Misplaced Pages

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161-660: The chain's first location opened on December 18, 1995, at Times Square in New York City . Two more locations opened the next year in Cancun and at the Showcase Mall on the Las Vegas Strip . Planet Hollywood International announced on September 25, 1997, the formation of a joint venture for an Official All Star Hotel . With theme restaurants' novelty wearing off and Planet Hollywood's reorganizing by December 1998, Planet placed

322-545: A 7-Eleven convenience store, the Times Square Brewery, and Two Boots Pizza in One Times Square. However, the planned 7-Eleven store was ultimately canceled. Jamestown then repaired 450 panels on the building's facade in the mid-2000s. During this project, one of the facade's panels fell to the ground in 2004, injuring two pedestrians. Due to the building's small size, it only housed a single office tenant during

483-579: A $ 10 million renovation. The first panel of the new facade crashed to the ground while it was being installed in August 1964. The modifications occurred one year before the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission gained the power to protect buildings as official landmarks, leading architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable to express opposition to the renovation. Huxtable praised the building as "radical and conservative at

644-594: A block east. Prior to the construction of what is now One Times Square, the northern end of the site had been part of the estate of Amos R. Eno , which had sold the site in 1901 to the Subway Realty Company. The southern end contained the Pabst Hotel , which had been built on land leased from Charles Thorley. The southeast corner of the building originally contained a plaque containing Thorley's name, as he had required that his name be placed on any building that

805-412: A building loan of $ 88.7 million, and a project loan of $ 39.8 million. S9 Architecture designed the renovation with DeSimone as structural engineers, while AECOM and Tishman Construction were the general contractors. The advertising boards on the northern facade remained in place, but the advertisements on the other three facades were removed. The 1960s marble facade would be removed and replaced with

966-441: A contract with Disney, officials from the city and state evicted the pornographic theaters and contracted with Madame Tussauds and AMC Theatres to move onto 42nd Street. This spurred the construction of new office towers, hotels, and tourist attractions in the area. Prudential and Klein dissolved their partnership for the four office-building sites at Times Square's southern end in 1996. The same year, Douglas Durst acquired

1127-473: A cultural hub full of theatres, 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. Advertising also grew significantly in the 1920s, growing from $ 25 million to $ 85 million over the decade. For example, the Wrigley Spearmint Gum sign, possibly

1288-504: A day and advertised Walgreens's products. In September 2017, Jamestown unveiled plans to use much of its vacant space. Under the proposal, a museum dedicated to the history of Times Square would be built on the 15th through 17th floors, and the 18th floor would contain a new observatory . At the time, the building's billboards had started to become dated because of the increasing popularity of interactive programming. The ground level would also be renovated to provide an expanded entrance to

1449-468: A glass curtain wall. The structure would contain only one story of office space after it reopened; the museum would occupy six stories. Technology companies would be able to lease 12 stories for interactive attractions. The building's observation deck would be open year-round, and the Times Square Ball would drop several times a day throughout the year. Jamestown would also install a new elevator to

1610-407: A grid of steel girders . On average, each girder measures 25 feet (7.6 m) long, and there are about 150 pieces of steel used on each story. The seven main structural columns are embedded within the walls on each story. Structural engineers Purdy and Henderson designed three systems of wind bracing for the building. The first system consists of the girders on each story, which are welded to

1771-456: A group of three I-beams, which collectively measure 3 feet (0.91 m) wide and 5 feet (1.5 m) high. Seven piers in the basement, each measuring 43 feet (13 m) high, carry the entire structural load of the upper levels; they are encased in Portland cement. The superstructure contains two-story-tall sections of steel columns. At each story, the columns are connected horizontally by

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1932-463: A joint venture for an Official All Star Hotel . The joint venture would revamp the Hotel Pennsylvania over a two-year period. The plans were halted by mid-1999 as Planet Hollywood sold its stake to a New Jersey–based real estate investment trust. This US-based restaurant or restaurant chain article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Times Square Times Square

2093-451: A layer of tiled brick. The superstructure used 82.923 million pounds (41,000 ST; 37,000 LT; 38,000 t) of iron, brick, mortar, terracotta, limestone, masonry, and other materials. Initially, the entrance on Broadway led to an elevator lobby with decorative pilasters , while the entrance on Seventh Avenue led to an ornamental staircase. The lobby contained a ceiling measuring 15.5 feet (4.7 m) high. The lowest part of

2254-525: A long-term lease for the entire building in October 1973, with an option to purchase the structure. Parker then renamed the building Expo America. He planned to convert 17 of the building's stories into an exhibition hall while also continuing to operate the Act I restaurant. Shortly after buying the building, Parker said: "It is my hope that the activity and excitement generated by Expo America will flow outward through

2415-509: A low entertainment district. The first theater on the square, the Olympia , was built by cigar manufacturer and impresario Oscar Hammerstein I . According to Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 , "By the early 1890s this once sparsely settled stretch of Broadway was ablaze with electric light and thronged by crowds of middle- and upper-class theatre, restaurant and cafe patrons." In 1904, New York Times publisher Adolph S. Ochs moved

2576-447: A mass yoga event involving up to 15,000 people. Tim Tompkins, a co-founder of the event, said part of its appeal was "finding stillness and calm amid the city rush on the longest day of the year". Architect Mark Foster Gage proposed and designed the original Times Square Valentine's Day heart in 2009. Since then, designing the heart has become an annual competition. In February 2011, Times Square became smoke-free as New York extended

2737-507: A massive crowd celebrated Victory in Europe Day in Times Square; and on August 15, 1945, the largest crowd in the history of Times Square gathered to celebrate Victory over Japan Day , reaching an estimated two million. The victory itself was announced by a headline on the "zipper" news ticker at One Times Square , which read "OFFICIAL ***TRUMAN ANNOUNCES JAPANESE SURRENDER ***". From

2898-639: A million visitors to Times Square every year, in addition to a worldwide audience of one billion or more on various digital media platforms. Times Square, specifically the intersection of Broadway and 42nd Street, is the eastern terminus of the Lincoln Highway , the first road across the United States for motorized vehicles. Times Square is sometimes referred to as "the Crossroads of the World" and "the heart of

3059-495: A minimum limit for lighting instead of the standard maximum limit. The density of illuminated signs in Times Square rivals that in Las Vegas . Officially, signs in Times Square are called "spectaculars", and the largest of them are called " jumbotrons ". This signage ordinance was implemented in accordance with guidelines set in a revitalization program that New York Governor Mario Cuomo implemented in 1993. Notable signage includes

3220-543: A new elevator entrance, would be built. The new $ 40 million station entrance, including the elevator, formally opened in May 2022. Jamestown announced in January 2019 that it planned to renovate the building and lease the upper floors, which at the time were completely blocked by billboards. Jamestown also planned to either terminate Walgreens's lease or reduce the size of the pharmacy. The Real Deal magazine estimated that Jamestown

3381-476: A new flagship store in the space in November 2008. As part of the store's opening, Gilmore Group designed a digital sign for the facade, constructed by D3 LED . The 17,000-square-foot (1,600 m ) sign ran diagonally up the western and eastern elevations of the building and contained 12 million LEDs, surpassing the nearby Nasdaq MarketSite sign as the largest LED sign in Times Square. The sign operated 20 hours

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3542-592: A new headquarters in Longacre Square. In August 1902, Ochs purchased the former Eno ground from the Subway Realty Company and obtained a long-term lease from Charles Thorley on the ground under the Pabst Hotel. At the time, the first line of the New York City Subway was being constructed through the site, spurring commercial growth in the surrounding neighborhood. In deciding to relocate to Longacre Square,

3703-520: A packed crowd in Times Square. Ahead of the 1952 United States presidential election , the Times temporarily installed a 85-foot-tall (26 m) electronic sign on the 4th through 11th stories of the northern facade, displaying each candidate's electoral vote count. The sign was reinstalled on the Times Tower during the 1956 United States presidential election . The tower's ball was also replaced after

3864-589: A plan to redevelop a section of West 42nd Street near Times Square. Parker, who had not been consulted about the proposal, expressed his opposition by calling it "obscene". Another plan for the site, announced in 1981, called for renovating One Times Square into a "potential civic sculpture" with a brightly lit facade. In a plan presented to the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) in June 1981, architectural firm Cooper Eckstut proposed doubling

4025-419: A pole atop the building, marking the start of the new year. It replaced a lavish fireworks display from the top of the building that was held from 1904 to 1906 but stopped by city officials because of the danger of fire. 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

4186-539: A recording of church bells pealing, replaced the ball drop because of wartime blackout restrictions. Today, Countdown Entertainment and One Times Square handle the New Year's Eve event in conjunction with the Times Square Alliance. A new energy-efficient LED ball debuted for the arrival of 2008, which was the centennial of the Times Square ball drop. The 2008–09 ball is larger and has become a permanent installation as

4347-458: A reputation as a dangerous and seedy neighborhood in the following decades. Nevertheless, Times Square continued to be the site of the annual ball drop on New Year's Eve . The ball drop was placed on hiatus for New Year's Eve in 1942 and 1943 due to lighting restrictions during World War II , replaced by a moment of silence that was observed at midnight in Times Square, accompanied by the sound of chimes played from sound trucks. On May 8, 1945,

4508-450: A source of controversy in the summer of 2015 because of a large number of complaints about the topless women and panhandling characters. Although neither of these activities are illegal, opponents believed that the panhandlers' presence was detrimental to the quality of life in the area. There were calls from Police Commissioner Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio to remove the plaza, although Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer opposed

4669-587: A tiny hamlet, Great Kill, that became a center for carriage-making, as the upland to the south and east became known as Longacre. Before and after the American Revolution , the area belonged to John Morin Scott , a general of the New York militia , in which he served under George Washington . Scott's manor house was at what is currently 43rd Street, surrounded by countryside used for farming and breeding horses. In

4830-478: A trial until at least the end of the year. The same was done in Herald Square from 33rd to 35th Street. The results were to be closely monitored to determine if the project was successful and should be extended. Bloomberg also stated that he believed the street shutdown would make New York more livable by reducing pollution, cutting down on pedestrian-vehicle accidents, and helping traffic flow more smoothly through

4991-464: A year-round attraction, being used for celebrations on days such as Valentine's Day and Halloween . The New Year's Eve celebrations are usually overseen by thousands of police officers. Aluminum barriers are erected to accommodate spectators; for the 2020 celebration, attended by a million people, barriers were erected from 38th to 59th Street and from Sixth to Eighth Avenue. Typically, the celebrations create large amounts of waste. The waste includes

Official All Star Café - Misplaced Pages Continue

5152-466: Is a Singapore company involved in entertainment, lodging, and retail whose managing director at the time, Ong Beng Seng , was then a major stockholder of Planet Hollywood and an investor in rival Hard Rock Cafe . Planet Hollywood would have received trademark royalties for use of "Official All Star" as a percentage of merchandise sale and hotel room rate at the hotel. Planet Hollywood, Vornado Realty Trust, and Hotel Properties formed on September 24, 1997,

5313-549: 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. Notable examples include: Major buildings on or near Times Square "Numbered" Times Square buildings One Times Square One Times Square (also known as 1475 Broadway , the New York Times Building , the New York Times Tower ,

5474-556: Is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City . It is formed by the junction of Broadway , Seventh Avenue , and 42nd Street . Together with adjacent Duffy Square , Times Square is a bowtie -shaped plaza five blocks long between 42nd and 47th Streets . Times Square is brightly lit by numerous digital billboards and advertisements as well as businesses offering 24/7 service . One of

5635-403: Is at the southern end of Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City . It takes up the city block bounded by Seventh Avenue to the west, 42nd Street to the south, Broadway to the east, and 43rd Street to the north. The land lot is trapezoidal and covers 5,400 sq ft (500 m ). The full-block site has a frontage of 137.84 feet (42.01 m) to

5796-494: Is bounded by West 42nd Street , West 47th Street , 7th Avenue, and Broadway. Broadway runs diagonally, crossing through the horizontal and vertical street grid of Manhattan laid down by the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 , and that intersection creates the "bowtie" shape of Times Square. Times Square is the official name of the southern triangle, below 45th Street. The northern triangle is officially known as Duffy Square and

5957-866: Is famed for the Times Square Ball drop on its roof every New Year's Eve. 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 . This was the first road across the United States, which originally ran 3,389 mi (5,454 km) coast to coast through 13 states to its western terminus in Lincoln Park in San Francisco. Times Square grew dramatically after World War I . It became

6118-531: Is several blocks away from 1 Times Square. Nearby buildings include 1501 Broadway to the north, 1500 Broadway to the northeast, 4 Times Square to the east, The Knickerbocker Hotel to the southeast, the Times Square Tower to the south, 5 Times Square to the southwest, and 3 Times Square to the west. An entrance to the New York City Subway 's Times Square–42nd Street station , served by

6279-467: Is the site of the annual New Year's Eve ball drop. About one million revelers crowd Times Square for the New Year's Eve celebrations, more than twice the usual number of visitors the area usually receives daily. However, for the millennium celebration on December 31, 1999, published reports stated approximately two million people overflowed Times Square, flowing from Sixth Avenue to Eighth Avenue and back on Broadway and Seventh Avenue to 59th Street, making it

6440-471: The 1 , ​ 2 , ​ 3 ​, 7 , <7> ​​, N , ​ Q , ​ R , ​ W , and S trains, is directly adjacent to the building. There is also an entrance to the 42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue station , served by the 7 , <7> ​​, B , ​ D , ​ F , <F> , and ​ M trains, less than

6601-452: The 1908 United States presidential election . The building's roof attracted visitors such as French author Pierre Loti , who called the Times Tower "one of the boldest" of New York City's skyscrapers, and Jamalul Kiram II , the Sultan of Sulu . There was so little space on the Times Tower site that its mechanical basements had to descend as much as 65 ft (20 m). By the early 1910s,

Official All Star Café - Misplaced Pages Continue

6762-610: The Allied Chemical Tower or simply as the Times Tower ) is a 25-story, 363-foot-high (111 m) skyscraper on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City . Designed by Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz in the neo-Gothic style , the tower was built in 1903–1904 as the headquarters of The New York Times . It takes up the city block bounded by Seventh Avenue , 42nd Street , Broadway , and 43rd Street. The building's design has been heavily modified throughout

6923-795: The Disney theme parks worldwide, with 128,794,000 visitors between March 2012 and February 2013, versus 126,479,000 for the Walt Disney World theme parks in Bay Lake, Florida , in 2012. Even excluding residents from the visitor count, Times Square is the world's second most visited tourist attraction, behind the Las Vegas Strip . The high level of pedestrian traffic has resulted in $ 4.8 billion in annual retail, entertainment, and hotel sales, with 22 cents out of every dollar spent by visitors in New York City being spent within Times Square. Times Square

7084-694: The Macklowe Hotel , Marriott Marquis , Crowne Plaza , and DoubleTree Suites. By 1986, New York City Planning Commission (CPC) was considering enacting regulations that would have forced new buildings along Times Square to include bright signage as well as deep setbacks . The CPC adopted a planning regulation in 1987, which required large new developments in Times Square to set aside about 5 percent of their space for "entertainment uses". The regulation also required new buildings on Times Square to include large, bright signs. The buildings at 1540 Broadway, 1585 Broadway, and 750 Seventh Avenue were completed at

7245-466: The New York City Subway 's Times Square–42nd Street station , directly underneath the building. Work on the subway entrance was originally supposed to be completed in 2018, but the MTA did not start construction on the 42nd Street Shuttle reconstruction project until August 2019. As part of the redevelopment of One Times Square, a new 20-foot-wide (6.1 m) staircase entrance with a glass canopy, as well as

7406-476: The New York Times publication office at ground level. The 13th through 21st stories contained various departments for The New York Times . Each office was decorated with ornamental cornices and red-oak doors. Offices occupied the northernmost 60 feet (18 m) of the building, which was extremely narrow. In the southern half of the building, a hallway ran down the middle of each story, separating offices to

7567-515: The State of New York took possession of six of the nine historic theaters on 42nd Street, and the New 42nd Street non-profit organization was appointed to oversee their restoration and maintenance. The theaters underwent renovation for Broadway shows, conversion for commercial purposes, or demolition. Opposition to the towers on Times Square, along with Prudential and Park Tower's inability to secure tenants for

7728-422: The Times 's operations quickly moved to the annex, except for the publishing and subscription divisions. The Times retained ownership of the Times Tower and leased out the former space there. The building continued to be popularly known as the Times Tower for half a century. The original Times Square Ball above the Times Tower was replaced following the 1919–1920 New Year's celebrations. A neon beacon

7889-483: The Times cited the fact that the New York City Subway 's Times Square station would be directly adjacent to the new building, thus allowing the paper to expand its circulation. In mid-1902, the Times hired architect Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz to draw up plans for its skyscraper headquarters at Longacre Square. Site clearing began in December 1902 and was completed within two months. Afterward, workers began constructing

8050-412: The Times experimented with transmitting music and telephone messages to the top of its tower in 1907. In 1908, Ochs replaced the fireworks display with the lowering of a lit ball down the building's flagpole at midnight, patterned off the use of time balls to indicate a certain time of day. By then, the New York City government had banned the fireworks displays, which were detonated directly over

8211-410: The Times used searchlights on the facade to display the results of the 1904 United States presidential election . The Times indicated which candidate won by flashing searchlights on different sides of the building. The New York Times officially moved into the building on January 1, 1905. To help promote the new headquarters, the Times held a New Year's Eve event on December 31, 1904, welcoming

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8372-407: The Times's mailing department, while the second basement contained the mailing and repair departments. The third basement is larger than the other basement levels, extending underneath the sidewalk to the curb line on all sides. It covers an area of 17,000 square feet (1,600 m ), three times as large as each of the office stories above. The third basement level contained the pressroom, which

8533-664: The Toshiba billboard directly under the NYE ball drop, 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

8694-659: The Vince Lombardi Trophy . The area was under increased security and witnessed over 400,000 people during the period. In October 2022, casino operator Caesars Entertainment and commercial property developer SL Green submitted a joint proposal to open a casino at 1515 Broadway , along Times Square. The New York state government has yet to act on the proposal. 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 as

8855-452: The neo-Gothic style . This style was reportedly used because the irregular shape of the site prevented the architects from designing a neoclassical or neo-Renaissance building. The Times had described the edifice as being 476 feet (145 m) tall, measured from the deepest basement level to the pinnacle of the tower's flagpole. The actual height from street level to roofline was 362 feet 8.75 inches (111 m), making it

9016-543: 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 . The changes were shaped in large part by the actions of The Walt Disney Company , which bought and restored the New Amsterdam Theatre after several attempts at redevelopment had failed. As part of

9177-646: The 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s. However, it was also during this period that the area began to be 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 . The general atmosphere of Times Square changed with the onset of the Great Depression in the early 1930s. City residents moved uptown to cheaper neighborhoods, and many popular theaters closed, replaced by saloons, brothels, "burlesque halls, vaudeville stages, and dime houses". The area acquired

9338-474: The 1940s, the building's basement contained a shooting range occupied by the Forty-third Street Rifle Club. Due to restrictions imposed during World War II , the Times Tower's zipper was powered down in May 1942, marking the first time since its installation that the zipper had shut down. The tower's lights were darkened for the same reason. Consequently, the 1942 New York state election was

9499-405: The 1954–1955 celebrations. The New York Community Trust installed a plaque outside the building in 1957, designating it as a point of interest and an unofficial "landmark". The Times sold the building to advertising executive and sign designer Douglas Leigh in 1961. According to The Wall Street Journal , Leigh had attempted to purchase the Times Tower for 25 years before he succeeded. At

9660-518: The 1960s to the early 1990s, the seediness of the area, especially due to its go-go bars , sex shops , peep shows , and adult theaters, became an infamous symbol of the city's decline. As early as 1960, 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues was described by The New York Times as "the 'worst' [block] in town". Later that decade, Times Square was depicted in Midnight Cowboy as gritty, depraved, and desperate. Conditions only worsened in

9821-675: The 1970s and 1980s, as did the crime in the rest of the city, with a 1981 article in Rolling Stone magazine calling 42nd Street in Times Square the "sleaziest block in America". In the mid-1980s, the area bounded by 40th and 50th Streets and Seventh and Ninth Avenues saw over 15,000 crime complaints per year. The block of 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues had 2,300 crimes per year in 1984, of which 20% were felonies. In this era, formerly elegant movie theaters began to show x-rated films , and peep shows hustlers were common. In 1984,

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9982-476: The 2000s and 2010s: the production company in charge of the Times Square Ball drop. In early 2006, the lower floors were occupied by a pop-up store operated by J. C. Penney and known as The J C. Penney Experience . The pharmacy chain Walgreens leased the entire building in 2007, paying $ 4 million yearly. The chain had previously operated a store in the building for four decades until 1970. Walgreens opened

10143-509: The 2001–02 New Year's celebration. Approximately 500,000 revelers attended. Security was high following the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, with more than 7,000 New York City police officers on duty in the Square, twice the number for an ordinary year. Times Square started hosting other major annual events in the 2000s. Since 2002, the summer solstice has been marked by "Mind over Madness",

10304-495: The 3,000 pounds of biodegradable confetti dropped at midnight, a tradition of which started in 1992. The New York City Department of Sanitation estimated that by 8 a.m. on New Year's Day 2014, it had cleared over 50 short tons (45 long tons; 45 t) of trash from the New Year's celebration, using 190 workers from their crews and the Times Square Alliance. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City during 2020 reduced

10465-404: The 42nd Street Redevelopment Project, in 1983, architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee had planned to raze One Times Square and construct four new towers immediately surrounding the site. Park Tower Realty, which had been designated as the developer of these towers, offered to buy the building in November 1983. Park Tower planned to demolish the building and transfer the Times Square Ball to

10626-541: The ESDC's plans to condemn the site. The city and state governments of New York created a six-member committee in 1985 to discuss the future of One Times Square. Steven M. Israel and Gary Calmenson paid $ 18.1 million for the building in December 1985 and leased the building's ticker to local newspaper Newsday the next month. The ticker displayed headlines, advertising, and weather from 6 a.m. to midnight each day. Israel started converting 12,000 square feet (1,100 m ) on

10787-485: The Great White Way ". Times Square functions as a town square , but is not geometrically a square . It is closer in shape to a bowtie, with two triangles emanating roughly north and south from 45th Street, where Seventh Avenue intersects Broadway . Broadway similarly intersects other north–south avenues at Union Square , Madison Square , Herald Square , and Verdi Square , none of which are squares. The area

10948-542: The Midtown street grid. The pedestrian plaza project was originally opposed by local businesses, who thought that closing the street to cars would hurt business. 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

11109-521: The New York state government, had proposed redeveloping the area around a portion of West 42nd Street in 1981. Four towers designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee were to be built around 42nd Street's intersections with Broadway and Seventh Avenue. These towers would have been redeveloped by George Klein of Park Tower Realty, though the Prudential Insurance Company of America joined

11270-434: The Times Square area had become densely developed with restaurants, theaters, hotels, and office buildings. Despite the dearth of space, a Times booklet said: "It did not occur to anyone to suggest that the [ Times ] should desert Times Square." On February 2, 1913, eight years after it moved to One Times Square, the Times moved its corporate headquarters to 229 West 43rd Street , where it remained until 2007. Most of

11431-476: The area was so derelict and dilapidated, that the entire Times Square area paid the city only $ 6 million in property taxes (equivalent to $ 17.6 million in 2023). In the 1980s, a commercial building boom began in the western parts of Midtown as part of a long-term development plan developed under mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins . These included office buildings such as 1540 Broadway , 1585 Broadway , and 750 Seventh Avenue , as well as hotels such as

11592-426: The artist Jason Peters, and shortly afterward were replaced by sturdier metal furniture. Although the plaza had mixed results on traffic in the area, injuries to motorists and pedestrians decreased, fewer pedestrians were walking in the road, and the number of pedestrians in Times Square increased. On February 11, 2010, Bloomberg announced that the pedestrian plazas would become permanent. The city started rebuilding

11753-417: The beginning of the early 1990s recession , when 14.5 percent of Manhattan office space was vacant. Furthermore, some 9 × 10 ^  sq ft (840,000 m ) of office space in the western section of Midtown had been developed in the 1980s, of which only half had been leased. Consequently, 1540 Broadway was completely empty, while 1585 Broadway and 750 Seventh Avenue had one tenant each, despite

11914-492: The biggest electric sign "in the world," cost $ 9,000 per month to rent. Some contemporary critics, such as Thorstein Veblen and G. K. Chesterton , disliked the advertising at Times Square. Fritz Lang , after seeing Times Square in 1923, used it as inspiration for his dark industrial film Metropolis . Entertainment icons such as Irving Berlin , Charlie Chaplin , and Fred Astaire were closely associated with Times Square in

12075-406: The boilers to 542 radiators. Water from the New York City water supply system was drawn into the basement and filtered at a rate of 250 US gallons (950 L) per minute. The filtered water was then pumped up to the 23rd floor and distributed to other stories. In case of a fire, there was a 10,000-US-gallon (38,000 L) water tank in the basement and two 3,000-US-gallon (11,000 L) tanks on

12236-486: The building and operate a retail store at the base. The complex would include a four-story restaurant on the roof. Warner Bros. hired Frank O. Gehry to design the store, and Gehry released his plans in early 1997. The proposal called for gutting the lowest eight stories and replacing the facade with a translucent wire mesh. Lehman Brothers sold One Times Square in June 1997 to Jamestown L.P. for about $ 110 million, four times more than what Lehman Brothers had paid for

12397-428: The building at a foreclosure auction in January 1995 for $ 25.2 million. The financial services firm Lehman Brothers acquired the building shortly afterward for $ 27.5 million. According to the Times , Lehman Brothers had been "ridiculed" for buying the building at that price. Madame Tussauds , a subsidiary of Pearson PLC, had sought to lease space for a museum in One Times Square but could not reach an agreement with

12558-423: The building in 1975 at a cost of $ 6.25 million. He then hired the architectural firm of Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects to redesign the tower with a glass facade and sloping roof. Under Parker's plan, four stories would be added to the tower, and the facade would be replaced with panels of one-way glass . Parker also planned to host a competition to select a new name for the building. This plan

12719-469: The building just two years earlier. Sherwood Equities owned a minority stake in the building and was the leasing agent for the retail space. The Warner Bros. store then opened in April 1998, occupying 15,000 square feet (1,400 m ) on three stories. The store was known as "1 Toon Square", a reference to its address. In advance of the 1999–2000 New Year's celebrations, the ball atop One Times Square's roof

12880-505: The building since 1997. In 2017, as part of One Times Square's redevelopment, plans were announced to construct a new Times Square museum, observation deck, and a new entrance to the Times Square–42nd Street subway station. Jamestown started a $ 500 million renovation of the building in 2022. The renovation will add an observation deck, a museum space, and a glass exterior, and is scheduled to be completed in 2025. One Times Square

13041-505: The building to Douglas Leigh in 1961. Allied Chemical then bought the building in 1963 and renovated it as a showroom. Alex M. Parker took a long-term lease for the entire building in October 1973, buying it two years later. One Times Square was sold multiple times in the 1980s and continued to serve as an office building. The financial firm Lehman Brothers acquired the building in 1995, adding billboards to take advantage of its prime location within Times Square. Jamestown L.P. has owned

13202-850: The building was constructed, it had seven elevators and over a hundred other motorized appliances, including printing presses, pumps, and fans. Of these, five elevators were for passengers and two were for freight. Two of the building's elevators (one passenger and one freight) ran from the basement to the top story, while the other elevators only ran to the 16th story. Although all the passenger elevators could travel at 500 feet per minute (150 m/min), one of these elevators could also be used to transport heavy equipment and could be slowed down to 25 feet per minute (7.6 m/min), thereby doubling its carrying capacity. The elevator cabs were originally copper cages with mirrors on each wall. The building contained two boilers, which were each capable of 200 horsepower (150 kW). Steam risers distributed heat from

13363-471: The building's columns via gusset plates . The building also contains X-shaped diagonal bracing, placed within the partitions next to each of the elevator shafts. Between the individual elevator shafts is a system of knee bracing; it consists of diagonal steel bars shaped like a rotated "K", which extend downward from the centers of the horizontal girders. The structural steel frame carried a dead load of 46 pounds per square foot (2.2 kPa). Originally,

13524-475: The building's concrete, brickwork, and ironwork in mid-1903. By the end of the year, the steel frame was being constructed at a rate of three stories per week. Ochs's 11-year-old daughter Iphigene Bertha Ochs laid the building's cornerstone on January 18, 1904, after the steel frame had been completed. Ochs successfully persuaded the New York City Board of Aldermen to rename the surrounding area after

13685-569: The building's observation deck. The building would continue to display ads on its northern facade, and it would host New Year's Eve celebrations during the renovation. The Durst Organization , which owned the neighboring 4 Times Square, sued the city's DOB in July 2022, claiming that the scaffolding around One Times Square would attract crime while worsening congestion on the sidewalk. The renovated tower topped out on December 7, 2023. Eidlitz & McKenzie had originally designed One Times Square in

13846-409: The building's steel columns. The footings each measure 5 by 5 feet (1.5 by 1.5 m) across, and their centers are spaced 17 feet (5.2 m) apart. Each steel footing is placed atop a heavy granite block measuring 8 by 8 feet (2.4 by 2.4 m) across and 2 feet (0.61 m) thick, which in turn rests directly on the underlying bedrock. Structural loads from the upper stories are carried down into

14007-530: The building. By then, the zipper was profitable, leading Israel to say: "We have blank exterior walls that are screaming out to be used." The building's owners negotiated to lease additional advertising space on the building to Newsday , but the deal was canceled. Sony agreed to start operating a Jumbotron on the exterior of the tower in 1990; the Jumbotron was upgraded in March 1994. BAII moved to foreclose on

14168-429: The buildings having over 2 × 10 ^  sq ft (190,000 m ) of office space between them. Entertainment conglomerate Bertelsmann bought 1540 Broadway in 1992, spurring a revival of Times Square in the early 1990s. This was hastened when financial firm Morgan Stanley bought 1585 Broadway in 1993, followed by 750 Seventh Avenue in 1994. The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), an agency of

14329-411: The busiest in the New York City Subway system, transporting more than 200,000 passengers daily. Formerly known as Longacre Square , Times Square was renamed in 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the then newly erected Times Building, now One Times Square . It is the site of the annual New Year's Eve ball drop , which began on December 31, 1907, and continues to attract over

14490-456: The chain up for sale. Also, the plans for a Chicago location were canceled. From 1997 until 2001, Official All Star Cafe locations also were to be operated alongside Planet Movies by AMC entertainment complexes at select locations in the United States. An Official All Star Cafe was also located at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in 1997, its opening year. With its parent company's first bankruptcy filing of October 11, 1999, one location

14651-668: The city's second tallest office building when it opened, after the Park Row Building . Without its tower, the Times Building only measured 228 feet (69 m) tall. David W. Dunlap of the Times wrote that, when the building was completed, it was in his employer's "self-interest to assert that building heights ought to be measured from the lowest level." When the Times Tower opened, it contained an elaborately decorated facade of limestone and terracotta . The facade's articulation consisted of three horizontal sections similar to

14812-485: The company no longer needed the surplus space in its namesake tower. Allied Chemical had relocated other workers to Morris Township, New Jersey , during early 1972, and it planned to move its nylon division into smaller space at the nearby 1411 Broadway . The firm wanted to sell the building outright at a minimum price of $ 7 million. It is unknown whether anyone submitted a bid to purchase the building, but Allied Chemical ultimately failed to sell it. Alex M. Parker took

14973-401: The components of a column , namely a base, shaft, and capital . The facade contained several slightly projecting sections, which indicated the locations of steel columns in the building's superstructure . The southern portion of the building extended about 60 feet (18 m) back from 42nd Street and was taller than the northern portion. This increased the amount of rentable space, since

15134-556: The crowd and, thus, posed a danger. The "ball drop" was directly inspired by a time ball atop the Western Union Telegraph Building in lower Manhattan. By then, Times Square had become a popular venue for New Year's celebrations. The ball drop is still held atop One Times Square, attracting an average of one million spectators yearly. The Times Tower was also used for telegraph experiments, and its searchlights continued to display election results, including those for

15295-500: The existing buildings. 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. In 1998, the alliance opened a tourist information center in the former Embassy Theatre at 1560 Broadway;

15456-483: 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 . By 1872, the area had become the center of New York's horse carriage industry. The locality had not previously been given a name, and city authorities called it Longacre Square after Long Acre in London, where

15617-509: The first since 1904 for which the tower's lights did not broadcast any election results. The Times reactivated the building's zipper in October 1943, but, less than two weeks later, the sign was again deactivated to reduce electricity usage. The sign operated intermittently until the end of World War II, when it again ran continuously. On the evening of August 14, 1945 , the building's zipper announced Japan's surrender in World War II to

15778-470: The first two stories for $ 1 million. In addition, he converted the 11th floor into an amenity area for the building's tenants; the space contained production rooms, a reception area, and a screening room. At the time, the building was known as One Times Square Plaza. Israel and Calmenson refinanced the building in 1989 with a $ 30 million loan from French bank Banque Arabe Internationale d'Investissement (BAII), and Cofat & Partners bought an equity stake in

15939-420: The footings and then spread across the layer of bedrock, which carries a load of 20 short tons per square foot (280 psi; 1,900 kPa). The retaining walls of the foundation are made of red brick. On the eastern part of the site (where the underlying rock sloped upward), workers built a retaining wall with embedded I-beams , providing additional wind bracing. The building contains three basement levels,

16100-467: The frames moved along the conveyor, the letters themselves triggered electrical contacts which lit the external bulbs (the zipper was later upgraded to use modern LED technology). The first headline displayed on the zipper announced Herbert Hoover 's victory in that day's presidential election . The zipper was used to display other major news headlines of the era, and its content later expanded to include sports and weather updates as well. During

16261-505: The height of One Times Square's northern section. Parker had sold the building to the Swiss investment group Kemekod in February 1981. Kemekod sold the tower to TSNY Realty Corporation, an investment group led by Lawrence I. Linksman, in 1982 for $ 12 million. Linksman promised further renovations to the building, including the possibility of using its north face for signage displays. As part of

16422-667: The horse and carriage trade was centered in that city. William Henry Vanderbilt owned and ran the American Horse Exchange there. In 1910, it became the Winter Garden Theatre. As more profitable commerce and industrialization of Lower Manhattan pushed homes, theaters, and prostitution northward from the Tenderloin District , Longacre Square became nicknamed the Thieves Lair for its rollicking reputation as

16583-691: The information center operated until 2014. In the mid-1990s, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani led an effort to clean up the area, an effort that is described by Steve Macek in Urban Nightmares: The Media, the Right, and the Moral Panic Over the City : Security was increased, pornographic theatres were closed, and "undesirable" low-rent residents were pressured to relocate, and then more tourist-friendly attractions and upscale establishments were opened. Advocates of

16744-461: The largest gathering in Times Square since August 1945 during celebrations marking the end of World War II . 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 ever since. On that night, hundreds of thousands of people congregate to watch the Waterford Crystal ball being lowered on

16905-614: The lower stories into the Crossroads Fashion Center, a retail complex designed by Fernando Williams Associates . By then, Park Tower had begun promoting a plan to replace One Times Square with a seven-story building containing an "open staircase running up its middle and a waterfall running over rough stones at its base". City and state officials debated whether to acquire One Times Square through condemnation for several years, but they canceled these plans in 1988 after failing to reach an agreement. By 1988, Israel had renovated

17066-437: The lowest of which is 55 feet (17 m) deep. The Times Square subway station encroaches on a portion of the first and second basement levels. The subway station itself is placed 22 feet (6.7 m) below ground and has a ceiling 10 feet (3.0 m) high. The pillars of the subway tunnel were covered in brick and were placed atop sound-dampening sand cushions, minimizing vibrations caused by passing subway trains. Part of

17227-434: The new owner. Lehman Brothers felt that it would be economically inefficient to use the tower as an office building because it was so small, so the firm decided to market the tower as a location for advertising. The entire exterior of One Times Square above the ticker was modified to add a grid frame for mounting billboard signs. Dow Jones & Company started operating the zipper in June 1995, and Dow Jones replaced

17388-427: The newspaper's operations to a new skyscraper on 42nd Street at Longacre Square, on the site of the former Pabst Hotel , which had existed on the site for less than a decade since it opened in November 1899. 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

17549-442: The newspaper, and Longacre Square was renamed Times Square in April 1904. Workers were installing interior finishes by the next month. Construction was temporarily halted that August when seventeen workers' unions went on strike. According to the Times , the building's completion was delayed by 299 days due to various strikes during the project, as well as inclement weather. Prior to the building's completion, in November 1904,

17710-450: The number of people traveling to Times Square. About 108,000 pedestrians visited Times Square each day in late 2020 compared to the 380,000 before the pandemic. From March to October 2020, 26 of the area's 46 hotels closed, as well as 39 of 151 stores and 84 of 162 restaurants. Times Square was closed to the public for New Year's Day 2021 and observers were dispersed into enclosures measuring 8 by 8 ft (2.4 by 2.4 m). Times Square

17871-428: The other 400 panels measured 9 by 12 feet (2.7 by 3.7 m). The rear of each panel was anchored to the building's superstructure. Progressive Architecture magazine criticized the renovation as "a face-lifting job of thorough-going blandness". All four elevations of the facade were covered with billboards in the 1990s. From 2022 to 2024, the concrete-and-marble facade of the western, southern, and eastern elevations

18032-415: The outdoors smoking ban to the area. The measure imposed a $ 50 fine for any person caught smoking within the area. From January 29 to February 1, 2014, a "Super Bowl Boulevard" was held on Broadway, especially in Times Square, between 34th and 47th Streets, as part of Super Bowl XLVIII . The boulevard contained activities such as autographs, a 60 ft (18 m)-high toboggan run , and photographs with

18193-431: The plan. Newsday stopped operating the building's ticker on December 31, 1994, and declined to renew its lease, believing that it "[didn't] get very much out of that sign" financially. Publishing company Pearson PLC agreed to operate the zipper three days before Newsday 's lease expired, using the zipper for news, announcements, and advertisements of its own products. Banque National de Paris (BNP) bought

18354-431: The plaza in 2010, hiring the design and landscaping firm Snøhetta to permanently replace Broadway's roadway with custom-made granite pavers and benches. By December 2013, the first phase of the Times Square pedestrian plaza had been completed at the southern end of the square in time for the Times Square Ball drop on New Year's Eve. The project was originally intended to be completed by the end of 2015. The entire project

18515-460: The project in 1986. Furthermore, as part of the West Midtown special zoning district created in 1982, the New York City government had allowed new buildings in Times Square to be developed with an increased floor area ratio. To ensure the area would not be darkened at nightfall, the city passed zoning regulations that encouraged developers to add large, bright signs on their buildings. In 1990,

18676-464: The property in 1991, prompting Israel and Calmenson to file for bankruptcy protection in March 1992. At the time, the building had 41 tenants but was half vacant. Israel wanted to avoid a foreclosure, as he would be liable for $ 2 million in taxes if the building were foreclosed upon. Rebecca Rawson was named as the receiver for the bankrupt property. Israel proposed reducing the building's first mortgage in 1993 to avoid foreclosure, but BAII opposed

18837-489: The proposal. In June 2016, work started on "pedestrian flow zones" where no one was allowed to loiter, as well as "activity zones" where costumed characters were allowed to perform. There have been several incidents in Times Square: Times Square is the most visited place globally with 360,000 pedestrian visitors a day, amounting to over 131 million a year. As of 2013 , it had a greater attendance than each of

18998-504: The proposed buildings, led government officials to allow Prudential and Park Tower to postpone the project in 1992. By then, Prudential had spent $ 300 million on condemning the sites through eminent domain . The partners retained the right to develop the sites in the future, and the ESDC's zoning guidelines remained in effect. In exchange for being permitted to delay construction of the sites until 2002, Prudential and Park Tower were compelled to add stores and install large signage on

19159-604: The renovation was completed, Allied Chemical's nylon division had outgrown the space, and the building's elevator service was also reportedly unreliable. The Stouffer Foods Corporation also agreed to operate an English-themed restaurant on the 15th and 16th floors. The restaurant, known as Act I, opened in 1966. The United States Postal Service officially changed the building's address from 1475 Broadway to 1 Times Square in September 1966. Allied Chemical announced in late 1972 that it had placed 1 Times Square for sale. By that time,

19320-470: The renovation. Due to recent changes to New York City zoning laws, it was more economically efficient to renovate the Times Tower than to demolish it, as a new building on the site could not be as tall. Work began in October 1963, and the Times Tower's original cornerstone was unsealed in a ceremony in March 1964. Allied Chemical stripped the building to its steel frame, replacing the intricate granite and terracotta facade with marble panels as part of

19481-498: The rest of the facade. The upper stories contained extremely ornate terracotta details such as brackets and cornices . There were ornamental ironwork window frames above the 12th story. Above the 16th story, the roof of the northern section was made of wire glass. The trapezoidal "tower" above the southern half of the building was designed to resemble a square campanile . Each elevation of this tower contained one arched window flanked by smaller, single windows. Critics compared

19642-449: The right to acquire the sites at the southwest and southeast corners of 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue for $ 330 million. 5 Times Square was completed on the southwest-corner site in 2002, and Times Square Tower opened on the southeast-corner site in 2004. Times Square now boasts attractions such as ABC 's Times Square Studios , where Good Morning America is broadcast live; competing Hershey's and M&M's stores across

19803-418: The safety of the area. The theatres of Broadway and the huge number of animated neon and LED signs have been one of New York's iconic images as well as a symbol of the intensely urban aspects of Manhattan. Since 1987 such signage has been mandated by zoning ordinances that require building owners to display illuminated signs, the only district in New York City with this requirement. The neighborhood has

19964-479: The same time", saying that it was full of "vintage structural details". Allied Chemical reactivated the news zipper on the building's facade in March 1965 as part of a joint venture with Life magazine. Allied Chemical turned on four 39-foot-high (12 m) electric signs atop the tower in July 1965. The Times Tower was officially rededicated that December as the Allied Chemical Tower. Shortly after

20125-566: The side of a bank at the corner of 46th Street and Broadway. The north end later became Duffy Square, and the former Horse Exchange became the Winter Garden Theatre , constructed in 1911. The New York Times moved to more spacious offices one block west of the square in 1913 and sold the building in 1961. The old Times Building was later named the Allied Chemical Building in 1963. Now known simply as One Times Square , it

20286-460: The site at the northeast corner of Broadway and 42nd Street, and he developed 4 Times Square there. The northwest corner of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street was taken by Reuters , which enlisted Rudin Management as its development partner and built 3 Times Square on that corner; that building opened in 2001. In 1998, a joint venture of Klein, The Blackstone Group , and Boston Properties won

20447-483: The southern part of the building, but he scrapped these plans because of the difficulty in placing a circular dome above an irregular trapezoidal massing . In 1965, the building's original facade was replaced with 420 concrete and marble panels. Each panel was made of a 5-inch-thick (13 cm) layer of precast concrete covered with a 7 ⁄ 8 -inch-thick (2.2 cm) layer of white Vermont marble. Twenty of these panels measured 9 by 18 feet (2.7 by 5.5 m) and

20608-414: The southern part of the site was wider. The plate glass used in the building weighed 28 short tons (25 long tons; 25 t). The first three stories were elaborately decorated and were clad entirely in cream-colored Indiana limestone , a material chosen for its durability. There were elaborately carved doorways on both Broadway and Seventh Avenue, as well as a horizontal band course of limestone above

20769-404: The space, leading to the subsequent removal of the Jumbotron in June 1996. Due to its frequent use by Late Show , its producer Rob Burnett jokingly considered the removal of the Jumbotron to be "a sad, sad day for New York." The last office tenants moved out of the building in 1996, and the first electronic billboards were installed the same year. In October 1996, Warner Bros. agreed to lease

20930-546: The spaces between the girders were spanned by flat arches made of hollow bricks, which were then covered with a layer of cement. Fireproof timber sleepers were then installed atop these flat arches, and a layer of fireproof wood was installed above these sleepers. The finished wooden floor was then installed above the layer of fireproof wood. The partition walls were constructed of square bricks, which were then finished in plaster. The building's elevator shafts were surrounded by walls made of fire-clay, which were then covered with

21091-500: The street from each other, and multiple multiplex movie theaters. Additionally, the area contains restaurants such as the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company , a seafood establishment; Planet Hollywood Restaurant and Bar , a theme restaurant ; and Carmine's, serving Italian cuisine . It has also attracted several large financial, publishing, and media firms to set up headquarters in the area. A larger presence of police has improved

21252-410: The subway station in the basement. On the first basement level was a pedestrian arcade with several small stores, which ran from street level to the Times Square station's southbound platform. The arcade was closed in 1967 due to high crime, but an archway leading from the station to One Times Square's basement remained visible until the 2000s. The rest of the first basement contained storefronts and

21413-447: The superstructure is cantilevered above the subway tunnel, since the city's Rapid Transit Commission forbade any obstructions in subway tunnel's right-of-way . The northern wall rests on a 30-short-ton (27-long-ton; 27 t) plate girder above the subway tunnel; at the time of construction, it was the heaviest girder in the world to be installed in an office building. This girder measures 60 feet (18 m) long and consists of

21574-412: The surrounding area, encouraging others to join in the effort to once again make Times Square a great area." In early 1974, Parker announced that the building's zipper would display only advertising and good news because "I've had it with bad news". According to Parker, it cost him $ 100,000 a year to operate the zipper. Reuters provided the headlines for the zipper. Parker exercised his option to buy

21735-485: The tallest of the four new buildings. A month afterward, TSNY sued Park Tower to prevent the demolition. Allan J. Riley acquired the building in 1984 for $ 16.5 million, at which point the building was almost fully leased. Also in 1984, the Municipal Art Society held an architectural design competition for the site, attracting over 1,380 entrants from 15 nations. That December, the building's owner objected to

21896-413: The third story. Some of the decoration on the lower levels was made of iron, including the ground-floor windows. The windows at the base were smaller than they normally would have been, thereby giving the impression of massiveness. The 4th through 12th stories, comprising the shaft, contained little decoration. These stories were clad in cream-colored brick, which was glazed to resemble the terracotta on

22057-446: The time, there were 110 tenants in the building; the Times only operated the zipper as well as a classified advertising office at ground level. Leigh had planned to construct an exhibition hall within the building. One of the Times Tower's subbasement levels caught fire in November 1961, killing three people and injuring 24 others; investigators later determined that the fire had been caused by "careless smoking". The building's zipper

22218-433: The tower's construction, and The New York Times moved into the tower in January 1905. Quickly outgrowing the tower, eight years later, the paper's offices and printing presses moved to nearby 229 West 43rd Street . One Times Square remained a major focal point of the area due to its annual New Year's Eve " ball drop " festivities and the introduction of a large lighted news ticker near street-level in 1928. The Times sold

22379-451: The tower's detail to that of Giotto's Campanile in Florence . Arthur G. Bein of American Architect magazine said: "The architect has been free to reproduce almost exactly Giotto's great machicolated cornice with perforated parapet above." Each corner of the tower contained projecting piers, designed in a manner that resembled turrets. Originally, Eidlitz had planned to build a dome atop

22540-464: The wall contained a marble wainscoting that measured 8 feet (2.4 m) high, while the upper portion of the wall was painted white. The top of the main hall contained a paneled cornice decorated with a shell motif. The floor was made of white mosaic. There were seven oak-framed revolving doors in the building: two at the Broadway entrance to the lobby, one at the 42nd Street entrance, and four leading to

22701-407: The west and east. These hallways were decorated with white mosaic tile floors and marble wainscoting on the walls. The 16th story, used as a composing room, was the highest story in the northern section of the building. The top six stories, which contained the Times's editorial offices, had windows on all four sides. All offices were located within 23 feet (7.0 m) of a window, and the building

22862-571: The west, 58.33 feet (18 m) to the south, 143 feet (44 m) to the east, and 20 feet (6.1 m) to the north. The shape of the site arises from Broadway's diagonal alignment relative to the Manhattan street grid . The building's address was originally 1475 Broadway, but it was changed to 1 Times Square in 1966. The current address is a vanity address assigned by the government of New York City . The addresses around Times Square are not assigned in any particular order; for example, 2 Times Square

23023-624: The world's busiest pedestrian areas, it is also the hub of the Broadway Theater District and a major center of the world's entertainment industry . Times Square is one of the world's most visited tourist attractions, drawing an estimated 50 million visitors annually. Approximately 330,000 people pass through Times Square daily, many of them tourists, while over 460,000 pedestrians walk through Times Square on its busiest days. The Times Square–42nd Street and 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal stations have consistently ranked as

23184-442: The year 1905 with a fireworks display set off from the roof of the building at midnight. The event was a success, attracting 200,000 spectators, and was repeated annually through 1907. Hegeman & Company leased most of the ground level in mid-1905, opening a drug store within that space. The same year, the paper started operating a stereopticon machine on the north side of the building, displaying news bulletins. In addition,

23345-417: The years, and all of its original architectural detail has since been removed. One Times Square's primary design features are the advertising billboards on its facade , added in the 1990s. Due to the large amount of revenue generated by its signage, One Times Square is one of the most valuable advertising locations in the world. The surrounding Longacre Square neighborhood was renamed " Times Square " during

23506-471: The zipper in mid-1997, donating part of the old zipper to the Museum of the City of New York . Sony's Jumbotron operated until 1996. Alongside its use for advertising and news, it was also frequently used by the producers of the late-night talk show Late Show with David Letterman , who could display a live feed from its studio on the screen as well. As a cost-saving measure, Sony declined to renew its lease of

23667-441: Was closed, leaving nine corporate locations. In February 2000 after exiting bankruptcy, Disney offered to purchase the location at its sports complex. The last Official All Star Cafe, the one at Disney's Wide World of Sports, closed on September 23, 2007. The Official All Star Hotel was a joint venture of Planet Hollywood International (20%), Vornado Realty Trust (40%), and Hotel Properties, Limited (40%). Hotel Properties, Limited

23828-503: Was connected via a freight elevator to the second basement. The southern section of the pressroom originally contained four printing presses . The pressroom was illuminated by areaways on 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, which measured 30 feet (9.1 m) deep and contained glazed-brick cladding. These areaways, as well as the southbound platform of the Times Square station, were covered by glass skylights. The first twelve stories above ground were rented out to other tenants, except for

23989-485: Was constructed on the site. The New York Times Company bought the site in 1927, four years after Thorley died, but the plaques remained until 1963. Newspaper publisher Adolph Ochs purchased The New York Times in 1896. The paper was then headquartered at 41 Park Row in Lower Manhattan , within the city's Newspaper Row . The Times expanded greatly under Ochs's leadership, prompting him to acquire land for

24150-561: Was deactivated in December 1962 due to the 1962–1963 New York City newspaper strike , and it did not operate for more than two years. Leigh sold the building in April 1963 to Allied Chemical , which planned to renovate the building and use it as a sales headquarters and showroom. The first three stories would be re-clad in glass and serve as a showroom for nylon products, and the interior would be completely overhauled. Benjamin Bailyn of architectural firm Smith Haines Lundberg Waehler designed

24311-535: Was dedicated in June 1939 to honor World War I chaplain Father Francis P. Duffy of the 69th New York Infantry Regiment . A statue by Charles Keck was dedicated in May 1937 as a memorial to Duffy. There is also a statue of composer and entertainer George M. Cohan , and the TKTS discount ticket booth for same-day Broadway and off-Broadway theaters that has been at the site since June 1973. When Manhattan Island

24472-492: Was earning $ 23 million per year from the building's billboards. Later that year, the Zipper was removed due to the installation of a new display spanning the entire height of the tower. The Walgreens store at the building's base had closed permanently by 2022. Jamestown started renovating 1 Times Square in May 2022 at a cost of $ 500 million. To finance the project, Jamestown received a $ 425 million mortgage from JPMorgan Chase ,

24633-501: Was finally completed just before New Year's Eve 2016. Some safety bollards were also installed as part of the renovation to prevent vehicular attacks or collisions on the sidewalk. After a 2017 vehicle-ramming attack , there were calls to install more bollards along Times Square. Times Square's pedestrian plaza is frequented by topless women (with painted breasts) called " desnudas ", as well as costumed characters , who typically panhandle for tips. The pedestrian plaza became

24794-533: Was first lit on December 4, 2008. The new 20 Times Square development hosts the largest LED signage in Times Square at 18,000 square feet. The display is 1,000 square feet larger than the Times Square Walgreens display and one of the largest video-capable screens in the world. In 2002, New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani administered the oath of office to the city's next mayor, Michael Bloomberg , at Times Square after midnight on January 1 as part of

24955-562: Was first settled by the Dutch colonists , three small streams united near what is now the intersection of 10th Avenue and 40th Street . These three streams formed the "Great Kill" (Dutch: Grote Kil ). From there the Great Kill wound through the low-lying Reed Valley, known for fish and waterfowl, and emptied into a deep bay in the Hudson River at the present 42nd Street. The name was retained in

25116-513: Was installed atop the Times Tower's roof in September 1928. An electromechanical Motograph News Bulletin news ticker , colloquially known as the "zipper", started operating near the base of the building on November 6, 1928, after eight weeks of installation. The zipper originally consisted of 14,800 light bulbs, with the display controlled by a chain conveyor system inside the building; individual letter elements (a form of movable type ) were loaded into frames to spell out news headlines. As

25277-418: Was narrow enough that there were no light shafts to provide natural light to interior offices. When the building was completed, each office was illuminated by natural light for at least five hours every day. The former electrical room in the tower's basement serves as a "vault" for the storage of items relating to New Year's Eve celebrations at Times Square, including the ball itself (prior to 2009, when it

25438-405: Was never carried out. Instead, Parker and mayor Abraham Beame officially reopened One Times Square as an exhibition center on March 2, 1976. Spectacolor Inc. installed a new zipper on the building's facade later that year. The zipper only operated for a short time before being deactivated entirely in 1977. The City at 42nd Street Inc. proposed demolishing One Times Square in 1979 as part of

25599-435: Was removed and replaced with glass panels. In addition, a cantilevered observation deck was installed outside the building. The foundation of the building extended 60 feet (18 m) deep and was excavated to the underlying layer of bedrock . It is surrounded by waterproof retaining walls, which are backfilled with a mixture of loose stone and cement. The foundation itself consists of cast-steel footings, above which rise

25760-546: Was replaced once again. After a portion of the building's exterior signs collapsed in March 1999, the New York City Department of Buildings ordered that four of the building's billboards be removed. Time Warner announced in mid-2001 that it would close the Warner Bros. store that October due to a decline in business. Time Warner continued to pay rent for the vacant retail space. In 2002, plans were announced for

25921-417: Was replaced with a weatherproofed version that is displayed atop the tower year-round), spare parts, numeral signage and other memorabilia. A room near the top of the tower likewise contains the ball's electronics, including its lighting controller and winch . Stairs and elevators were placed on the western side of the building, and there were restrooms on each story next to the stairs and elevators. When

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