS TO IT AND ALLOW THE PLANTS TO FEEL WILD.

(GEOFFREY) THE ARCHITECTS DESIGNED A WALKWAY OF INDUSTRIAL CONCRETE PLANKS.

IT MEANDERS THROUGH A LUSH CARPET OF PLANTINGS, OCCASIONALLY SPLINTERING, TO ALLOW PLANTS TO GROW UP THROUGH THE CRACKS.

IT'S VERY MUCH INSPIRED BY THE WAY THAT NATURE MAKES A CONQUEST OVER CULTURE AND THEN CULTURE OVER NATURE.

THERE ARE THESE CYCLES.

(GEOFFREY) THE CHOICE OF PLANTS ALSO EVOKED THE SITE'S PAST.

PLANTING DESIGNER PIET OUDOLF REPLANTED SOME OF THE SAME SPECIES THAT ONCE THRIVED HERE ON THE ABANDONED TRACKS.

WE COULD TAKE OUR CLUES FROM THE PLANTS AND THE WAY THEY MADE THEMSELVES AT HOME ON THE HIGH LINE.

PERHAPS MORE THAN ANY OTHER PARK IN THIS SHOW, THE HIGH LINE IS A CELEBRATION OF ITS URBAN ENVIRONMENT.

IT RUNS RIGHT ALONGSIDE-- AND EVEN THROUGH-- BUILDINGS.

ELSEWHERE, THE DESIGNERS CREATED "EPISODES," WHERE PARK-GOERS CAN STOP TO TAKE IN ONE-OF-A-KIND VIEWS OF THE SURROUNDING CITY.

(HAMMOND) THE HIGHLINE IS PART OF THE CITY.

YOU CAN SEE THE TAXIS.

YOU CAN SMELL THE CITY.

YOU SEE THE CITY.

AND IT GIVES YOU THIS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VANTAGE POINT FROM THE CITY YOU LIVE IN EVERY DAY.

(GEOFFREY) THIS URBAN APPROACH TO PARK-BUILDING CAUGHT THE COUNTRY'S IMAGINATION.

AND NOW OTHER CITIES ARE REPURPOSING THEIR OLD RAIL LINES.

EVERY CITY, EVERY MAYOR, EVERY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IS BEATING THE DOOR DOWN.

THEY GO TO NEW YORK AND THEN THEY GO BACK HOME, 'HEY DO WE HAVE AN ELEVATED RAILROAD TRACK SOME PLACE?

FIND ME AN ELEVATED RAIL ROAD TRACK, WE GOT TO DO THIS.'

(GEOFFREY) BUT PARK DESIGNERS AREN'T JUST ATTRACTED TO THE HIGH LINE'S UNEXPECTED LOCATION.

THEY ARE INSPIRED BY THIS CLEVER DESIGN... THAT ENCOURAGES VISITORS TO SLOW DOWN, AND ENJOY THE TIMELESS APPEAL OF A STROLL THROUGH THE PARK.

I MEAN ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I NOTICED RIGHT AFTER WE OPENED WAS THAT PEOPLE WERE HOLDING HANDS AND NEW YORK CITY IS NOT A HAND HOLDING CITY.

BUT THEY COME UP HERE, THEY HOLD HANDS AND I THINK IT'S THE LANDSCAPE AND THE PLANTING, THE DESIGN CHANGES THE WAY PEOPLE INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER.

I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WORKS WITH THE HIGHLINE.

PEOPLE SAY THEY'RE COMING FOR THE DESIGN, BUT THEY'RE ALSO COMING TO SEE EACH OTHER AND INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER.

THE WHOLE PACE OF NEW YORK GETS A LITTLE BIT SLOWER.

(GEOFFREY) IN THE HIGH LINE'S SLEEK NEW PACKAGING IS AN IDEA THAT'S OLDER THAN AMERICA ITSELF: THAT A PARK CAN BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER.

OVER THE PAST 3 CENTURIES, WE'VE SEEN OUR PUBLIC SPACES EVOLVE; BUT THEY'VE CONTINUED TO MEET OUR MOST BASIC NEEDS: FOR A PLACE TO GATHER WITH NEIGHBORS.

AND DISCOVER THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE.

A PLACE TO GET AWAY FROM THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF THE CITY.

AND NOW TO CELEBRATE THE CITY AND ITS HISTORY.

PARKS HAVE PLAYED SUCH A CRITICAL ROLE IN AMERICAN LIFE THAT THEY SEEM TO BE NOT SO MUCH A LUXURY...AS A BASIC NECESSITY.

WE BELIEVE EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO A PARK IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD, THAT NOBODY SHOULD LIVE TERRIBLY FAR FROM A PARK.

AND WE TALK ABOUT NEIGHBORHOODS BEING DEPRIVED WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE A PUBLIC PARK.

THAT IS ACTUALLY PARTICULARLY AMERICAN.

PARKS ARE SEEN AS SOMETHING THAT BUILDS COMMUNITY, THAT PROVIDES A RESPITE FROM THE CITY, THAT ARE HEALTHY, AND SO IN THAT WAY EVERY COMMUNITY NEEDS TO HAVE ONE.

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