The area's decline began around the 1960s as part of the general decline of the waterfront area.
Containerization of freight; the advent of supermarkets which changed the distribution pattern for meat, dairy and produce from a locally or regionally based system to a more national one; and the development of frozen foods and refrigerated trucks to deliver them were all factors in this, but meatpacking continued to be the major activity in the neighborhood through the 1970s.
At the same time a new "industry", nightclubs and other entertainment and leisure operations catering to a gay clientele, began to spring up in the area.

In the 1980s, as the industrial activities in the area continued their downturn, it became known as a center for drug dealing and prostitution, particularly involving transsexuals.{{cn}{ Concurrent with the rise in illicit sexual activity, the sparsely populated industrial area became the focus of the city's burgeoning BDSM subculture; over a dozen sex clubs – including such notable ones as The Anvil, The Manhole, the The Mineshaft, and the heterosexual-friendly Hellfire Club – flourished in the area.
Many of these establishments were under the direct control of the Mafia or subject to NYPD protection rackets.
In 1985 The Mineshaft was forcibly shuttered by the city at the height of AIDS preventionism.

Beginning in the late 1990s, the Meatpacking District went through a transformation.
High-end boutiques catering to young professionals and hipsters opened, including Diane von Fürstenberg, Christian Louboutin, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Barbour, Rubin & Chapelle, Theory, Ed Hardy, Puma, Moschino, ADAM by Adam Lippes, and an Apple Store; restaurants such as Pastis—which closed in 2014—and 5 Ninth; and nightclubs such as Tenjune.
In 2004, New York magazine called the Meatpacking District "New York’s most fashionable neighborhood".

A catalyst for even greater transformation of the area was the opening in June 2009 of the first segment of the High Line linear park.
A former elevated freight railroad built under the aegis of Robert Moses, it opened to great reviews in the District (and in Chelsea to the north) as a greenway modeled after Paris's Promenade Plantée.
Thirteen months earlier, the Whitney Museum of American Art had announced that it would build a second, Renzo Piano-designed home at 99 Gansevoort Street, just west of Washington Street and adjacent to the southernmost entrance to the High Line; and on May 1, 2015, the museum opened at this site.
These were turning points in the changes experienced by the neighborhood over the first two decades of the 21st century, transforming it from a gritty manufacturing district into a bustling high-end retail, dining, and residential area, as documented by photographer Brian Rose in his 2014 book Metamorphosis.
The area's decline began around the 1960s as part of the general decline of the waterfront area. Containerization of freight; the advent of supermarkets which changed the distribution pattern for meat, dairy and produce from a locally or regionally based system to a more national one; and the development of frozen foods and refrigerated trucks to deliver them were all factors in this, but meatpacking continued to be the major activity in the neighborhood through the 1970s. At the same time a new "industry", nightclubs and other entertainment and leisure operations catering to a gay clientele, began to spring up in the area.
In the 1980s, as the industrial activities in the area continued their downturn, it became known as a center for drug dealing and prostitution, particularly involving transsexuals.{{cn}{ Concurrent with the rise in illicit sexual activity, the sparsely populated industrial area became the focus of the city's burgeoning BDSM subculture; over a dozen sex clubs – including such notable ones as The Anvil, The Manhole, the The Mineshaft, and the heterosexual-friendly Hellfire Club – flourished in the area. Many of these establishments were under the direct control of the Mafia or subject to NYPD protection rackets. In 1985 The Mineshaft was forcibly shuttered by the city at the height of AIDS preventionism.
Beginning in the late 1990s, the Meatpacking District went through a transformation. High-end boutiques catering to young professionals and hipsters opened, including Diane von Fürstenberg, Christian Louboutin, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Barbour, Rubin & Chapelle, Theory, Ed Hardy, Puma, Moschino, ADAM by Adam Lippes, and an Apple Store; restaurants such as Pastis—which closed in 2014—and 5 Ninth; and nightclubs such as Tenjune. In 2004, New York magazine called the Meatpacking District "New York’s most fashionable neighborhood".
A catalyst for even greater transformation of the area was the opening in June 2009 of the first segment of the High Line linear park. A former elevated freight railroad built under the aegis of Robert Moses, it opened to great reviews in the District (and in Chelsea to the north) as a greenway modeled after Paris's Promenade Plantée. Thirteen months earlier, the Whitney Museum of American Art had announced that it would build a second, Renzo Piano-designed home at 99 Gansevoort Street, just west of Washington Street and adjacent to the southernmost entrance to the High Line; and on May 1, 2015, the museum opened at this site. These were turning points in the changes experienced by the neighborhood over the first two decades of the 21st century, transforming it from a gritty manufacturing district into a bustling high-end retail, dining, and residential area, as documented by photographer Brian Rose in his 2014 book Metamorphosis.
Meatpacking District, Manhattan