Times Square - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

History

The April 8th 1904, under the mandate of the mayor George Brinton McClellan Jr., the zone known previously under the name of “Longacre Square” was famous “Times Square”, following the establishment of the NewYork Times on the place. The editor of the Times of the time, Adolph Ochs had moved the operations of the newspaper in a news tower located on the 42e street in the middle of the place. Ochs persuaded the McClellan mayor to build a subway station and to re-elect the place “Times Square”. Only three weeks later, the first publicity appeared on the side of the building of a bank, with the angle of the 46e street and of Broadway.

Times Square quickly became an arts center, a place where theaters, theaters, music halls and hotels with the mode concentrated. The place quickly became the agora of New York, a place to seek or await the large gatherings for a world Série or a presidential election is written James Traub in The Devil' S Playground: In Century off Pleasure and Profit in Times Square . Names such as those of Irving Berlin, Fred Astaire and Charlie Chaplin were associated with “Times Square” in the Années 1910 and the Années 1920, which mark the golden age of Broadway: at that time, 280 spectacles on average were played each year. There existed some 71 theaters around the place.

Times Square changed with the beginning of the Grande depression, consecutively with the stock exchange Krach during the Années 1930. It became gradually a district occupied by the Peep show S, the cinemas porn and the souvenir shops cheap for tourists. He was then regarded as a dangerous district. The dilapidation of Times Square had become the symbol of the delinquency and corruption New Yorkeans of the Années 1960 with the beginning of the year 1990. Moreover, several dark films such as Midnight Cowboy and Taxi Driver illustrated the decline of Times Square then.

In the middle of the Years 1990, the mayor Rudolph Giuliani (1994-2002) concentrated its efforts to improve the district and to close the sex shops, thus restoring safety. Many a sex shops was closed or moved towards industrial districts of Brooklyn or Queens.

Times Square nowadays

Times Square: lights and theaters

The theaters of Broadway and the big number of advertizing neons or other giant screens did one of the icons of New York of them, and a symbol of the town planning of Manhattan. Times Square is the only district in which one asks the managers and the owners to post neon signs. The companies often buy these signs for several years (the contracts go up to twelve years).

Times Square is a district in constant effervescence, at any hour of the day and night, which undoubtedly reflects best the activity of New York, “the city which never sleeps”. Times Square is a kind of microcosm inside the city, with its giant stores, and of course its posters (the billboards , neon signs or not) disproportionate: publicities for cars, televised series, where for plays become mythical played in theaters close to Broadway. The store Toys " R" Custom, located on Broadway represents well all the disproportion of Times Square, with a large wheel inside the store, but also a giant Tyrannosaure, and counterparts of the large buildings of the city (Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Statue of freedom in Lego). The district comprises also others very department stores, as the Virgin Megastore which offers various electronic products on three levels.

An striking example is new publicity for NASDAQ at the 4 Times Square on the 43e street. Revealed in January 2000, its construction cost 37 million dollars. This 36,6 meters high publicity is greatest posting with LED of the world. NASDAQ pay more than two million dollars to per annum rent this site.

Times Square and the New year

Each year, part of the inhabitants of New York goes to Times Square to celebrate the new year. Since December 31st 1907, Times Square is thus the theater of one of the most important celebrations of the New year in the world. Each year, several hundreds of thousands of anybody wait until the Waterford Crystal is launched top of the building One Times Square. On average, 750 000 people gather on the place each year, however, on December 31st 1999, at the time of the celebration of the new millenium, approximately two million people went in the place more animated Manhattan, which constituted the largest gathering of population at Times Square since the end of the Second world war. During the second world war, the throw of the ball did not take place. It was replaced by one minute of silence, followed diffusion of a recording of bells, because of the electric restrictions. Between 1904 and 1906, the new year was celebrated by a gigantic fireworks, but the laws of the city prevented this kind of demonstrations thereafter.

See the new year 2007 http://newyears.earthcam.com/panasonic/

Companies located on Times Square

Times Square in arts

Painting

the French painter Daniel Authouart carried out several fabrics showing celebrates it place. It made the symbol of coloured, urban and cinematographic America of it.

Films made to Times Square

The following films comprises one or more scenes filmed at Times Square:

In the film Vanilla Sky , Tom Cruise is found on a completely empty Times Square.
Stewart Shepard incarnated by Colin Farrell saunters with her cellphone on the pavements of Times Square in the first minutes of Phone Range .
In the film " New York Minute " , Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, were found at the Times Square after an argument in connection with the death of their mother ((in film)).

Photographs

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