NEW YORK | 1 Times Square Redevelopment

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I too think it will likely look pretty slick. But let me use this space to lament how little of the charming old mechanical and neon signs exist in Times Sq anymore. Everything is essentially an enormous programmable LED TV screen. It's bright - almost too bright. And it's boring.

Get off my lawn with your fancy, smancy lights! Back in my day, we had proper lighting!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/abraha...8651742698616/



• Video Link

[NYguy]

Comparison to some renderings...






https://s9architecture.com/onetimessquare

[Busy Bee]

Earlier in my life I wanted to work for Artkraft Strauss. I think I drew up a resume but never actually applied. The way that industry has changed away from electromechanical to almost entirely digital I'm glad I didn't. I think I remember being sick to my stomach when they took the Coke bottle sign down. I also cried when Woolworths closed, so...

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by xnyr

Back in the '80s, I took a wonderful tour led by Tama Starr*, Pres of the Artkraft-Strauss company, highlighting the 'Spectaculars' of Times Sq. as they called them..

We got to see their workshop (NEON fabrication!!) and the highlight for me was going up to the Coca-Cola sign. We passed a noisy room full of clacking relays and went out onto a little maintenance platform in front of the sign - and MAN - you could feel the heat radiating from the bulbs... Unforgettable!

*She's co-authored a fantastic book chronicling the pre-LED/video screens spectaculars of times Square from 1892 to 1998. It's called "Signs and Wonders - The Spectacular Marketing of America" Currency/Doubleday

I swear I just went to the previous page and read this AFTER I wrote the post above. Spooky. Awesome story though. I'm jealous.

[xnyr]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I swear I just went to the previous page and read this AFTER I wrote the post above. Spooky. Awesome story though. I'm jealous.

[NYguy]

https://nypost.com/2024/02/26/busine...fices-fill-up/

Times Square shines even brighter as ball-drop tower gets upgrade, offices fill up

By Steve Cuozzo
Feb. 26, 2024

Times Square’s candle is burning brightly at both ends.

At the 42nd Street “Crossroads of the World,” the 30-story 3 Times Square is bouncing back from its near-empty state at the start of the pandemic.

A new law firm lease just brought the 30-story tower to 60% full, an impressive feat in a weak market.

Across the street, the formerly blank-faced (and mostly empty) ball-drop building known as 1 Times Square is being re-clad with top-to-bottom glass by owner Jamestown and transformed into a public-friendly museum and visitors’ center.

Meanwhile, at the north end of the bowtie, massive light installations on the new TSX Hilton Hotel tower and on the Edition hotel building across the street have turned the intersection of Broadway, Seventh Avenue and West 47th Street into perhaps the brightest corner in the world.

At 3 Times Square, joint-venture owners Rudin and Thomson Reuters just signed international law firm Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, which is taking 27,667 square feet on the entire 28th floor.

[NYguy]

March 13, 2024

[NYguy]

MARCH 22, 2024


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[NYguy]

https://s9architecture.com/onetimessquare

[NYguy]

• Video Link

[NYguy]

4/9/24

[NYguy]

Really liking how this turned out. Can't wait for it to open so I can check it out from inside.


JULY 4, 2024

[NYguy]

Broadway overhang visible...







https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/n...?adppopup=true

[NYguy]

JULY 27, 2028


Really looking forward to this being completed and opened (sometime next year). They've taken what was basically a decorated icon, and are turning it into something we can all experience.

We can see the viewing platform that wraps the building...


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Potential Caesars Palace in the background...


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[NYguy]

How far we have come.




https://seeoldnyc.com/time-square-1940s/

[UrbanImpact]

I can only imagine the price to be on one of the platforms of this building during New Year's Eve if it's even available. I'm thinking it will probably be mostly media/tv/invite only events during that night.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

I can only imagine the price to be on one of the platforms of this building during New Year's Eve if it's even available. I'm thinking it will probably be mostly media/tv/invite only events during that night.

This is where the ball drops, so it will probably be very VIP and restricted for New Year's Eve. For sure, if available it would cost way more that it's worth, if you want a good view of the ball drop itself (though you could probably see most of it). But for the confetti storm, a great view.

[fadedgrandeur]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I too think it will likely look pretty slick. But let me use this space to lament how little of the charming old mechanical and neon signs exist in Times Sq anymore. Everything is essentially an enormous programmable LED TV screen. It's bright - almost too bright. And it's boring.

I fully agree. How is Times Square special when you can watch the exact same advertisements on your phone or computer at home? With other cities encroaching on the niche of the square like Piccadilly Circus and Shibuya Crossing, perhaps it would distinguish Times Square to return to its roots and show them all that we started the whole thing. Importantly, old-fashioned painted and neon sign fabrication is done here in the U.S. and often in the city itself, giving jobs to city workers and helping to revive the dying art of sign making.