Times Square's Disneyfication Is Finally Complete!

Flickr user Gary Burke

According to the New York Times, the completion of 11 Times Square next month will officially mark "the end of the long and tortuous redevelopment of Times Square, an effort that began 30 years ago." That's right, despite lawsuits, flippancy and the popularity of (sometimes) misplaced nostalgia, Times Square developers have been able to overcome adversity and give the area its very own Madame Tussaud's! And according to Jimmy Glenn of Jimmy's Corner bar, "Everybody loves Times Square now."

On our informal poll, almost 67% of readers said they much preferred the gritty, crime-ridden Times Square of old to the tourist-packed light show it's become, but many say that the theme restaurants and million dollar billboards are just a sign of a city functional enough to actually build something. Professor Lynne B. Sagalynn at Columbia University said, "Times Square is an example of how a city was able to think on a grand scale and carry it out," and Tim Tompkins of the Times Square Alliance said, “Its transformation is due more to government intervention than just about any other development in the country." So you can thank socialism for that Dave & Buster's!

In their interactive feature, the Times shows how 42nd Street's buildings have become obscured by ads and neon signs, with nary a peep-show to be found. But how will the area change now that this renaissance is complete? We can't wait for the cyclical degeneration, complete will full-on nostalgia for the squeaky clean streets of yesteryear.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jaya Saxena in News on December 4, 2010 4:25 PM

Comments [rss]

felixthecat

"Everybody loves Times Square now", NO, not the poor carriage horses that worked in that congested cesspool.

Dead Himmler

Yeah. The horses actually preferred it 100 years ago.

langleycollyer

Neighsayer.

Stevennnn

Face it, people don't like change for the most part

patsw

If you have a longing for the Times Square of 30 years ago, watch "Taxi Driver" and "Midnight Cowboy" and get back to us.

Gothampc

What was so great about having to walk past drunks vomiting on the sidewalk, having to step over homeless people wondering if they were asleep or dead, not being able to breathe because the trains smelled like unbathed homeless who had pissed their pants, going down into the dark subway having to walk past drugged out junkies who were screaming and running around because they were on a bad trip? I don't really like the unoriginality of Times Square as it is now, but better this than what it was.

nicemarmot

If by "love" you actually mean hate. My very first job in the city was just off TS and it was a freaking nightmare. Wading through endless crowds of tourists just to try to get to the subway or find lunch. What annoys me the most there though is all the chain restaurants and stores. Why the hell do people come all the way to New York just to go to the same places they have back home, only more crowded and more expensive?

Spirit of 76

Times Square is full of big chains because only the big chains can afford the rents there now.

But yes, I do miss the old TS. It was just a little less busy, a little less hectic. A lot less garish. The first two floors of every building above the storefronts weren't wall-to-wall signage. Dropping in at the Playland arcade. Getting stopped by barkers at the peep shows as you walked down the sidewalk. Amusing, if not exactly enticing. Even Howard Johnson.

nevilleross

I know that this is a stupid question, but where is Playland arcade now, and what happened to it?

Hate to break it to everybody who misses the old Times Square, but most of the porn that was there would have been gone anyway thanks to the rise of the home video market. The same thing happened in Toronto where I live, with the closure of the Eve Theater because all of the porn went to home video and (eventually) the Internet.

Oh well, at least Toronto's Yonge Street is still somewhat sleazy, what with the adult video store and the two strip bars (Remington's and the Zanzibar Tavern) still there, head shops selling T-shirts/bongs, the Toronto Hemp Company still selling bongs, and a whole lot of other semi-sleezy stuff-if you ever want to experience a little of the old Times Square, pay us a visit-we need the cash from the tourist dollars.

nicemarmot

It is understandable that local companies can't afford the rent anymore. The question in my mind is, who the hell travels to go to the same old crap they have at home in Podunk? When I travel to a new place I'm not looking for the local hot dog stand or Shake Shack. Half the point of going is trying the new stuff I've never seen before. The idea of massive crowds of people all going to the same places they have at home just blows my mind. And not in a good way.

starrygordon

It's good because it's packed over on the West Side with Lincoln Center, 'Broadway', Penn Station, and the tunnels, thus keeping the tourists mostly in one place.

Mordicai

People yearning for the "good old days" of porn booths & crime are...ridiculous. Sure, Times Square isn't my idea of an awesome hang out, but then, I'm not a tourist. Tourists want to go there & spend their money, more power to them. I may grumble when I walk through Times Square to get to someone's apartment or to a show, but whatever. I'll take Metropolis over Gotham any day of the week.

langleycollyer

Go back to your comic books, newbie.

nevilleross

How does using a well-known pop culture reference make him a newbie except for people who disdain comic books like you?

langleycollyer

No, Mr. Glenn, not everybody loves the new Times Square. I loved it years ago when I could, and did, go there to see James Brown (later The Clash) at Bond, have a cheap hot dog dinner with pals at Nathans, and play skee-ball and pinball at Playland afterwards, all within two blocks. It was also the cheapest and best place to see a light night movie, or simply stop and stand over the "sound sculpture" emanating from below a subway grating. Or watch magic tricks performed at Tannen's or The Funny Store. These were actual places and events in my life, not just knee-jerk NYC nostalgia. *sigh* RIP Times Square. You are greatly missed.