On our last evening in New York City last year we went over to Tony’s on West 43rd Street for a nice Italian dinner and then walked over to Times Square to see the neon lights. We weren’t disappointed but we didn’t see much neon. Fifty years ago all of the electric signs around were neon. Now they are mostly LEDs. But they still look like neon.

We entered Times Square at 43rd and Broadway. Times Square starts where Broadway intersects 7th Avenue at W 42nd Street and ends at 47th Street. It’s not in any way close to the shape of a square — more like a bow tie.
Click on any photo to see a larger version of that photo.
In 1905 The New York Times Publishing Company moved into their new headquarters on Broadway and 42nd Street and Times Square was born. The Times moved out eight years later to another building on W 43rd Street and are now headquartered in a skyscraper a block away from Times Square on W 41st Street. But the old Times Tower at One Times Square is still there, covered with electronic billboards and topped with a ball that drops down every December 31st at midnight to the delight of millions of revelers.

The Lion King has been playing at the Minskoff Theatre (entrance on W 45th Street) for the last 12 years. For nine years before that it played at the New Amsterdam.

Times Square has been called the Crossroads of the World and the Center of the Universe. It’s also a Mecca for selfie-takers.
New York City’s theatre district is between 6th and 8th Avenues and W 42nd and W 50th Streets. Most of the theaters are within a block or two from Times Square.

Wonder Woman was the big movie that just came out in June 2017. Beautiful: The Carol King Musical is still playing at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on W 43rd.

H&M stands for Hennes and Mauritz AB, a Swedish clothing retailer with 4500 stores in 62 countries around the world. One of its New York stores is located at 4 Times Square.

Wonder Woman again. She’s still popular — my granddaughter dressed up as her for Halloween the other day.

One Times Square and its New Year’s Eve Ball. The Walgreens sign that runs diagonally up both sides of the building is the largest LED sign in Times Square, covering 17,000 square feet and containing 12 million LEDs.
More than 300,000 people visit Times Square every day. More than a million celebrate on New Year’s Eve. It’s the most popular tourist attraction in New York City and the second most popular in the country. Only the Las Vegas Strip attracts more people. Lots of neon-looking LEDs there, too.
CCJ: Nice review. We’ve lived about 25 miles away for years, and I think I learned more from this post than ever. Beautiful pics. If I may be so bold, could I ask what Theme you are using? Once again I am having an issue with posting with the zoom feature, indicated with the cursor (small hand with index finger raised.) M:-(
Thanks, MV. I started this blog in 2010 and I’m still using the Twenty Ten theme. I think I learned how to post my photos from you and another long-time follower, Disperser.
Times Square must be an amazing place to experience at night. You did a fantastic job to capture the lights, so clear and colourful!
Thanks, Peter. Have you seen the movies Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Taxi Driver (1976)? Both films show how seedy the Times Square area was toward the end of the 20th century. The city of New York has done a great job cleaning up the area in the last 20 years or so. And that’s a brilliant idea to have some of those bright lights shining on the NYPD substation that they placed right in the middle of all the action!
It is good to hear about the changes that have taken place at Times Square in the last 20 years or so. Urban renewal is a very important concept in planning for better living conditions in our cities.
always wanted to go there!!