Times Square, New York City

New York City Photo: Times Square, Spectacular Billboards, New York City. ⇑

The huge number of animated neon and LED signs have long made Times Square one of New York City’s most unforgettable cityscapes. Times Square is the only neighborhood with zoning ordinances requiring building owners to display illuminated signs. The density of illuminated signs in Times Square now rivals that of Las Vegas. Officially, signs in Times Square are called “spectaculars”, and the largest of them are called “jumbotrons.”

In 1992, the Times Square Alliance a coalition of city government and local businesses dedicated to improving the quality of commerce and cleanliness in the district, started operations in the area. The results are nothing less than spectacular. Times Square now boasts attractions such as ABC’s Times Square Studios, where Good Morning America is broadcast live, an elaborate Toys “Я” Us store, and competing Hershey’s and M&M’s stores across the street from each other, as well as restaurants such as Ruby Foo’s (Chinese food), Planet Hollywood Restaurant and Carmine’s (Italian) along with a number of multiplex movie theaters (that list may change over time as businesses come and go). It has also attracted a number of large financial, publishing, and media firms to set up headquarters in the area.

Notable signage includes the curved seven-story NASDAQ sign at the NASDAQ MarketSite at 4 Times Square on 43rd Street and the curved Coca-Cola sign located underneath another large LED display owned and operated by Samsung. Time Square’s first environmentally friendly billboard powered by wind and solar energy was first lit on December 4, 2008.[6]

On February 26, 2009, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that traffic lanes along Broadway from 42nd Street to 47th Street would be de-mapped starting Memorial Day 2009 and transformed into pedestrian plazas until at least the end of the year as a trial. The same was done from 33rd to 35th Street. The result is an amazing public courtyard filled with travelers that adds to the sheer spectacle of Times Square. It is well managed however, with a strong police presence and attentive cleaning and maintenance staff.

For a photographer like myself who is drawn to color, Times Square makes one of the most compelling photographic subjects in New York City. As sundown approaches, warm natural light combines with the abundance of street lighting to make for an amazing display of dazzling color and graphics.

-Don Peterson, Newark1.com Web Design Portfolio.