Church, Club, Marketplace: The Many Lives of the Limelight

That’s the thing about New York department: First an Episcopal Church; then an infamous nightclub; next a retail marketplace: Where else but New York City could such a reinvention take place?
The reinvention in this case belongs to what was originally the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, a historic 19th century church. Located at West 20th Street and Avenue of the Americas in Chelsea, the church was later, in what can only be termed severe irony, converted to the Limelight Club, a nightspot, in 1983. Known primarily for drug-infused parties, the club was also associated with Michael Alig, the party promoter who was convicted of murdering a club regular; the event became the basis for the film “Party Monster.”
In a sign of the economic times, the building is now set to become a marketplace for small business owners, especially those who may be having trouble getting the finances to open a full store. Cupcake Stop, for example, which has been doing business out of a truck, has already signed on. About 20 tenants in total have committed to taking on space, including Mari’s New York Brownies; the B.R. Cohen Winery; and J. Sisters Beauty Salon.
The project (not surprisingly, given its history) has been fraught with building issues, from work being done without a permit to a denial of approval to make certain exterior changes.
The complex is now slated to open in March. (It was pushed ahead from this month.)
Will it proceed on schedule?
Well, if history provides a lesson, it’s that the building may have several more lives ahead of it, in any case.

Former High Line Railway Gets Second Life As Public Park

The new High Line Park, an urban park in the sky, opened on June 9 to the public in New York City. It is constructed on top of the skeleton of a former rail system on building rooftops 30 feet above the ground. High Line Park is located on Manhattan’s West Side, running from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 20th Street in Chelsea, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues.
The rooftop park was renovated and designed by James Corner Field Operations along with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro. It has wooden lawns chairs, an LED lighting system, and landscape of green plants and grass among concrete. The park is accessible from Gansevoort Street, 14th Street, 16th Street, 18th Street, and 20th Street, and is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The original High Line, a 1.45-mile long steel railway, was built in the 1930s in an effort to remove freight trains from street traffic after too many accidents occurred between the two. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Nature took over after trains stopped running and became overgrown and untouched.
Friends of the High Line was founded in 1999, a non-profit community-led group advocating for the High Line’s preservation and reuse as a public park. The group gained city support in 2002 with a City Council resolution supporting the High Line’s reuse. Groundbreaking and construction started in April 2006.
A second section from 20th Street to 30th Street is projected to be ready in 2010, and a third and final section will come after that.