Formerly named Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed in April 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly erected Times Building, which is now called One Times Square and is the site of the annual ball drop on New Year's Eve. Times Square, nicknamed "The Crossroads of the World" and "The Great White Way," has achieved the status of an iconic world landmark and is a symbol of New York City and the United States.
The northern triangle of Times Square is technically Duffy Square, dedicated in 1937 to Chaplain Francis P. Duffy of New York City's "Fighting 69th" Infantry Regiment; a memorial to Duffy is located there, along with a statue of George M. Cohan, and the TKTS discount theatre tickets booth. The stepped red roof of the TKTS booth also provides seating for various events. The Duffy Statue and the square were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001
Before and after the American Revolution, the area belonged to John Morin Scott, a general of the New York militia where he served under George Washington. Scott's manor house was at what is now 43rd Street, surrounded by countryside used for farming and breeding horses. In the first half of the 19th century it became one of the prized possessions of John Jacob Astor, who made a second fortune selling off lots to hotels and other real estate concerns as the city rapidly spread uptown.[3]
In 1904, New York Times publisher Adolph S. Ochs moved the newspaper's operations to a new skyscraper on 42nd Street at Longacre Square. Ochs persuaded Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr. to construct a subway station there, and the area was renamed "Times Square" on April 8, 1904. Just three weeks later, the first electrified advertisement appeared on the side of a bank at the corner of 46th Street and Broadway.[4]
The New York Times, according to Nolan, moved to more spacious offices across Broadway in 1913. The old Times Building was later named the Allied Chemical Building. Now known simply as One Times Square, it is famed for the Times Square Ball drop on its roof every New Year's Eve.
Also in 1913, the Lincoln Highway Association, headed by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, chose the intersection of 42nd Street and Broadway, at the southeast corner of Times Square, to be the Eastern Terminus of the Lincoln Highway, the first road across the United States, which originally spanned 3,389 miles (5,454 km) coast-to-coast through 13 states to its Western Terminus in Lincoln Park in San Francisco, California.
As the growth in New York City continued, Times Square quickly became a cultural hub full of theaters, music halls, and upscale hotels.
Times Square quickly became New York's agora, a place to gather to await great tidings and to celebrate them, whether a World Series or a presidential election
—James Traub, The Devil's Playground: A Century of Pleasure and Profit in Times Square
Celebrities such as Irving Berlin, Fred Astaire, and Charlie Chaplin were closely associated with Times Square in the 1910s and 1920s. During this period, the area was nicknamed The Tenderloin[7] because it was supposedly the most desirable location in Manhattan. However, it was during this period that the area was besieged by crime and corruption, in the form of gambling and prostitution; one case that garnered huge attention was the arrest and subsequent execution of police officer Charles Becker.[8]
The general atmosphere changed with the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Times Square acquired a reputation as a dangerous neighborhood in the following decades. From the 1960s to the early 1990s, the seediness of the area, especially due its go-go bars, sex shops, and adult theaters, became an infamous symbol of the city's decline.
In the 1980s, a commercial building boom began in the western parts of the Midtown as part of a long-term development plan developed under Mayor Ed Koch and David Dinkins. In the mid-1990s, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (1994–2002) led an effort to "clean up" the area, increasing security, closing pornographic theaters, pressuring drug dealers and "squeegee men" to relocate, and opening more tourist-friendly attractions and upscale establishments. Advocates of the remodeling claim that the neighborhood is safer and cleaner. Detractors have countered that the changes have homogenized or "Disneyfied" the character of Times Square and have unfairly targeted lower-income New Yorkers from nearby neighborhoods such as Hell's Kitchen.[citation needed]
In 1990, the state of New York took possession of six of the nine historic theatres on 42nd Street, and the New 42nd Street non-profit organization was appointed to oversee their restoration and maintenance. The theatres underwent renovation for Broadway shows, conversion for commercial purposes, or demolition.
Times Square today
The theaters of Broadway and the huge number of animated neon and LED signs have long made them one of New York's iconic images, and a symbol of the intensely urban aspects of Manhattan. Times Square is the only neighborhood with zoning ordinances requiring building owners to display illuminated signs.[10] The density of illuminated signs in Times Square now rivals that of Las Vegas. Officially, signs in Times Square are called "spectaculars", and the largest of them are called "jumbotrons."
Notable signage includes the Toshiba billboard directly under the NYE ball drop and the curved seven-story NASDAQ sign at the NASDAQ MarketSite at 4 Times Square on 43rd Street and the curved Coca-Cola sign located underneath another large LED display owned and operated by Samsung. Both the Coca-Cola sign and Samsung LED displays were built by LED display manufacturer Daktronics. Times Square's first environmentally friendly billboard powered by wind and solar energy was first lit on December 4, 2008
In 1992, the Times Square Alliance (formerly the Times Square Business Improvement District, or "BID" for short), a coalition of city government and local businesses dedicated to improving the quality of commerce and cleanliness in the district, started operations in the area.[12] Times Square now boasts attractions such as ABC's Times Square Studios, where Good Morning America is broadcast live, an elaborate Toys "Я" Us store, and competing Hershey's and M&M's stores across the street from each other, as well as restaurants such as Ruby Foo's (Chinese food), the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company (seafood), Planet Hollywood Restaurant and Bar (theme restaurant) and Carmine's (Italian) along with a number of multiplex movie theaters. It has also attracted a number of large financial, publishing, and media firms to set up headquarters in the area. A larger presence of police has improved the safety of the area.
In 2002, New York City's mayor, Rudy Giuliani, gave the oath of office to the city's next mayor, Michael Bloomberg, at Times Square after midnight on January 1 as part of the 2001–2002 New Year's celebration. Approximately 500,000 revelers attended. Security was high following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, with more than 7,000 New York City police officers on duty in the Square, twice the number for an ordinary year.
From August 14, 2003 to August 15, 2003, the lights of Times Square went dark as a result of the 2003 Northeast blackout, which paralyzed most of the region and parts of Canada for over 24 hours. Power was finally restored to the area on the evening of Friday, August 15.
On the morning of March 6, 2008 a small bomb caused minor damage but no reported injuries.
On February 26, 2009, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that traffic lanes along Broadway from 42nd Street to 47th Street would be de-mapped starting Memorial Day 2009 and transformed into pedestrian plazas until at least the end of the year as a trial. The same was done from 33rd to 35th Street. The goal is to ease traffic congestion throughout the Midtown grid. The results will be closely monitored to determine if the project works and should be extended." Bloomberg also stated " he believes the street shutdown will make New York more livable by reducing pollution, cutting down on pedestrian accidents and helping traffic flow more smoothly."
The original seats put out for pedestrians were inexpensive multicolored plastic lawn chairs, a source of amusement to many New Yorkers. They lasted from the onset of the plaza transformation until August 14, 2009, when they were ceremoniously bundled together in an installation christened "Now You See It, Now You Don't" by the artist Jason Peters. They were shortly replaced by sturdier metal furniture, and on February 11, 2010, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the pedestrian plazas would remain permanent.
In February 2011, Times Square became smoke free as New York extended the outdoors smoking ban to the area. The measure will see smokers fined $50 if they light up.
Times Square, the most bustling square of New York is known for its many Broadway theatres, cinemas and supersigns. It is one of those places that make New York a city that never sleeps.
History
At the end of the 19th century, New York City had expanded up to 42nd street and the area was becoming the center of the city's social scene. In 1904, the New York Times built the Times Tower on 43rd street just off Broadway to replace the premises in Downtown. The square facing the building was called the Longacre square, but was soon renamed Times Square. The name is now used for the area between 40th and 53rd street and 6th and 9th avenue.
New York Times Headquarters
The inauguration of the New York Times' new headquarters at 1 Times Square was celebrated with a fireworks display, starting a New Year's eve tradition which still continues today.
Theater District
At the start of the first World War, Times square was the center of the Theater district and attracted a large number of visitors. This made the square an ideal place for billboards. In 1917 the first large electric display billboard was installed. 11 Years later, the first running electric sign was let for the first time, to announce Herbert Hoover's victory in the Presidential elections. The billboards have become such a tourist attraction for the area, that the zoning now requires the buildings to covered with billboard
Decline
In the thirties, the Great Depression led to a sharp decline in theater attendance. Many businesses had to close down, and they were quickly replaced by strip teases and and peep shows. The area continued to attract visitors though and after the second World War, the Theater district was booming again. At the end of the sixties, the area started to go downhill and by the mid-seventies, tourists avoided Times square,
Disneyfication
In the 1980s redevelopment proposals were submitted, with little result. This changed a decade later, when the Walt Disney Company opened a Disney store on Times Square. This attracted more family-friendly businesses to the area, leading to a so-called 'Disneyfication'. The area is - like most of New York City - a lot safer now than in the early nineties and is once again a magnet for tourists and a center of New York's social scene.
Notable landmarks
Times Square is a busy intersection of art and commerce, where scores of advertisements – electric, neon and illuminated signs and "zipper" news crawls – vie for viewers' attention. A few famous examples:
• TKTS booth
• Coca-Cola sign
• Budweiser
• Times Square Studios (home of ABC's Good Morning America)
• One Astor Plaza (home of MTV's New York studios)
• Chevrolet clock (an analog clock displayed on a digital screen)
• Forever 21 (formerly Virgin Megastores)
• The Hard Rock Cafe New York
• Planet Hollywood
• Disney Store
Major buildings on or near Times Square
• One Times Square (site of the New Year's Eve ball drop)
• Bertelsmann Building
• Brill Building
• Thomson Reuters Building (3 Times Square)[29]
• Times Square Tower
• New York Times Tower
• Bank of America Tower
• The Orion
• AXA Center
• One Astor Plaza
• 1500 Broadway
• Paramount Theatre
• Church of Saint Mary the Virgin
• Condé Nast Building (4 Times Square)
• 1585 Broadway
• 810 7th Avenue
• 5 Times Square
• 3 Times Square
• 11 Times Square (Times Square Plaza)
• The Bowtie Building (1530 Broadway) Corporate presence
The following companies have corporate presences in the area:
• Bertelsmann
• Six Flags Inc.
• Condé Nast Publications
• Diamond Management & Technology Consultants
• Ernst & Young
• Instinet
• King & Spalding
• Barclays Capital (formerly Lehman Brothers)
• Morgan Stanley
• Bain & Company
• MTV Networks
• The New York Times Company
• Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
• O'Melveny & Myers
• Thomson Reuters
• Viacom
Hotels
• New York Marriott Marquis
• W Times Square
• Renaissance Hotel Times Square (2 Times Square)
• Sheraton New York
• Crowne Plaza Times Square
Times Square – 42nd Street
Times Square – 42nd Street is a large station complex of the New York City Subway, located under Times Square at the intersection of 42nd Street, Seventh Avenue, and Broadway in Midtown Manhattan. When considered together with 42nd Street – Port Authority Bus Terminal, it is the busiest complex in the system, serving 58,422,597 passengers in 2010.
The complex provides free transfers between the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line, BMT Broadway Line, IRT Flushing Line, and 42nd Street Shuttle, with a long transfer to the IND Eighth Avenue Line one block west at 42nd Street – Port Authority Bus Terminal. It is served by the following trains:
The New York Marriott Marquis brings the energy of Manhattan to your door. Located in the heart of Times Square and the Broadway theater district, this hotel in Manhattan, New York is perfect for weekend getaways, as well as family and business travel. Boasting updated rooms and suites, high-speed elevators and six restaurants and lounges, this New York hotel in Times Square puts you near attractions like Fifth Avenue shopping, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, NBC Studios and Central Park. We're also close to attractions like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the UN and Madison Square Garden - so a stay at this Midtown Manhattan hotel in Times Square ensures that entertainment is just around the corner. Our central location also makes us the perfect choice for meetings, conventions, social events and weddings. With renowned Marriott service, creative catering and a variety of ballrooms, the Marriott Marquis hotel is the best choice for Manhattan events.
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