A History Lesson

Times Square encompasses the diversity of New York City.  However, it hasn't always been the melting pot that it is today.

Times Square has been a source of entertainment. In 1928, about 264 shows were produced in 76 theaters in Times Square. These theaters featured the emerging popular culture – vaudeville and musicals, jazz and the movies. Today, it is still the busiest theater district in the world.

In the thirties, the Great Depression led to a deep decline in theater attendance.  Many business had to close down and were being replaced by peep shows and strip clubs.  Thus, prostitution and sex theaters defined the area for much of the post-World War II era.

The Times Square area went downhill by the end of the 1960s, and by the mid 70s, tourists avoided Times Square all together.  It had become a crime-ridden, seedy, and rough area. By the 1980′s Times Square was a porn haven and drug-ridden area of the city.  And all the theaters you see now were transformed to adult theaters and porn back then.

The "restoration" of Time Square's turned the area around.

In 1976 Fred Papert established the "42nd Street Development Corporation" to revitalize businesses in Times Square. He tried to reestablish theaters, so that when businesses came in there would be support for a clean-up of the area.

Papert realized that reforming 42nd Street would cost a sufficient amount of money. He looked to the Ford Foundation for support.

At first, Mayor Ed Koch rejected the plan. However, due to its success, Koch was forced to put funds into Times Square.

When Mayor Koch rejected the plan of the Ford Foundation, he had to come up with a better plan. Koch created a series of initiatives which cleaned up the subway and historic theaters that were now showing pornographic movies. His administration granted more zoning laws to allow for the development of office buildings around Times Square. Thus, the city got what it wanted, and money finally came in to help clean up Times Square.

By the 90s, Mayor Guilliani, determined to prevent Times Square from plummeting, used tax law and an increased police presence to clear away pornography and prostitution from Times Square. Guilliani hoped that if he could clear up the streets, businesses would move in as soon as the economy cleared. The bright advertisements once again lit up the streets.

In 1990, the city and state teamed up to create the New 42nd Street, a nonprofit organization that repaired seven theaters on 42nd street: the Lyric, the Selwyn, the Apollo, the Times Square Theater, the Empire, the Liberty, and the Victory.

In 1993, Disney signed a 99-year lease with the City and State for the Amsterdam Theater, which they renovated, renamed the New Amsterdam, and opened with the play The Lion King in 1997.  Once Disney entered the area, things began to pick up.  Disney opened up a store on Times square which attracted more family-friendly business to the area.

Taken from a recent New York Times article,

"The plan, to radically make over 13 acres, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, primarily fronting 42nd Street, outlived three mayors, four governors, two real estate booms and two recessions. Success is evident. Crime is down significantly from the days when pimps, prostitutes, drug addicts and dope pushers prowled Times Square and the Deuce, as that stretch of 42nd Street was known. The number of tourists is up 74 percent since 1993, to an estimated 36.5 million last year, and attendance at Broadway shows has soared to nearly 12 million".  (NYTimes.com)

 Disney agreed to take over the New Amsterdam theater in days of Mayor David N. Dinkins. The restored theater has now been home to two wildly successful Disney plays, the Lion King, and now Mary Poppins. Before you knew it, Times Square was once again a magnant for tourists.