What makes times square famous

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These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Caption : Times Square is clearly pointed out as an important IRT station on this public transit map from Caption: This map clearly labels Times Square and points it out as an important subway station.

It quickly became a yearly tradition, with crowds showing up the next year to see more fireworks and explosives. The pound ball had watt light bulbs. People loved the ball, so the tradition stuck, persisting to the present day.

The ball has had several iterations : The ball was replaced in with a pound ball made of wrought iron, in with an aluminum ball that weighed only pounds, in with a new ball adorned with crystals, and with an LED and crystal ball. In those years, a chime was rung instead. Until , the ball was lowered with a system of ropes and pulleys by a crew overseen by a man with a stopwatch. In , they gave the ball computer effects and new rhinestones, but the ball was about two seconds late.

But for the most part, the ball drop has been on time for the past century! The wider history of New York City has had a profound effect on its famous tourist attractions, from waves of immigration to cultural shifts, crime crackdowns, and major events.

Throughout New York City history, the timeline includes many aspects that have greatly influenced Times Square. Times Square was introduced as one of the first 28 subway stations, and without it, the growth of this famous area may have never happened.

The Great Depression: The Great Depression affected all of the United States, but it especially affected NYC, as many people moved to cheaper neighborhoods and the flashy lights of Times Square were replaced with cheap vaudeville and burlesque. This penchant for cheap theater was associated with the area for decades to come. Stop-and-Frisk : This controversial police strategy for stopping crimes between and , as unfortunately racially motivated as it might have been, lowered petty crimes in many areas of the city, but the anxieties around this practice never really went away.

Hurricane Sandy: Since Times Square is fairly inland on the island, the street and subway station went largely unharmed, but they were oddly quiet. You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience and security. Attraction Passes. Charles Ditchfield no dates. Mary Gets Going. In the s, attempts to stop the growth of disreputable businesses through zoning rules met with few results.

Then the s arrived. For example, the success of the twenty-five cent peep show, introduced in , spurred other small businesses to follow the trend by selling adult films and erotic merchandise.

Inside, crime thrived in the underground corridors of the subway and the passages at the Port Authority Bus Terminal despite the abundance of police. By the late s, the Times Square area recorded the most felony and net crime complaints in the city.

That said, not all activity in the neighborhood was bad; in , the first TKTS booth opened to provide affordable theater admission with the hope of increasing Broadway attendance. The influx of commuters, especially during rush hours, made male prostitution fairly easy and relatively frequent.

The flow of human traffic during these periods allowed clients to solicit sex without attracting much attention. In addition to the sex market, the drug trade also profoundly affected Times Square. Efforts to address the increase in prostitution, especially by juveniles, were derailed by the arrival of crack cocaine to Times Square in As a result, crime rates spiked and continued to increase through Crack dealers, junkies, and the cardboard encampments of the homeless took over the streets.

Andreas Feininger Alfred Mainzer no dates. Likewise, property ownership was convoluted as landlords sought to create distance between themselves and those who ran the porno shops and peep shows on their property. The redevelopment project focused on revitalizing 42nd street as a theater and entertainment center.

After tremendous time, money, and effort, Times Square slowly began to transform as adult stores and sleazy theaters were replaced by child-oriented stores and successful musicals. As tourist activity increased, Times Square continued to improve. A new TKTS sales center was installed. Further construction stopped vehicular traffic and made the plaza area more inviting to pedestrians. In , the newly designed Duffy Square was re-opened to the public.

Read more about the history of New York City and see more photos from the City Museum's collections on their blog. In , the New York City Economic Development Council created a short documentary about the economic transformation of 42nd Street in New York City starting in the early s, from the center of vice and crime in NYC to an area where millions of people pass through each year. Against All Odds tells the story through interviews with the people who made this transformation happen — project leaders, real estate developers, architects, law enforcement officials, and historic preservationists.