|
| |
Times Square
|
|
|
| Times Square, was
named after the one-time headquarters of The New York Times in 1904,
previously it had been known as
Longacre Square. It
centres on 42nd Street and Broadway. It consists of the blocks
between 6th and 9th Avenue from east to west and 39th and 52nd
Streets from south to north.
At the start of World War I, Times square was the centre of the
Theatre 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 be covered with billboards. |
| |
|
 |
| |
| With the thirties came the Great Depression. Times Square
initially seemed immune from the troubles. People were drawn to the
playhouses in an attempt to escape from the grim realities of life,
but as the depression grew deeper, the fortunes of the theatre
owners plummeted, and many were forced to sell or close their
theatres. The theatres that remained, converted to showing popular
but vastly cheaper shows. The area continued to attract visitors and
after World War II, the theatre district was booming again. At the
end of the sixties, the area started to go downhill and by the
mid-seventies, tourists were avoiding Times Square as it had become
a seedy, crime-ridden and drug-infested area. Times Square had
become a symbol of all that was considered bad in New York at that
time. |
| |
|
 |
| |
| In the mid 1990's, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani led the effort to
clean up the area, including closing down sex shops, increasing
security, and opening more tourist-friendly attractions. The
clean-up process began when the local government issued injunctions
against the tight cluster of porn shops in the 42nd Street area.
Many of the sex shops closed or moved to industrial areas in
Brooklyn or Queens. More recently, such establishments have been
shut down and more up-market establishments have replaced them. |
| |
|
 |
| |
|
The tourists have returned in abundance mostly due to what is
sometimes referred to as the Disneyfication of Times Square. Walking
down Broadway you can stop to shop at a Toy's R Us store while on
your way to 42nd Street to watch a matinee of Disney's latest film.
A far cry from the area's squalid years but entirely within the
tradition of entertainment and commerce, and giving the public what
they want. |
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
New
York City Guide
|
