Times Square

Times Square is the name given to a principal intersection at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Like Red Square in Moscow, Champs-Elysées in Paris, Trafalgar Square in London, Macroplaza in Monterrey, or Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Times Square has achieved the status of an iconic world landmark and has become a symbol of its home city. Times Square is principally defined by its lighted and animated advertisements.

Times Square consists of the blocks between Sixth and Ninth Avenues from east to west, and West 39th and West 52nd Streets from south to north, making up the western part of the commercial area of Midtown Manhattan.

History

In the early 1900s The New York Times publisher Adolph S. Ochs moved the paper's operations to a new tower, now called One Times Square, on 42nd Street in the middle of the area known as Longacre Square. Ochs persuaded Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr. to build a subway station there and rename it Times Square. On April 8, 1904, officiated by Mayor McClellan, it was renamed. Just three weeks later, the first advertisement appeared on the side of a bank at the corner of 46th Street and Broadway. The Times moved out of the tower in 1913, although it remains in the neighborhood. Later it was the Allied Chemical Building and is now known as One Times Square

Times Square quickly grew as a cultural hub full of theaters, music halls, and upscale hotels.

“ Times Square quickly became New York's agora, a place to gather both 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

Names such as Irving Berlin, Fred Astaire, and Charlie Chaplin were closely associated with Times Square in the 1910s and 1920s.

The atmosphere changed with the onset of the Great Depression during the 1930s. In the decades afterwards, it was considered a dangerous neighborhood. The seediness of Times Square was a famous symbol of New York City's danger and corruption from the 1960s until the early 1990s. In the 1980s, a commercial building boom began in the West 40s and 50s as part of a long-term development plan conceived under Mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins. Then, in the mid-1990s, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (1994–2002) led an intense effort to "clean up" the area, increasing security, driving out the "squeegee men," and opening more tourist-friendly attractions and upscale establishments. Advocates of the remodeling claim that the neighborhood is safer and cleaner. Detractors, on the other hand, argue that the changes have diluted the character of Times Square and have unfairly targeted lower income New Yorkers from nearby neighborhoods (such as Hell's Kitchen).

In 1990, the State of New York took possession of six of the nine historic theatres on 42nd Street. The New 42nd Street nonprofit organization was appointed to oversee their restoration and care. The theatres were variously renovated for Broadway shows, converted for commercial purposes, or demolished.

New Year's Eve in Times Square

One Times Square is the site of the annual New Year's Eve ball drop. On December 31, 1907, a ball signifying New Year's Day was first dropped at Times Square, and the Square has held the main New Year's celebration in New York City since. On this night hundreds of thousands of people congregate to watch the Waterford crystal ball being lowered on a pole atop the building (though not to the street, as is a common misconception), marking the new year. It replaced a lavish fireworks display from the top of the building that was held from 1904 to 1906, but was outlawed by city officials. Beginning in 1908, and for more than eighty years thereafter, Times Square sign maker Artkraft Strauss was responsible for the ball-lowering. During World War II, a minute of silence, followed by a recording of church bells pealing, replaced the ball drop because of wartime blackout restrictions.

On average, approximately 750,000 revelers crowd Times Square for the New Year's Eve celebrations. However, for the millennium celebration on December 31, 1999, published reports stated approximately 2 million people overflowed Times Square, flowing from 6th Avenue to 8th Avenue and all the way back on Broadway and Seventh Avenues to 59th Street, making it the largest gathering in Times Square since August 1945 during celebrations marking the end of World War II.

In 1972, entertainer Dick Clark began hosting a live half-hour ABC special detailing the event entitled Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, which not only aired the descent of the ball, but also performances from popular bands and commentary from various hosts in other cities, notably Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Orlando. During the millennium celebrations in 1999, Peter Jennings based ABC's operations in Times Square, hosting ABC 2000 Today.

Times Square today

The theaters of Broadway and the huge number of animated neon and television-style signage have long made it one of New York's iconic images, and a symbol of the intensely urban aspects of Manhattan. Times Square is the only neighborhood with a zoning ordinance requiring tenants to display bright signs. The density of illuminated signs in Times Square now rivals that of Las Vegas. Officially, signs in Times Square are called "spectaculars."

In 1992, the Times Square Alliance (formerly the Times Square Business Improvement District, or "BID" for short), a coalition of businesses dedicated to improving the quality of commerce and cleanliness in the district, started operations in the area. Times Square now boasts attractions such as ABC's Times Square Studios, where Good Morning America is broadcast live, elaborate Toys "R" Us, Virgin Records, and Hershey's stores, as well as restaurants such as Ruby Foo's (Chinese food), the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company (seafood) 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 their headquarters in the area. A larger police presence in Times Square has improved the safety of the area. While the revitalized region is undoubtedly safer, some complain that the area has lost its infamous spark and vitality and is now a thoroughly sanitized, "Disneyfied" version of its former self.

A notable example of the signage is the NASDAQ sign at the NASDAQ MarketSite at 4 Times Square on 43rd Street. Unveiled in January 2000, it cost $37 million to build. The sign is 120 feet (36.6m) high. NASDAQ pays over $2 million a year to lease the space for this sign. This is actually considered a good deal in advertising as the number of "impressions" the sign makes far exceeds those generated by other ad forms.

General Electric leased, through its NBC Universal division, the famous Panasonic Astro Vision screen plate in the middle of Times Square until October 13, 2006. News Corp. took over on that date and will be showing the Fox News Channel.

In 2002, NYC's outgoing mayor, Rudy Giuliani, gave the oath of office to the city's next mayor, Michael Bloomberg, in Times Square after midnight on January 1 as part of the 2001–2002 New Year's celebration. Approximately 500,000 revelers attended the fete. Security was high following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, with over 7,000 New York City police on duty in the Square (twice the number for an ordinary year).

You can view different areas in Times Square live on the webcam website EarthCam. You can also view archives of the day or of famous events (such as New Years or the Thanksgiving Day Parade), look at or post a "Hall of Fame" picture, or even watch a live panoramic video of Times Square.