May 2, 2006
TKTS and Duffy Square Revitalization
Yes, the TKTS booth is moving from Duffy Square to the Marriott Marquis until December of this year while the new TKTS booth that looks like a huge red staircase (the ticket counters are under the stairs) is being constructed. But why did it take so long? Because the Times Square Alliance decided to spiff up Duffy Square, that sliver of land between Broadway and Seventh Avenues, between 47th and 46th Streets, in a $12.5 million project the meantime. The Times Square Alliance's Tim Tompkins says the TKTS steps will be "the Spanish Steps on steroids (it's okay to say "steroids" in development), and remaking Duffy Square is part of the bigger plan to make Times Square more pedestrian friendly. We can't wait!
Today will be the groundbreaking of the Duffy Square renovation project. Perkins Eastman designd the TKTS booth and William Fellows Architects designed the re-imagined Duffy Square. Learn more about Father Duffy, who the Square is named after, at Wikipedia. And we liked how the NY Times begins its article with a very logical question - Remember back at the turn of the century when they were going to replace the perennially temporary TKTS booth in Duffy Square with a brand new pavilion topped by a ruby-red spectators' bleacher overlooking the theater district? - because we totally did. Plus, some of the shows on sale at TKTS: Avenue Q, Sweeney Todd and The History Boys.
Design rendering from Perkins Eastman
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I'm going to miss the old TKTS. It's a Duffy Square institution. Sure, it was done in a hurry and on the cheap, but it's sort of like Pop Art the way it is. It's not like Andy Warhol spent a lot of time, money and effort silkscreening those celebrity portraits he's so famous for, or even the Campbell's soup can painting. Typical New York. Out with the old, in with the new, even if the old was fine.
even if the old was fine
If you'd ever waited on the line when it was really long, you'd realize the folly of that statement. The old booth configuration was nice enough for a ten-minute wait in good weather, which sadly won't often get you the seats you want for the shows you want.
So, in your opinion, it's better to spend millions of dollars to get a nicer place where you will be comfortable for more than a ten-minute wait in good weather ... and still not get the seats you want for the shows you want. But as long as you're comfortable, that's all that matters.
There's a simple solution to make the line move faster. Just put up a large, constantly updated computer display that tells everyone in line what's available. People waiting in line can make up their minds without having to ask the ticket agent, "Can I get this? No? How about that? No? Well..." They can make first, second and third choices before even getting to the counter. And people who would ultimately go away emptyhanded and disappointed would be able to do so without wasting an hour in line first.
The old booth configuration was nice enough for a ten-minute wait in good weather
But Mike, what about the new design makes the waiting any more comfortable? I'm not arguing it, because it looks good, and a little fresh design is nice now and then. But it looks to me like the stairs/bleachers are more for non-line-waiters, and I'm guessing that the folks waiting in line are still going to spill backwards into the square. The drawing of the actual ticket windows looks like it's more or less the same number of windows too, so I doubt they'll even process people any faster.
Unless the new bright design will make the employees cheerier and more efficient.
cant wait to see all the homeless people who are gonna be sleeping on those stairs - they need a few porta potties in there too
What, don't you know? Just flip up the seats and the Porta Potties are right underneath. When New York talks about installing public restrooms, they mean public. Can you pass the TP, please?