Times Square: Dead or Alive?

New York City has changed vastly in the past twenty years. It is a different place visually, socially, and economically. These changes are most visible in Times Square – an area where 42nd Street is crossed by Broadway and Seventh Avenue in the borough of Manhattan. What was once an area known for Vaudeville theatre, later became a decaying representation of its former self. Crime rates soared and adult theatres became the cityscape. Times Square’s current incarnation is that of a spectacle of mass corporatization.

The article refers to Times Square as being a highly tele-visual place. When I first visited New York two years ago, the image I had in my mind of Times Square was different than what I experienced. It was much louder and brighter than I had anticipated, but on the other hand, it was not at the scale that I expected. Television and film has created an illusion within my mind that Times Square would be this massive exciting place. In reality, it’s smaller than I imagined and it is quite obnoxious. It is the perfect media creation – people desire to visit Times Square so greatly, they want to be part of the excitement they see on television.

I view the backlash to Times Square as one that is not so much about stripping a place of history, but it is commenting on a trend that is sweeping not only New York, but many cities around the globe – the commodification of place.