The passage through the piers culminates in a mass of trees planted on a steeply sloped hillock. As it continues, it slices through the hillock, walled by thick sheets of weathering steel and directs the visitor toward “Brick House” by Simone Leigh, a monumental bronze bust of an African-American woman. Sitting in a surprisingly welcome open plaza, she presides above the traffic-clogged cacophony of 10th Avenue in an attitude of world-weary calm, though her face is evocatively blank where eyes would be. It is the inaugural commission for a series of temporary installations organized by the nonprofit Friends of the High Line, the organization that helps the City operate the park.

Because of the narrowness of the viaduct, “The Spur offers a space to host activities and events,” says DS+R partner Ricardo Scofidio. “We were able to build the largest planters, add the most seating, and accommodate the largest artwork there,” he adds. Both loose chairs and built-in benches of recycled teak add to the casual, comfortable ambience.

Not coincidentally, the openness and calm contrasts with the older park that increasingly resembles the crowded streets below with its hordes of amiably meandering visitors and the many looming buildings—some by celebrity architects, including Zaha Hadid, Neil Denari, and BIG—that have risen along its east and west edges.