Times Square, the most bustling square of New York, is known for its many Broadway theatres, cinemas and electronic billboards. It is one of those places that make New York a city that truly never sleeps. 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 its downtown premises. The square in front of the building was called Longacre square but was soon renamed to the well-recognized Times Square.
We would like to share with you some interesting facts about Times Square:
- Times Square has achieved the status of an iconic world landmark and has become a symbol of New York City.
- Times Square is a major intersection in Manhattan, New York City at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets.
- Its nicknames include ‘The Crossroads of the World’ and ‘The Great White Way’, and reportedly ‘The Tenderloin’ because it was supposedly the most desirable location in Manhattan in the 1920s.
- New York City began a slow but steady push to clean up Times Square in the 1990s led by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani – the process was referred to as the ‘Disneyfication’.
- In February of 2011, Times Square became smoke free.
- The 1929 stock market crash took its toll on the area, with many businesses moving out of the area and replaced with seedier forms of entertainment, including pornographic “peep shows”.
- Bill Clinton eulogized the Times Square, recalling the old mix of prostitutes and colorful characters as “romantic” and “fascinating”.
- The nights are brighter in Times Square more than anywhere in New York City.
- 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.
- Times Square is the only zone in New York City where tenants are required to display bright signs.
- Thanks to an exterior elevator, you can view all of 42nd Street while visiting statues of your favorite celebrities and historical figures at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum.
- The Times Square Armed Forces Recruiting Station, nicknamed “The Booth”, has been a fixture on the Great White Way since 1946. Air force, army, navy and Marine Corps recruiters were greatly relieved when a bathroom was finally installed during a 1998 renovation.
- In 1915, D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation premiered in Times Square. The film heralded the rise of the movies from lowly sideshows to pop culture juggernauts
- The most famous building at the square is undoubtedly the iconic Paramount Building. Another former theater, the Embassy Theater, is now the home of Times Square’s own visitors’ center
- .On New Year’s Eve, close to a million people congregate to celebrate the ‘Dropping of the Ball’..
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