Time Square Essay -- American History, New York, Tourists

Today, Times Square is seen as a tourist attraction with people traveling to the United States from all over the world to visit New York. Times Square did not always have the glamorous portrayal it has in movies today. In the early twentieth century, Times Square was not a pleasant place and the sounds one would hear would be a lot different from today’s sounds. In the 1920s Times Square had a brief heyday, from thriving entertainment and being the center of flashy commercial advertising, but Prohibition caused many downfalls in the entertainment industry, forcing theaters and nightclubs to close. Times Square was full of nightclubs and theaters, so as the demand lowered because of the limitation of serving alcohol, these venues needed to adapt their business to continue to bring in customers. Most theaters started to add rooftop gardens, cabarets, and restaurants that can maintain the long hour shifts for extra income (Reichl 53). During the â€Å"1927/1928 theater season, seventy-six theaters were operating in the greater Times Square theater district, but within a decade the number had dropped to thirty-three,† with none of the theaters on 42nd street in operation by the end of the 1930s (Reichl 56). Eventually, theaters had to resort to other forms of entertainment; certain parts of Times Square were known for the peep shows, burlesque clubs, and video stores (McNamara 20). With a new crowd of people coming to see this type of entertainment, there were different sounds heard on the streets of Times Square then heard today. Outside of the theaters one would hear the chatter about the pornographic film being shown, hustlers trying to pick people up for a few hours, and mass transit passing by. A few decades later, the do... ...ainment attractions and sharing in the booming tourist economy of Times Square† (Reichl 160). Kids and adults now enjoy the theatrical performances of many Disney classics along 42nd Street and can end the visit by visiting the two-storey Disney Store to purchase various Disney trademarked items. Most people do not realize the history of 42nd Street when they are passing by because they hear the speakers playing the soundtracks to shows, people selling tickets in the box office as well as scalpers trying to find tickets, and anxious kids waiting for the show to begin. The tourist area that 42nd Street has become is flourishing all because of Disney and how the officials looked passed the dingy look and negative views of 42md Street. Instead of focusing on the looks and negativity, Disney looked at this project as a business venture with a big picture aspect.