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Times Square

Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S. 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.[2]

This article is about the area in Manhattan. For other uses, see Times Square (disambiguation).

Times Square is brightly lit by numerous digital billboards and advertisements as well as businesses offering 24/7 service. One of the world's busiest pedestrian areas,[3] it is also the hub of the Broadway Theater District[4] and a major center of the world's entertainment industry.[5] Times Square is one of the world's most visited tourist attractions, drawing an estimated 50 million visitors annually.[6] Approximately 330,000 people pass through Times Square daily,[7] many of them tourists,[8] while over 460,000 pedestrians walk through Times Square on its busiest days.[2] The Times Square–42nd Street and 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal stations have consistently ranked as the busiest in the New York City Subway system, transporting more than 200,000 passengers daily.[9]


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.[10] It is the site of the annual New Year's Eve ball drop, which began on December 31, 1907, and continues to attract over a million visitors to Times Square every year,[11] in addition to a worldwide audience of one billion or more on various digital media platforms.[12]


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.[13] Times Square is sometimes referred to as "the Crossroads of the World"[14] and "the heart of the Great White Way".[15][16][17]

Geography[edit]

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,[18] 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.[19] The area 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.[20][21]


Times Square is the official name of the southern triangle, below 45th Street.[22] The northern triangle is officially known as Duffy Square and was dedicated in June 1939 to honor World War I chaplain Father Francis P. Duffy of the 69th New York Infantry Regiment.[23] A statue by Charles Keck was dedicated in May 1937 as a memorial to Duffy.[24] There is also a statue of composer and entertainer George M. Cohan,[25][26] and the TKTS discount ticket booth for same-day Broadway and off-Broadway theaters that has been at the site since June 1973.[27][28]

On the morning of March 6, 2008, caused minor damage, but there were no reported injuries.[142]

a small bomb

On May 1, 2010, Times Square was evacuated from 43rd to 46th Streets following . It was found to be a failed bombing.[143]

the discovery of a car bomb

On May 18, 2017, at Times Square killed one person and injured 22 others.[144][145]

a vehicle-ramming attack

On August 7, 2019, shortly after consecutive in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, a backfiring motorcycle resulted in a stampede due to the sound being mistaken for gunfire; the stampede injured at least twelve people.[146]

mass shootings

On May 8, 2021, a dispute between a group of men led to a shooting in which three bystanders were wounded, including a four-year-old girl.

[147]

On June 27, 2021, a dispute between a group of street vendors led to a shooting in which a 21-year-old bystander was wounded.[149]

[148]

On December 31, 2022, a 19-year-old man from Maine injured three officers with the in a machete attack that occurred during New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square.[150]

New York City Police Department

On February 8, 2024, a teenager shot and injured a Brazilian tourist, and he shot at a police officer and security guard after being confronted for .[151] The shooter, a Venezuelan migrant, fled the area but was apprehended just outside the city.[152]

shoplifting

Coca-Cola sign

Disney Store Times Square

Fashion One

FashionTV

(formerly Virgin Megastores)

Forever 21

Hard Rock Cafe New York

M&M's World

Hershey's Chocolate World

Planet Hollywood

Palladium Times Square

Revlon

– used primarily for selected ABC News and ESPN programs, such as Good Morning America

Times Square Studios

– the Theatre Development Fund's reduced-price ticket booth has, since 2008, been backed by a red, sloped, triangular set of bleacher-like stairs, which is frequented by residents and tourists.

TKTS

– a permanently installed sound art piece by Max Neuhaus between 45th and 46th Streets.

Times Square

Times Square 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:


Contemporary artists regularly perform on Times Square. Examples include test patterns[times square] by Ryoji Ikeda[172] and Continuum by Krista Kim.[173]

the northern section of Times Square between 45th and 47th Streets[186]

Duffy Square

an unofficial holiday celebrated at Times Square since 2007[187]

Good Riddance Day

a branch of the New York City Criminal Court that primarily focuses on quality of life around Times Square[188]

Midtown Community Court

New York City street performer and prominent fixture of Times Square[189]

Naked Cowboy

[190]

Theater District, Manhattan

the terminus of which was in Times Square

Lincoln Highway

Tourism in New York City

Brown, H. (1922) Valentine's Manual of Old New York. Valentine.

Fazio, W. (2000) Times Square, Children's Press.  0-516-26530-X

ISBN

Friedman, J. (1993) Tales of Times Square Feral House.  0-922915-17-2

ISBN

Leach, William (1993). . New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN 978-0307761149.

Land of Desire

Stern, Robert A. M.; Fishman, David; Tilove, Jacob (2006). . New York: Monacelli Press. ISBN 978-1-58093-177-9. OCLC 70267065. OL 22741487M.

New York 2000: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Bicentennial and the Millennium

Taylor, W. (1996) Inventing Times Square, Johns Hopkins U. Press.  0-8018-5337-0

ISBN

(2004) The Devil's Playground: A Century of Pleasure and Profit in Times Square New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50788-4

Traub, James

Times Square live camera

and Events Listing

The Times Square Alliance

Archived March 20, 2018, at the Wayback Machine

Times Square 360 panorama

at the New York Public Library website

"The Changing Face of Times Square"

Archived June 27, 2019, at the Wayback Machine

Times Square Arts Center

NYC-Architecture.com

Archived September 19, 2019, at the Wayback Machine

New York City Tourist