When the first freight railroads were built in New York, the street level tracks caused many pedestrian fatalities, with 10th Avenue even earning the nickname "Death Avenue".

The solution? The 13-mile (21km) West Side Elevated Line, which eliminated more than 100 railroad crossings at street level and cost at least $150 million to build in 1930. That's around $2.8bn (£2.2bn) today. It was fully operational by 1934 and even ran through the middle of several buildings to provide seamless access to factories.

However, by the 1960s, trucking had overtaken rail for freight transportation and parts of the elevated line met their demise. Over the next few decades, trains stopped running and sections of the rail that didn’t get demolished became an eyesore.

10 abandoned spaces given a new lease of life