Times Square
Times Square-West 42nd Street station (N, Q, R, S, W, 1, 2, 3, or 7 train) or West 42nd Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal (A, C, or E train)
Once the seediest part of Manhattan, Times Square has been completely revitalized. Now it is a fun New York day and/or night spot that is a family favorite. Everyone loves just walking through the bustling streets and looking at the glowing billboards while street vendors offer their wares, from pastel portraits to your name in hand-painted decorative letters. Every year, twenty-six million people visit Times Square. New Yorkers call the intersection of Broadway and Forty-second Street the Crossroads of the World, because it's said that if you stand at the corner long enough you'll meet everyone you've ever known.
Times Square celebrated its 100th anniversary under its current name in 2004. In 1904, when the new New York Times building opened (once the second-tallest structure in New York City), the square around it was renamed after the famous newspaper. To inaugurate this change, the Times dropped the first ball on New Year's Eve. Today more than a million people watch the ball drop on New Year's Eve from Times Square.
The Times Square neighborhood is located between West Forty-second and West Forty-fourth streets from Sixth to Eighth avenues. The four-block stretch has something for everyone (see page 85). Kids love the flagship Toys Us store (with its famous indoor Ferris wheel), Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, a Hello Kitty store, as well as the ESPN Zone restaurant and arcade and nearby Hershey's chocolate store and Lazer Park. Favorites of teens are the MTV studio and store, as well as the Hard Rock Cafe, Quicksilver (for skateboarders), and the Virgin Megastore, where celebrities are often on hand to sign CDs. It's also great fun to stand outside looking into the street-level ABC Studios when a show is being aired.
At night, the stars of the show are the spectacular advertisements. In fact, that's their name: “Spectaculars.” Parents might go after-hours to the legendary B.B. King's. There are also many good family, chain, and fast-food restaurants in the area, as well as multiplex theaters for the latest in high-admission cinema. You can get all sorts of information, in addition to theater ticket and MetroCard sales, at the Times Square Visitors Center, 1560 Broadway. Call 212-869-1890. Free walking tours are offered on Fridays at noon.
