It’s not a square at all. Just a ten-block bow tie centered on the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue. Until the beginning of the twentieth century it was Longacre Square, a neighborhood of horse stables and carriage-making shops, boarding houses and elegant homes, dancehalls and brothels.
Then came a newspaper and a subway. On April 8, 1904, in anticipation of the completion of the New York Times Building, the bow tie was given a new name: Times Square. The rest is the history of modern American culture. Over the course of a century, Times Square became the laboratory for new forms of entertainment, communication, advertising, urban planning, and vice. Times Square helped define the consuming desires of a nation. At The Crossroads of Desire: A Times Square Centennial considers Times Square at 100 — its evolution as an urban space, its shifting identities as a center for entertainment and popular culture, and its attraction for crowds and individuals testing the limits of social and sexual mores, as well as artists seeking inspiration. Times Square blossomed in the first third of the twentieth century, only to slide into physical and economic decay after World War II. As Times Square has returned in a cleaner, more corporate guise, the crowds have also returned, some with regrets. Many long for the Times Square of their youth, which might mean the Times Square of porn theaters, or the Times Square of V-J Day 1945, or the Times Square of the Ziegfeld Follies. Despite its share of losses, Times Square reminds us on a daily basis that New York has always been better at celebration than despair. Times Square celebrates, not just on New Year’s Eve, or at moments of great national achievement, but every day when the sun goes down and the lights go up. At The Crossroads of Desire: A Times Square Centennial is curated by historian Max Page and organized by the AXA Gallery in partnership with the Times Square Alliance. The AXA Gallery is sponsored by AXA Financial and its subsidiary The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Additional assistance has been provided by AXA Art Insurance. At The Crossroads of Desire: A Times Square Centennial will be on view to the public at the AXA Gallery through March 26, 2005. For further information, please call the AXA Gallery: (212) 554-4818
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