New TKTS Booth and Duffy Square - by John Choi and Tai Ropiha / Perkins Eastman

[Kris]

August 10, 2003

FOLLOWING UP

No Opening Night Yet for a New TKTS Home

By JOSEPH P. FRIED

A Broadway production: a razzle-dazzle overture, and then nothing to see, long after the curtain was expected to rise.

In February 2000, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani announced a design for a new structure to replace the concoction of trailers, pipes and canvas that houses the popular TKTS booth in Times Square.

New Yorkers and visitors have been lining up at the booth to buy discount theater tickets for 30 years. But its operator, the Theater Development Fund, and Times Square civic leaders and city officials have long agreed that something more imposing and imaginative should house the TKTS operation. They also agree that Duffy Square, the square-within-a-square traffic island of tired pavement and subway gratings on which TKTS stands, should be spruced up to provide a finer setting for it, and for the island's two statues.

They are of the Rev. Francis P. Duffy, the heroic World War I Army chaplain and theater district priest, and George M. Cohan, the showman and composer. So, three and a half years ago, the design for a new TKTS home was unveiled.

Today it is still no more than an idea, though its advocates insist that it will yet materialize, along with a more attractive Duffy Square.

"I hoped at the time we would get it done a year and a half later," John F. Breglio, chairman of the Theater Development Fund, said last week of the planned TKTS structure, which is to house a roomier sales area tucked into a 16-foot-high bright red grand staircase. The splashy steps are envisioned as bleacher seats for viewing the surrounding bustle.

But the September 2001 terrorist attack put the project on the back burner, Mr. Breglio said. His own group, he said, had to deal with matters like finding a new site for its downtown TKTS operation, which had been in the World Trade Center. It is now at the South Street Seaport.

And a plan to finance the Times Square construction and the Duffy Square rehabilitation has still not been drawn up. But Mr. Breglio said his group was focusing on devising a plan, in cooperation with the Times Square Business Improvement District and the Coalition for Father Duffy.

Tim Tompkins, president of the improvement district, said about $6 million was needed.

The chairman of the Coalition for Father Duffy, Joseph A. Healey, expressed impatience with the pace of progress. He said the planned new TKTS home would be a better backdrop for the priest's statue, which he described as visually lost amid the "erector set" jumble of today's booth. "But progress," he said, "has been slow and torturous."


Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

[Kris]

http://www.vanalen.org/competitions/tkts2k/_images/9e14_proj_01b.jpg
http://www.vanalen.org/competitions/tkts2k/_images/9e14_proj_01c.jpg
http://www.vanalen.org/competitions/tkts2k/_images/9e14_proj_01a.jpg
First Prize (http://www.vanalen.org/competitions/tkts2k/first.htm),
TKTS2K Design Competition (http://www.vanalen.org/competitions/tkts2k/introduction.htm)

[Kris]

http://www.vanalen.org/publications/_images/6b07_24.jpg

[billyblancoNYC]

Gotta love seeing people flowing into the streets and oncoming traffic.

[Kris]

April 7, 2004

A Face-Lift for the Square Within Times Square

By JAMES BARRON

http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/04/07/nyregion/07duff.jpg
Maj. Gen. Joseph Healey, left, Victoria Bailey and Tim Tompkins, who are guiding the makeover of Duffy Square, in front of the statue of Father Francis Patrick Duffy and the TKTS discount ticket booth.

Here it is, the eve of the hundredth anniversary of the place where the walls seem to be all neon, all the time. The place that went from that kiss on V-J Day to all that depravity and danger. The place that then cleaned itself up in time for the party when the calendar rolled over from 1999 into 2000. The crossroads of the world.

Times Square's birthday is tomorrow. On April 8, 1904, Mayor George McClellan signed a resolution changing the name of Long Acre Square. The first "Times Square" sign went up three weeks later, on a bank at 46th Street and Broadway. The signs in the subway, whose commissioners had first suggested the name change, followed.

Fast forward to the Times Square Alliance, the nonprofit group that recently changed its name from the Times Square Business Improvement District. Its mission in the 1990's, said Tim Tompkins, its president, was about working to make Times Square "clean, safe and fun'' - and spreading the word that it was.

"That was the mantra,'' he said the other day. "In almost every way, that's been achieved, as opposed to dirty, dangerous and terrifying.''

To Mr. Tompkins, the question is: Now what? For starters, he is planning a makeover of the square within the square. That would be Duffy Square, the triangle between West 47th Street, Broadway and Seventh Avenue. The project would bring an amphitheater with illuminated red steps to the square and give the TKTS ticket booth a permanent home for the first time since it opened 31 years ago - now as then, it occupies two trailers. The makeover is being planned with the Theater Development Fund, which runs the ticket booth, and the Coalition for Father Duffy, a group led by a retired Army general who is concerned that the square's namesake is too often forgotten there.

The design was chosen in a competition overseen by the Van Alen Institute. Raymond Gastil, the institute's executive director, said that the assignment was, in effect, to "create a new icon for the crossroads of the world.'' Some 683 architects and designers tried, he said.

The winner, by the Australian architects John Choi and Tai Ropiha, "looks out at the spectacle rather than creating another spectacle of itself, which I thought was a very sharp observation,'' Mr. Gastil said. "It recognized what Duffy Square was as a place and what it could be.''

Since the competition, two firms with offices in New York - William Fellows Architects and Perkins Eastman - have worked on translating the design into buildable plans.

Victoria Bailey, the executive director of the theater fund, said the changes would make Duffy Square "a pedestrian-friendly gathering place for everyone in Times Square as well as serving theatergoers.''

The planning was not without its tensions. The leader of the Coalition for Father Duffy, Maj. Gen. Joseph Healey, said he had once called the TKTS booth "sort of like an erector set.'' "They weren't happy with me calling it that,'' he said, referring to officials from the theater fund. Nor were they happy when General Healey, who retired from the Army in 1990, said the name of the place was Duffy Square, not TKTS Square. Sure, General Healey said, the TKTS booth had become a well-known destination. But it also looked like a "junkyard'' where Father Duffy was too easily forgotten.

So who was Father Francis Patrick Duffy? A military chaplain cited for bravery in World War I, for carrying wounded soldiers from the battlefield. He later became rector of Holy Cross Church, a few steps from the square that was named for him after his death in 1932.

A statue of Father Duffy went up in 1937. It was paid for by private donations, many from World War I veterans. General Healey - a former commander of unit with which Father Duffy served, the Fighting 69th - said it would have to be moved while the amphitheater is being built. The goal is for construction to begin next winter, and for the project to be paid for with between $2.5 million and $3 million from the three groups, along with about $1.4 million from the city, state and federal governments. Mr. Tompkins said that leaves between $3 million and $4 million to be raised.

"Duffy Square will be to the rest of Times Square as Bethesda Fountain was to Central Park - the first element of the reconstruction of the park,'' Mr. Tompkins said.

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

[NoyokA]

UM...yea, finally:

Crains:

July 11, 2005

Duffy Square to be rebuilt

The Times Square Alliance won the $5 million in city funds it needs to rebuild Duffy Square.

The alliance will spend a total of $12.5 million to widen the square, build an all-glass TKTS booth with amphitheater seating on top and upgrade the plaza with granite.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2006.

[NoyokA]

The TKTS Booth has got to be one of the worst things I have seen in New York.

The new one is a very good use of a small space.

[Citytect]

The new one is a very good use of a small space.
Agreed. The design isn't all that interesting or impressive, but it's very functional and its not an eye sore. I think that's the best you can do under the circumstances.

[NoyokA]

Agreed. The design isn't all that interesting or impressive, but it's very functional and its not an eye sore. I think that's the best you can do under the circumstances.

Entirely agree. The design is understated which says alot admist the temptations to capture the hustle and bustle of Times Square, it was resisted through the building's strong character. At the same time it adhere's to the Times Square aesthetic not through a literal architecture, but through a living architecture, its the colorful people and how they make use of the space that will set this building apart.

[czsz]

My fear is that the stairs, rather than blending seamlessly into their environment as those at Piccadilly Circus do, will look like a cheap gimmick set haphazardly in the midst of the square. It certainly seems so from the aerial view presented in the rendering. At the very least, though, it will finally be a concession to pedestrian culture in a crowded area all too dominated by auto traffic.

[NewYorkYankee]

Speaking of TKTS, is it true if you go after 6:30 youll get seats in the front of the theater? Due to the show not wanting them to go un-sold?

[Fabrizio]

In the renderings the steps remind me of the roof of a fast food joint..... all shiney and red. And I´m wondering what they´re going to look like with trash and snow on them... probably sad.

[lofter1]

Speaking of TKTS, is it true if you go after 6:30 youll get seats in the front of the theater? Due to the show not wanting them to go un-sold?

House seats (those seats set aside by the management), if unused, are released by the theatre box office (usually sometime around 6:30 PM) and sent over to TKTS. So if a pair of 5th row center seats is not claimed by a producer, star , etc. then some lucky soul can get the tix at the TKTS price.

I've gone @ 7PM and found fantastic seats availabe. Of course you do run the risk of no house seats being released for that particular day, but if you don't like what's offered you can always go to the movies.

TKTS is one of the great amenities of NYC. Can't wait for them to get their well-deserved new home.

[Kris]

May 2, 2006
Opening on Broadway Soon, a New Look for TKTS and Father Duffy Square
By DAVID W. DUNLAP

Remember back at the turn of the century when they were going to replace the perennially temporary TKTS booth in Duffy Square with a brand new pavilion topped by a ruby-red spectators' bleacher overlooking the theater district?

They still are. But now, seven years into the planning, the city and theater-district groups are going to rehabilitate Duffy Square, too: expanding its edges for a 37 percent gain in space, repaving it with illuminated panels set into granite and tearing down the fence around the statue of the Rev. Francis P. Duffy.

On the occasion of Father Duffy's 135th birthday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is to preside at a groundbreaking today for the $12.5 million project. A truly temporary TKTS booth opened nearby yesterday at the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

Crowning the new Duffy Square will be a glass staircase to nowhere, 27 steps high (three more than in the three broad staircases in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art). With room for more than 1,000 people to sit on the staircase, it would be a kind of public amphitheater to the spectacle of Times Square immediately to the south.

"I think it's going to be New York's Spanish Steps," said Brendan Sexton, an adviser to the Coalition for Father Duffy, who was a member of the jury that chose the design for the new TKTS booth in 1999. He was also the president of what is now called the Times Square Alliance.

The current president, Tim Tompkins, jumped in to add, "The Spanish Steps on steroids."

The alliance, which runs the business improvement district, envisions a new Duffy Square as the keystone in its plan to improve street life in the overcrowded Broadway-Seventh Avenue vortex. "There is so much clutter in Times Square, this will be a striking shift," Mr. Tompkins said. "Finally, there'll be a place where you can sit down and look."

The Theater Development Fund, which runs the TKTS discount ticket program, hopes that people who flock to this new gathering place will also become theatergoers.

"I imagine a person sitting there having lunch and saying, 'What's going on here?' " said Victoria Bailey, the executive director. Perhaps that person would end lunch hour at one of the 12 windows in the new fiberglass TKTS booth tucked under the staircase at 47th Street. "We'll be able to sell much more efficiently," Ms. Bailey said.

There are 10 windows in the current setup, which consists of two trailers surrounded by a network of pipes and sail-like vinyl panels emblazoned with huge red t's and k's and s's. This was designed by Mayers & Schiff in 1973 as a temporary measure. It is now old enough to be eligible for landmark status.

Indeed, some of the panels may be acquired by the Museum of the City of New York, said Veronica Claypool, the managing director of the fund.

The architects of the new TKTS pavilion and Duffy Square are Perkins Eastman and William Fellows Architects, working from a concept by two Australian architects, John Choi and Tai Ropiha, who won a 1999 competition sponsored by the Van Alen Institute.

"The whole intent was to take the essence of that concept and make a glowing, floating, red amphitheater," said Nicholas S. Leahy, a principal in Perkins Eastman.

The steps will be made of three-layer laminated glass panels, one-and-a-half inches thick. They will be 45 feet wide at the top, tapering to 32 feet. The treads will be two feet deep, almost twice as deep as those at the Met. Panels under the steps will supply heat to melt snow and cooling for the light-emitting diodes that will illuminate the entire staircase. Glass panels will border the edges.

Given that a seated person typically occupies about two square feet, the steps could conceivably hold more than 1,000 people.

The top of the steps will be 16 feet above the sidewalk, as high as the current pipe structure and just slightly lower than the top of the Celtic cross that is a backdrop to the statue of Father Duffy. That was important to the Father Duffy coalition.

Father Duffy, who died in 1932, was most famously chaplain to the Fighting 69th Regiment in World War I. He was also pastor of Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church at 329 West 42nd Street.

Bruce Meyerson, who served in the 69th Regiment as a first lieutenant and is now chairman of the coalition, said he was pleased with the overall plan for Duffy Square. "The entire site works," he said. "Everything blends together."

It took a lot of mixing to blend.

Construction was supposed to begin in 2000. Then the leadership of the Theater Development Fund changed hands. Then terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center, slowing down many projects in the city and affecting the theater fund more directly, because it had a booth at the trade center. The downtown TKTS booth has since reopened in the South Street Seaport.

Then, as the concept was translated into real plans, the fund incorporated the needs of the alliance, which wanted a better streetscape, and those of the coalition, which wanted a better setting for the Father Duffy statue. Then there was give and take with New York City Transit and the City Department of Transportation.

Then the financing had to be cobbled together: $5.5 million from the mayor's office, $4 million from the City Council, $1.5 million from the alliance, $1 million from the fund and $500,000 from the coalition.

The project now seems to be under way. And because the major structural elements are prefabricated, the completion date is not too distant.

"It is our intent and hope to have it ready for Dec. 31st," Mr. Tompkins said. He meant 2006.

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

[antinimby]

...repaving it with illuminated panels set into granite...Interesting.


"It is our intent and hope to have it ready for Dec. 31st," Mr. Tompkins said. He meant 2006.Wow, a project in NY that actually gets completed in the same year it got started in. A pleasant surprise.

[Kris]

http://63.240.68.122/FirmFiles/2/images/TKTS%5FRender1%2Ejpg

www.perkinseastman.com


http://www.wfarch.com/web/images/civic/father/13.jpg

http://www.wfarch.com/web/images/civic/father/21.jpg

http://www.wfarch.com/web/images/civic/father/12.jpg

http://www.wfarch.com/web/images/civic/father/11.jpg

http://www.wfarch.com/web/civic_father.htm

[ablarc]

Pretty good.

Subtle but good.

[Peteynyc1]

Those little granite curbs sticking up on each side brings two things to mind: Skateboarders and lawsuits

[MidtownGuy]

Skateboarders would be cool here.
I love the stadium seating.

[lofter1]

hmmmm ... skateboarders ... got not problem with them -- other than the damage that their boards / wheels do to all sorts of publicly installed stonework / benches (check out battery park's new esplanade for one).

Perhaps they could start a self-supporting "repair-the-damage-we-do-to-public-places" fund?

Don't think it will be much of problem in TS where the cops are thick.

PS: I love this project and glad to see that it is finally moving forward. It's going to be a big plus for TS and TKTS.

[lofter1]

Those little granite curbs sticking up on each side brings two things to mind: Skateboarders and lawsuits
No doubt that they will install those litle metal knobs every 16 inches that have sprung up all over NYC (to discourage boarders from taking runs along the stone -- which causes chipping and leaves nasty looking scuff marks).

[BPC]

I like everything about this design except for the plexiglass along the edges, which is extraordinarily lame. I understand that you do not want people falling (or more realistically, pushed -- this being New York) off the edge, but a metal, open-air gate/fence would do the trick far more effectively. What is the point of climbing up there if you can't even catch a breeze?

[MidtownGuy]

OK. Skateboarding's popularity doesn't seem to be going anywhere, and it gives kids something to do that isn't destructive to society, except for some scuff marks and a few chips? Maybe urban planners should provide them with some sort of identifiable and indestructable alternative, not isolated like at Chelsea Piers or some park, but part of the city fabric, where they seem to want to be. We install metal knobs to take away their spaces, and then we provide nothing to compensate. Hardly seems fair.

[lofter1]

Well, its not like they don't have a zillion street curbs to skate on.

[MidtownGuy]

They seem to like to be able to arrange themselves in a sort of grouping, and plus curbs aren't good for all of the stunts, not high enough, too many obstructions, etc.

They will do it anyway, I guess was my point. I am an accommodating soul, and I like to see everyone able to use urban spaces. (within reason, no straw-man arguments please).

I hate covering everything with knobs and spikes.

[Peteynyc1]

It appears the island will be expanded from its current size quite a bit? I am surprised there is no greenery, shrubage, horticulturality involved.

[mkeit]

Where is the long line for tickets??

[Peteynyc1]

Anyone ever eat at Foleys Fish House, those dark windows right below the Caddy signage? The view of TS is amazing from there! Its great in winter when you want to enjoy TS from a warm place over a tasty meal.

[lofter1]

Not a fan of knobs and spikes myself.

Seems the problem stems from the design of street "furniture" that makes itself so attractive to boarders -- nice smooth long edges to slide along (hence the knobs and spikes to thwart the boarding). Chips / skids ruin the aesthetic of the minimalist design -- so urban designers need to either come up with a material that maintains its shape when board-ed or, as you say, create areas that are board-er friendly.

There was the big skate park in the Hudson River Park, but for construction purposes they've (temporarily??) moved the skate park that was near the Tribeca piers way up to ~ 30th Street in the HRP -- even more remote than before.

Kind of surprised that the refurbishment of the playgrounds in the SW edge of Central Park didn't include a skating park

There is however this down SoHo-way ... http://www.curbed.com/archives/categories/manhattan_soho_nolita.php?page=2

[czsz]

Forget skateboarders. These steps will be heated. Can anyone say homeless magnet?

[MidtownGuy]

Those steps will be a true magnet for everyone. What urban spectacle will present iself to those seated!

Lots of cigarette butts.

[lofter1]

by the time this is completed Mr. Mayor will have pushed through his (secret?) plan ala Santa Monica whereby NO smoking is allowed in City Parks -- which includes Father Duffy Square.

Problem solved! (drat, as I love a good smoke)

[czsz]

"Banned in Boston" -> "Not in New York"

[Peakrate212]

Anyone ever eat at Foleys Fish House, those dark windows right below the Caddy signage? The view of TS is amazing from there! Its great in winter when you want to enjoy TS from a warm place over a tasty meal.

Ummmmm that would be The Olive Garden......

[Peakrate212]

I like the design - then again, I liked it 6 years ago when they announced it.

why the delay?

[lofter1]

9/11 ^

[Kris]

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_05_stairs1.jpg

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/05/02/times_squares_stairway_to_nowhere.php

[Kris]

The statue will be like a giant spectator standing in the front row and obstructing many views of the stage.

[czsz]

And a great big morbid Christian damper on the liveliness of Times Square...

[Citytect]

The statue is kind of interesting in this setting. I like the weird juxtapostion.

[Kris]

http://fototapeta.art.pl/2005/i/hsb/friedlander_6.jpg
Father Duffy. Time's Square, New York City, 1974. © Lee Friedlander

http://fototapeta.art.pl/2005/hsb.php

[lofter1]

And a great big morbid Christian damper on the liveliness of Times Square...
It's been there for years -- and hasn't seemed to spoil the party so far.

And it's the place where the Times Square Christmas Tree shows up every year:

http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2857

http://www.wirednewyork.com/times_square/images/duffy_square_tree.jpg

[Citytect]

Who's George M. Cohan?

[Fabrizio]

Ah youth!

[ZippyTheChimp]

:)

[lofter1]

Who's George M. Cohan?
I guess you're not asking in jest?

Here you go: http://www.musicals101.com/1900to10.htm#Cohan

or this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M._Cohan

and this http://www.congressionalgoldmedal.com/GeorgeMCohan.htm :

Congressional Gold Medal Recipient George M. Cohan


http://www.congressionalgoldmedal.com/GeorgeMCohan.jpg
George M. Cohan

b. Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, 3 July 1878
d. New York City, New York, New York, 5 November 1942

Monday, 29 June 1936


AN ACT Authorizing the President to present a gold medal to George M. Cohan.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President is authorized to present, but not in the name of Congress, a gold medal of appropriate design to George M. Cohan, in recognition of his services during the World War in composing the patriotic song "Over There", and prior thereto that thrilling song "A Grand Old Flag."



49 Stat. 2371

[ZippyTheChimp]

I must confess, my own introduction to George M Cohan was at about 10, after watching a movie on TV, Yankee Doodle Dandy (http://www.filmsite.org/yank.html), starring Jimmy Cagney, another New York icon.

Please Greenie, throw an old dog a bone. Tell me you know who Jimmy Cagney is.

[Citytect]

Haha. Sorry Zippy, I had to google Cagney too.

I probably don't know these people because I have little interest in theater or old Hollywood (or new Hollywood for that matter).

Oh, and because I'm only 20-something.

[krulltime]

This is great! That is what this square needs... Hmmm... why don't they just move the George M. Cohan statue on the other end. It won't block any views when people want to sit on those steps.

Nevermind I know there will be an uproar if that ever happens. LOL!


http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_05_stairs1.jpg

[lofter1]

That statue / sculpture at the foot of the stairs is of Father Duffy, the square's namesake.

George M. Cohan already resides at the south end of the square.

[lofter1]

Haha. Sorry Zippy, I had to google Cagney too...

Oh, and because I'm only 20-something.
Well, Cagney is a native New Yorker ... use that as an excuse to familiarize yourself with one of the greatest film actors of all time.

And do yourself a favor and check this one out:

http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/0,23220,white_heat,00.html

You can hear him in "White Heat" HERE (http://www.reelclassics.com/Audio_Video/Quotes7r/cagney_whiteheat_madeitma.wav)

http://www.libertyfilmfestival.com/libertas/wp-content/cagney.jpg

[krulltime]

That statue / sculpture at the foot of the stairs is of Father Duffy, the square's namesake.

George M. Cohan already resides at the south end of the square.

Ups my mistake. :o

[smackfu]

Interesting how they got rid of the fenced bit in the middle and replaced it with nothingness. The line used to follow the fence and now it will just meander I suppose.

[Clarknt67]

i like the design and think it will be fun and functional. But the stairs could be more attractive, the red is overwhelming and not attractive, imho. it might have been interesting to contrast the neon and urban street scape by making the stairs more park like with planters and organic? Ok maybe not.

Or, how about glass, like the staircase at the Apple Store on Prince St. Ok, that would be completely impractical, one runaway cab (not an unusual occurrance there) and we'd have a disaster of finances and life and limb. Still another transparent material?

Or.....

I read a certain world famous dance floor recently was up for sale http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200502/s1308861.htm
http://www.petiteanglaise.com/wordpress/wp-images/saturday_night_fever_dancefloor.jpg

I vote for acquisition and repurposing.

[Fabrizio]

Those red steps remind me of the red plastic "tile" roof of a fast food restaurant. We´ll see...

[ablarc]

The redness may not be a necessary component of the scheme. It may show dirt.

I just noticed something: what happens under the steps in the space between them and the booth?

[lofter1]

TKTS logo has always been Red / White.

Also the imagery correpsonds to "The Big Apple".

As for that space beneath the steps behind the ticket booth: some accessible public restrooms would be helpful.

[ablarc]

^ Portal to Hades?

[lofter1]

The footings for the new foundation were poured last week ...

[LeCom]

Pretty ugly design in many ways, yet it's a practical solution to the problem and beats the previous shit they had there by any standards. Besides, if it is to be built anywhere in the city, Times Square is the place. Too bad they didn't take the care to make the steps a little more creative and give em a non-repulsive color.

[Citytect]

I like the red - a basic primary color. The simple hue gives it a playful, fun quality. Fits Times Square.

[lofter1]

Alss, RED is the brand color of TKTS.

[Peteynyc1]

http://www.juliusjuly.com/blog/mcdonaldland.jpg

[LeCom]

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_05_stairs1.jpg

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/05/02/times_squares_stairway_to_nowhere.php
It would be cool if the steps somehow cascaded to the east and west sides at the bottom as well, but on the other hand the current arrangement offers more refuge to anyone who uses them just to sit and chill. Besides, the spot at the top will be an interesting location to shoot photos from.

[BrooklynRider]

I hope they get creative with garbage bins. That place always piled with garbage in the planter boxes.

[lofter1]

Maybe they can cut-out some holes in the stair-ramp and have containers up there that drop direct into bins beneath ...

Hate it when people leave their trash all about -- but sometimes it's simply because there aren't adequate numbers of garbage bins nearby.

[lofter1]

The foundation for the stair / booth area is completed -- plumbing / electric connections are in as well.

Now they're working on the surrounding sidewalk area including new steel structure for the grills / vents tothe subway lines below. Lots to do there.

I asked one of the contractors ("La Strada") on site today when we could expect to see something rising on the site.

He said " a couple of months" ...

[Eugenious]

Are hey planning on staffing the stairs with a police officer presence to ward off the bums and the destitute people? I can just see this becoming the "it" spot for the homeless beggars.

[MidtownGuy]

I don't think that will happen here. There will be so much activity up and down, the lights, loud people, tourists with cameras stepping over, honking horns all around, midtown's homeless probably prefer somewhat quieter placess to set up roost.

[Strattonport]

Are hey planning on staffing the stairs with a police officer presence to ward off the bums and the destitute people? I can just see this becoming the "it" spot for the homeless beggars.

I can't remember the last time I saw a homeless man around Times Square.

[Peakrate212]

Maybe it will become the main market for the 100s of Africans that sell bags, glasses, etc in Times Square!

Wouldnt that be special - "little Niarobi"

[lofter1]

The shell for the new tkts booth has been installed -- looks to be glossy white plastic and all one big piece ...

The red stairs will rise over this ...

***

[kz1000ps]

11/20

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9628/dscf0034ud8.jpg

[lofter1]

-- looks to be glossy white plastic and all one big piece ...

errr, ummmm .... I mean metal :o

[ablarc]

Cheap.

Whatever it is.

[Peteynyc1]

^^exactly. After all these years of trying to get something more substantial and new in here, they go with a plastic one piece dome shell? Seems really silly, not to mention hot in Summer and cold in Winter.

[lofter1]

No doubt the pod is simply the cover for the actual working space that will be installed within. The previous work space (actually a "temporary" trailer-type structre) was heated / ac'd --even had electricity, plumbing and toilets for the employees!! Really ;) !

But it was cramped and run down. No doubt this will be a vast improvement.

I like it. And once the staircase goes up and over it I'm hoping to like it even more.

[antinimby]

Here's an overhead snapshot of the site taken from earthcam.com just moments ago.

They'd better pick up the pace if they are going to shoot for completion in time for New Year's Eve.

[lofter1]

They're moving pretty fast -- two days ago that entire center area was just an open grid-work of big steel beams; since then they've installed some sort of paving system there and now it's almost all covered over ...

[lofter1]

Pavers installed at the north end ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_04a.jpg

South end is still raw concrete ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_04b.jpg

[antinimby]

I say they're not gonna make it.

3 weeks and counting...

[lofter1]

Maybe portable bleachers for New Years :confused:

[Citytect]

I bet the risers will come prefabricated in large sections and won't take all that long to assemble on site... Still, they're really pushing it.

[BrooklynRider]

The pavement improvements were much needed, but this design, as others have stated, is on the cheap. Considering it seems to be 100% prefab fiberglass and plastic, the completion willl likely be more dependent on the skilled labor doing the paving than the actual construction. Laborers, skilled or not, can always be motivated to work harder, faster and safer with more money.

[lofter1]

I asked a workman at the site today when the frame for the bleachers will be going up ...

He said, "Probably not until the spring." :(

ps: I previously wrote that the shell for the TKTS booth looked to be some type of one-piece molded plastic, but upon a second inspection it seems that it might be steel. Further detective work required ...

[ablarc]

I previously wrote that the shell for the TKTS booth looked to be some type of one-piece molded plastic, but upon a second inspection it seems that it might be steel.
Whatever it is, it looks like crap.

[antinimby]

I asked a workman at the site today when the frame for the bleachers will be going up ...
He said, "Probably not until the spring." :(The story of public projects in this city.

This is not the Great Wall here, it really is not that complicated of a project but they still can't get it done on time.

[lofter1]

There is a lot of infrastructure work for this fairly large plaza area that is being done at the same time -- rebuilding of some ventilation for the subway below and other assorted "unseen" necessities (this plaza basically hasn't been touched in 30+ years).

ablarc: What do you have against this project? I think it is just right for Times Square: playful, colorful & social -- and better fits the needs of TKTS than what previously existed.

[ablarc]

^ Better than before: is that enough?

An O'Hara project is better than the parking lot it replaces.

[lofter1]

IMO it goes well beyond "better than before" ...

What don't you like?

[ablarc]

What don't you like?
Flimsy, cheap and temporary looking. Won't wear well; how will it be when the newness wears off? The trailer was once spiffy and new.

[MidtownGuy]

By itself the white pod does look flimsy and cheap but when it's encased in the glass enclosure and the "roof" of steps extends over it, I think it'll look decent.

[antinimby]

I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what's supporting the weight of the staircase (and the potentially 1000 people that'll be on it).

Can't be the roof of the pod, could it?

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_05_stairs1.jpg

And also, what is going to prevent some idiot from jumping over the glass railing at the very top and onto the overhang/canopy in front of the ticket windows.

That will collapse for sure.

[ramvid01]

I don't think 1000 people could even sit on those bleachers, but I do agree that the steel bubble won't be able to sustain that kind of weight.

[antinimby]

I didn't make up that figure. They really did mention a thousand people. :eek:


May 2, 2006
Opening on Broadway Soon, a New Look for TKTS and Father Duffy Square
By DAVID W. DUNLAP
...Crowning the new Duffy Square will be a glass staircase to nowhere, 27 steps high (three more than in the three broad staircases in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art). With room for more than 1,000 people to sit on the staircase, it would be a kind of public amphitheater to the spectacle of Times Square immediately to the south...

Let's just say you don't really want to be inside that TKTS pod when there are 1000 people on that staircase.

[kz1000ps]

Come on, of course there is some sort of structural system to support these hypothetical 1,000 people. Just because it's not apparent right now doesn't mean it's not actually going to work out. No need to be silly about this, guys.

[smackfu]

Exactly. The "bubble" doesn't need to be column free inside, so they can run supports right through it.

[antinimby]

Yeah but shouldn't those columns be erected by now?

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_04a.jpg

[lofter1]

50 bucks says that NO columns will go through the pod ...

My bet is that all supports for the bleachers will rise outside and around the pod.

[antinimby]

^ That doesn't right either.

See how the upper half of the staircase wouldn't be supported if the support columns were outside, assuming they would be at the rear of the pod.

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_05_stairs1.jpg

[antinimby]

More never-posted-here-before renderings.

Maybe someone with a better eye for these sort of things can figure it out.

http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/7420/tktstz0.jpg

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/9821/tkts1ox0.jpg

http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/9598/tkts2fe4.jpg

[lofter1]

I did some googling and came up with the following info regarding the DESIGN + TECHNICAL TEAM for the new tkts structure ( from Times Square Alliance (http://timessquarenyc.org/facts/duffy9.html) ):

Perkins Eastman (http://www.perkinseastman.com/Pages/Projects.cfm?project=%25%24HC%22Z%2DX%20%0A&subcategoryname=3%3C%5CF8LHYP4U%3E%5DEQE%5EC%5F4JD H%5E2%3FP%20%20%0A&startrow=5), one of the nation's largest architecture and design firms, developed Choi Ropiha's design concept for the ticket booth and steps. The firm creates innovative environments for many organizations and client-types, designing communities, facilities, and environments that enhance our everyday lives.



Theatre Development Fund (TDF) with the Van Allen Institute held an international ideas competition for a new TKTS Booth, a discount outlet for same-day tickets to Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in Manhattan’s Times Square. Perkins Eastman was selected to develop the winning Choi Ropiha concept and execute the final design. This project is the centerpiece of a major urban renewal project, and will transform the center of Times Square.

Located at Father Duffy Square, a slender triangular-shaped median, the Booth responds both to its unique site and the opportunity to become a major urban icon. The effect of a floating red amphitheater is achieved by resting a pre-fabricated red amphitheatre on a structure made entirely out of glass. The 27-step urban theater has room for more than 1,000 people to sit-a public amphitheater to the spectacle of Times Square. The steps are made of three-layer laminated glass panels, one-and-a-half inches thick and 45 feet wide at the top, tapering to 32 feet. The treads will be two feet deep, and panels under the steps will supply heat to melt snow and cooling for the light-emitting diodes that will illuminate the entire staircase. The functional aspects of the booth are contained in a free-standing bespoke fiberglass shell/pod that sits under the amphitheatre; it is visible through the glass side’s walls of the structure.


William Fellows Architects (http://www.wfarch.com/), a New York-based architecture and interior design firm, designed the plaza in a way that opens access to Father Duffy's statue and reflects the bright lights of Times Square. The firm's major projects include educational and institutional facilities, corporate and professional offices, retail and restaurant spaces, single and multi-unit residences.

Burke Design (http://burkecompositeengineering.com/projects.html#newconstr) did the engineering for the pod / composite shell:


The TKTS theater center offers same-day discount tickets for Broadway, off-Broadway, dance and music events. One of New York’s most visited attractions, it has been operated by the Theater Development Fund since 1973. A recent competition to update the site attracted hundreds of entries from 31 countries. The winning design features a large composite shell housing 12 ticket windows and attendant facilities, topped by a lighted glass stairway affording a spectacular view of its surroundings. Burke Design engineered the composite shell and provided the construction drawings to fabricator Merrifield-Roberts, Inc. We are proud to be associated with what is certain to become a major new landmark. The center is currently under construction and is scheduled to reopen in the spring of 2007.

Merrifield-Roberts (http://www.merrifield-roberts.com/), the fiberglass ticket booth fabricator, has been building unique structures for more than 30 years. From large pieces of public art to ornamental architecture and even America’s Cup yachts, Merrifield-Roberts craftsmen provide the engineering and material expertise needed to turn complex design into structure.

Haran Glass (http://www.haranglass.com/news.php?id=44), a 132-year-old architectural glazing firm based in Glasgow, Scotland, is assembling and testing the glass stair structure. Working closely with architects, engineers, and contractors, Haran utilizes cutting-edge glass technology and extensive technical knowledge to turn design concepts into reality.

http://www.haranglass.com/images/tkts2.jpg

http://www.haranglass.com/images/tkts1.jpg



HARAN GLASS TO BUILD STRUCTURAL GLASS AMPHITHEATRE IN TIMES SQUARE, NEW YORK

NEWS RELEASE
May 2006

Haran Glass, the leading structural glass specialist, has been appointed to realise the construction of a 26 step, glass amphitheatre in the heart of Manhattan, New York.

Constructed entirely of glass, the new amphitheatre will be situated in Father Duffy Square, Times Square, and will house the highly successful TKTS booth which sells discounted, same day tickets for Broadway productions.

Haran Glass is responsible for the design development, project testing and construction of the $3.5 million glass structure, which was designed by American-based architects Perkins Eastman and structural engineers Dewhurst Macfarlane.

New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, and other dignitaries marked the beginning of work on site on Tuesday 2nd May 2006 and on completion, the amphitheatre will be one of the world’s largest free standing glass structures. The project is due for completion in 2007.

Reaching a height of seven metres the amphitheatre will be 17 metres long and 14 metres wide. The 26 red steps will be illuminated from within by LED fixtures and have been arranged to create the illusion that they are floating in air.

Antony Smith, Technical Director at Haran Glass, said:

“We were contacted about the amphitheatre following a referral from Dewhurst Macfarlane and Partners in New York who are the engineers for the project. We have previously worked with them on several smaller projects, including St John’s College, Oxford and had built up a good relationship. Dewhurst Macfarlane were aware of our capabilities, to successfully deliver large projects in challenging circumstances, and approached us to tender for TKTS.

This project will be one of the most challenging structural glass projects ever undertaken, combining large prefabricated glass elements with an installation in the centre of Times Square, one of the busiest public thoroughfares in the world.”

Haran Glass recently completed an exhaustive testing process on the structural glass elements, which will form the main beams in the amphitheatre, at laboratories in the University of Paisley.

Antony Smith said:

“The amphitheatre will be the focal point of the regenerated Father Duffy Square and will be a usable, public space for thousands of New Yorkers and tourists alike. It was a requirement that we conducted a series of tests to prove the strength and durability of the glass elements.”

Haran Glass has completed a number of projects with similar requirements including a structural glass staircase in the National Bank of Denmark.

Duncan McLean, Managing Director of Haran Glass, added:

“We have a proven track record in the design and installation of structural glass and to have been appointed to work on such a prestigious project serves as a further endorsement of our expertise in this particular area.

We’ve been able to combine our creative flair with the structural requirements of the project despite a number of initial challenges and we worked closely with Perkins Eastman to overcome these.”

[ZippyTheChimp]

Maybe cantilevered from support columns along the rear of the pod, where the doorway is.

[finnman69]

I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what's supporting the weight of the staircase (and the potentially 1000 people that'll be on it).

Can't be the roof of the pod, could it?

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_05_stairs1.jpg

And also, what is going to prevent some idiot from jumping over the glass railing at the very top and onto the overhang/canopy in front of the ticket windows.

That will collapse for sure.

I think I have it figured out. There are continous steel beams shaped like a flat 'V' running North south. you can see them in one of the renderings, they have a cambered edge. When the beams hit the ground, theya re embedded in a raised concrete pad counterweight that offsets the liveload and dead load of the bleachers filled with people. The glass bleachers span the steel beams.

Man that thing will be slippery in the winter time. Red seats will be cool lit up at night. Better than what's there now, but $3.5 million? Better have guards around 24/7 or it will be a tempting scratchitti target on the seats.

[Citytect]

From the info Lofter posted: "The effect of a floating red amphitheater is achieved by resting a pre-fabricated red amphitheatre on a structure made entirely out of glass."

Structural glass. It seems the glass stairs are supported by more glass, not hidden steel supports.

[Punzie]

Man that thing will be slippery in the winter time.

... year 'round, after rainfall. Does anybody know what specific measures are being taken to ensure that it definitely will not be slippery? Right now it looks like a tort waiting to happen.

[ZippyTheChimp]

I think I have it figured out. There are continous steel beams shaped like a flat 'V' running North south. you can see them in one of the renderings, they have a cambered edge. When the beams hit the ground, theya re embedded in a raised concrete pad counterweight that offsets the liveload and dead load of the bleachers filled with people. The glass bleachers span the steel beams.


From the info Lofter posted: "The effect of a floating red amphitheater is achieved by resting a pre-fabricated red amphitheatre on a structure made entirely out of glass."

Structural glass. It seems the glass stairs are supported by more glass, not hidden steel supports.

From the Haran Glass website:
The building will be 17m long and 14m wide, rising to 6 metres tall and will be constructed entirely of glass. Primary beams spanning up to 10m will support publicly accessible laminated treads and riser panels, coloured in the TKTS signature red.



.. year 'round, after rainfall. Does anybody know what specific measures are being taken to ensure that it definitely will not be slippery? Right now it looks like a tort waiting to happen.

From the Haran Glass website:
The red glass elements of the amphitheatre are arranged to give the illusion of floating in mid air and are decorated with a custom, slip-resistant wearing surface.

[ablarc]

^ In the tradition of follies.

[Citytect]

The building will be 17m long and 14m wide, rising to 6 metres tall and will be constructed entirely of glass. Primary beams spanning up to 10m will support publicly accessible laminated treads and riser panels, coloured in the TKTS signature red.

What type of beams?

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b195/nova_cain/nyc05/tkts1ox0copy.jpg

[finnman69]

From the info Lofter posted: "The effect of a floating red amphitheater is achieved by resting a pre-fabricated red amphitheatre on a structure made entirely out of glass."

Structural glass. It seems the glass stairs are supported by more glass, not hidden steel supports.

http://www.haranglass.com/images/tkts1.jpg
that white beam with the swoop un der the stairs looks solid, not made out of glass

[lofter1]

They're getting the pavers on the plaza laid out quickly. In the rendering above you can see a ledge that extends out from the foot of the bleachers; now it's just raw concrete ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_05a.jpg

They've also installed a cyclone fence around the pod to separate it from the surrounding plaza ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_05b.jpg

[ablarc]

that white beam with the swoop under the stairs looks solid, not made out of glass
Yeah, but what supports it at the high end?

[lofter1]

Hot air coming up from the subway grates? ;)

[Fabrizio]

Like it or not, the bold, flat, plastic-y, shiney look of this, is in keeping with the look of the new signs ...very right-now... and it all works as a whole, IMHO.

The old TKTS booth with the canvas walls looked very early 1970s.

Just think: 30 years from now we will probably have a whole new asthetic. Someday all of this will be someones nostalgia.

[ablarc]

Will that little section of sloped pavement result in folks slip-slidin' around in snow and rain?

[ZippyTheChimp]

Ipod-y

[BrooklynRider]

Will that little section of sloped pavement result in folks slip-slidin' around in snow and rain?


Maybe it's a nod to ADA requirements.

[lofter1]

Will that little section of sloped pavement result in folks slip-slidin' around in snow and rain?

No more so than the curb cuts at cross-walks ...

[ablarc]

No more so than the curb cuts at cross-walks ...
There you have the option of forthrightly stepping off the curb, plus the concrete is often scored or raked to make it rough. This smooth stuff looks like a lawsuit waiting to happen after a fall on a snowy day.

[MidtownGuy]

Maybe not good for Buffalo, but what do we get in NYC, maybe 2 or 3 real snowfalls a season nowadays? Seems to me that soon enough we'll be wondering where to plant the Washingtonia palms, instead of ice removal methods.

[antinimby]

Another safety concern that I'd like to add is the need for bollards all around the square.

Imagine an out-of-control vehicle barreling through this place with all those people standing on the TKTS line.

[lofter1]

The TKTS booth has been at the same spot in Father Duffy Square for ~ 30 years ...

Has a car ever barreled through the crowds in line there?

[antinimby]

Not sure but that's not the point.

Many places with security and/or pedestrian safety barriers did not do so because an incident had happen at the spot.

You don't always wait for something to happen before implementing them.

Call it paranoia, but I just look at the whole square and it just seems ripe for a vehicle to jump that curb at some point.

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_05_stairs1.jpg

Besides, they've got bollards (albeit plastic ones) all over the place there, what's a few more?

[lofter1]

I'm not saying bollards here are necessarily a bad idea -- but they just removed all the ones that were installed post-9/11 at the southern end of Times Square because they were determined to be pointless in terms of truck-bomb security and were just bottling up the pedestrians.

[antinimby]

Those were the bulky-globe ones in front of TS tower. They do take up too much space.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/07/23/nyregion/24secu_xlg.jpg

The ones I'm advocating however, are the slim cylindrical ones - although for this location it should be more elegant than those we normally see.

[finnman69]

Yeah, but what supports it at the high end?


i think it's a cantilevered beam anchored at the base, not such a huge load to pickup, especially if there is a beam anchored horizontally at the bottom of the structure.

[antinimby]

Not exactly a light load either.

Didn't you read about the 1000 people capacity?

[finnman69]

Not exactly a light load either.

Didn't you read about the 1000 people capacity?

live load plus dead load plus a safety factor, using a theater seating criteria.

[structure99]

I am actually the structural engineer for this project...I work for a firm called Dewhurst Macfarlane.

The primary load path of the structure is completely glass. The front and mid walls are made from 2" thick glass, and carry the weight of the structure above. The rafters sit on the walls, and are overlap spliced glass beams. The treads are glass planks with a red interlayer. Sadly, we were forced to put a little bit of steel in there, but it is only secondary. It is the largest glass structure in the world (that I know of).

In respect to wintertime slipperiness, it has a ceramic frit which will give it the stickyness of a skateboard, and there is radiant heat underneath the treads that melt snow.

[Xemu]

Well that answers that question. Thanks Structure99, very cool. And welcome to the forum.

[MidtownGuy]

Yes, welcome!! I'm so excited by this project. It's structure, but also it's philosophy. It is EXACTLY what Times Square needed.

[lofter1]

structure99: Thanks so much for the info.

I think this is one of the coolest projects going in NYC right now -- and will continue to sneak my camera over the plywood fence to get shots as it progresses ;) .

Welcome aboard -- and feel free to post whatever you like that will give us all a better picture of what you and your team are doing.

[NYatKNIGHT]

structure99 - thank you, that's excellent info. Any idea when we should be able to access this glass staircase?

[structure99]

I think on the current schedule we are looking at being open for June or July this year. The stainless steel fittings are all done, and right now the glass is being fabricated at Eckelt in Austria.

Also, to answer the question about the design load - its designed to the NYC building code, which in the instance is interpreted as 100psf live load (same as a nightclub basically). Its also designed for earthquakes, stadium loads, and a 50 year storm.

I've attached a photo of some of the glass beam components.

[antinimby]

What caused the completion date to fall so far behind schedule?

I know they had anticipated a Dec. 2006 finish date.

[structure99]

Yes, is was supposed to be done for New Years eve 06. Its fallen behind for a thousand little reasons, but mostly because its got more in common with a spaceship than a regular building. Practically nothing in this building is off-the-shelf, and sometimes doing something a little special takes time. It will totally be worth the wait though.

Another feature that you guys might get a kick out of is the heating and AC system. Its a geothermal system (ie pumps heat from the ground into the building), and the mechanical equipment to make it work is all going to be exposed inside the glass box. The architectural concept was that it should be like a Ferrari engine.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Or a Lamborghini (photo 6).

[lofter1]

structure99: Can't wait for the end result ... but meanwhile I'm curious --- will there be public restrooms tucked away in there?

[pianoman11686]

Speaking of which: has anyone ventured into that Charmin restroom? One of the most surreal experiences of my life.

[structure99]

amazingly, there will be a bathroom in the booth, but for workers only. even more amazingly, there will be a little lounge at the back within the fiberglass shell, though again, sadly, only for the booth workers.

[MidtownGuy]

Wow, the shell doesn't look big enough to house all of that, but the pictures are deceptive I guess. Thanks again structure99!

[lofter1]

The trailers that used to be there -- narrow as they were -- offered a cramped toilet and a back office, but I think the lounge is a new (and surely a welcome ) addition.

The pod shell appears to be a good ~ 20' deep -- and the box office strip along the north side of the pod doesn't require all that much depth to function well.

Me likes the porthole windows on the doors at the back of the pod ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_05a.jpg

[MidtownGuy]

Yeah, it looks bigger in that shot than in the pictures I saw before. Haven't yet had a chance to go and try to get a peek.It's VERY cool looking. This is such a great project, the stairs for sitting is just brilliant and perfect for Times Square. Do you think it was at least partially inspired by the Spanish Steps in Rome?

[structure99]

the fiberglass pod was actually made by a guy called kim roberts of a firm called merrifield roberts. kim's background was in america's cup yacht building (thus the portholes - nice huh?), and a while ago he turned his hand to architectural fiberglass. unfortunately, kim's partner (the merrifield guy) died recently, and he had to close his shop. its a real loss to the world of architecture. i like to think of the tkts pod as his swan song.

midtownguy: yes, i believe the inspiration for the design was the spanish stairs.

[antinimby]

I'm really interested in the pavement.

Can you tell us more about them?

The portions that are lit, are they lit continuously and by method?

[lofter1]

The new Zuccotti Plaza at Liberty / Broadway has inset glass / underlit panels interspersed throughout : POST (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=102258&postcount=33)

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_06_zuccottipark.jpg

[structure99]

the landscaping/pavement was designed by a firm called william fellows architects. i'm not sure what type of stone they are using, but the "light pavers" are made of glass, and are intended to be of the same material as the treads (except not red). the light pavers were engineered by us (dewhurst macfarlane) are designed for vehicle loads. they are taking a lane of traffic out on broadway to expand the paved area and provide for more queuing space.

[ablarc]

Sounds more interesting all the time.

[lofter1]

I was thinking that this one might eventually perk you up ;)

[ZippyTheChimp]

No visible progress on the TKTS booth, but elimination of the bowtie crossover has created pedestrian space.

http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/4489/timessq01zu8.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=timessq01zu8.jpg)

[antinimby]

Work on the site seems to have come to a standstill for a couple of months now. :confused:

Very little activity or workers have been seen there. Any particular reason?

Someone mentioned an April completion here before, but now I have doubts if they'll even meet that target.

[lofter1]

The gentleman from the glass company who posted here a while back wrote that glass installation would be sometime in the "spring" -- which doesn't start for another ~ 1 week.

[anatomy]

i think there may be further delays to this as the company that were doing the glass (Haran Glass), have been through some financial difficulties and are now in administration sadly. :(

[lofter1]

^^^ uh - oh ... :(

[antinimby]

New TKTS Now on Track for Fall


4/5/07 (http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2007/04/new_tkts_now_on_track_for_fall.html)

When the stalwart seventies-era TKTS booth in Father Duffy Square — it's not Times Square, mind you, but the square just north of it — came down a year ago, we were promised a new version, complete with a shiny red staircase as a roof, a public space to rival Rome's Spanish Steps, in time for last New Year's Eve.

No dice. What happened? An ownership change at the manufacturer originally slated to provide glass for that new hull derailed things, architect Nick Leahy of Perkins Eastman tells us. But the team is finalizing its choice for a new supplier, Leahy says, and expects the goods by late summer.

"It was a hiccup that we managed," Leahy says. "The ticket booth is in place and the geothermal heating [underground] is in place, and I would expect installation by early fall." Which means it'll be ready for next New Year's or whatever autumn events — the World Series on the Jumbotron, the Macy's parade, impeachment hearings — you might be looking forward to. —Alec Appelbaum

Copyright © 2007, New York Magazine Holdings LLC

[macreator]

Anyone walk by the site recently? I haven't been through Times Square in a while but I'd love to know how this thing is coming.

[Peteynyc1]

I just walked by there today and peeked in, for the first time in ages ironically. The job looks to be at a complete stand still. I would say it looks about the same as it did 2 or 3 months ago. No sign of the glass at all. The sidewalk stonework looks close to being done, but thats about it.

[macreator]

I just walked by there today and peeked in, for the first time in ages ironically. The job looks to be at a complete stand still. I would say it looks about the same as it did 2 or 3 months ago. No sign of the glass at all. The sidewalk stonework looks close to being done, but thats about it.

What a mess considering this thing was originally slated to be finished for last year's New Years Eve celebrations.

[MidtownGuy]

I know, I'm really anxious about this one.

[BPC]

Anyone walk by the site recently? I haven't been through Times Square in a while but I'd love to know how this thing is coming.


My employer moved into new offices on April 1. My office overlooks Father Duffy Square, and I spend a lot of time looking out my window, when I am supposed to be working. In two months, I have yet to see any worker lift a hammer on the site. The next time the City proposes to develop anything, just take a look at Father Duffy Square or Pier A, and remember that there are just some things the private sector does much better.

[lofter1]

Some good news ...


I sent off an email to the powers that be; a reply came today:
Thank you for your inquiry.

You are right that Haran Glass is no longer involved. They went into receivership. Unfortunately that caused some delays in the project. Fortunately, we were able, after a bit of effort, to engage directly their subcontractors, and a handful of their former employers, so that the project could get back on track. Indeed, just last week, two major elements of the glass structure – the north and mid wall – arrived in the New York port from the glass manufacturer in Austria. Some other pieces are in fabrication; others are in the final stages of shop drawing and are due to be manufactured soon and arrive on site in mid-August, when you will once again see considerable activity on site.

The current estimated completion date is mid November. We of course hope we can accelerate that but conservatively, we anticipate opening the booth for operation just before Thanksgiving.

[BPC]

Just looked out the window. Not a person on site today.

[lofter1]

From the reply I'd not expect to see much going on at the site for the next 2 months ...

[MidtownGuy]

Bravo, Lofter, for writing the letter and sharing the information with us.

[BrooklynRider]

Gumshoe reporting by our own Lofter.

[rmannion]

Guess what made an appearance in the "I am Legend" trailer?

http://www.ardiem.org/images/tkts.jpg

[lofter1]

At least we now know that it eventually will get built ...

[MidtownGuy]

BPC, have you seen any activity on this from your window? Gosh I wish they would hurry up with this one!

[macreator]

Anyone willing to place bets on whether this thing will be finished to welcome in 2008?

[lofter1]

Not sure what to think now, given what I reported (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=169116&postcount=161) a few months ago :confused:

[macreator]

Not sure what to think now, given what I reported (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=169116&postcount=161) a few months ago :confused:

To think that some of us thought it might be finished for New Year's 2007 :D

[BPC]

BPC, have you seen any activity on this from your window?

nada

[brianac]

Is Mr. Cohan still in that wooden box on the south end of this project.
I think someone should check.

[lofter1]

Yesterday there was a crew on site -- electricians. Hoping that this means this one will kick back into gear.

BPC: What do you see?

[BPC]

not a creature is stirring

[lofter1]

aaarrgh ...

http://www.trevorromain.com/blog/archives/mouse-shadow.jpg

:mad:

[lofter1]

Yesterday mid-day a couple of crews were on site :) ...

Curbed (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/10/03/times_square_stairway_to_nowhere_spring_08_looking _good.php) reports today:

Times Square Stairway to Nowhere:
Spring '08 Looking Good

Wednesday, October 3, 2007
by Robert

http://curbed.com/uploads/2007_10_TKTS.jpg

Remember the Stairway to Nowhere (http://curbed.com/archives/2006/11/20/times_squares_stairway_to_nowhere_rises.php), also known as the redo of the TKTS booth?
Yesterday, we had a Rumblings question (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/10/02/rumblings_bumblings_tribeca_guts_chelsea_worry_tkt s_troubles.php) about it. Today, the Daily News offers up
a quick answer: It's almost there, assuming that next spring counts as "almost."
It was supposed to be done in time for New Year's (2007), but the News recounts
a sad tale of woe that includes a glass supplier that went bankrupt and engineering
that "turned out to be much more difficult than expected." Fear not, however,
workers have been spotted with "welding torches and surveying tools" building
the metal base for the Austrian glass beams that are arriving "in the next few weeks."
Promise.

· TKTS site takes center stage in $14.5M redo of world's crossroads (http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/manhattan/2007/10/03/2007-10-03_tkts_site_takes_center_stage_in_145m_red.html) [NYDN]
· Times Square's Stairway to Nowhere Rises (http://curbed.com/archives/2006/11/20/times_squares_stairway_to_nowhere_rises.php) [Curbed]

***

NY Daily News (http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/manhattan/2007/10/03/2007-10-03_tkts_site_takes_center_stage_in_145m_red.html):

TKTS site takes center stage in $14.5M redo
of world's crossroads

BY ADAM LISBERG
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
October 3rd 2007

It's overdue and over budget, but the Theater District's shimmering new centerpiece will soon rise above the dingy blue construction fences shrouding Duffy Square.

By the end of the month, a wall of solid glass will reach 16 feet above the new TKTS booth for discount Broadway tickets - the first part of a glowing, all-glass, red-and-clear structure that planners say will redefine the crossroads of the world.

"The walls of Times Square are spectacular, but the floor hasn't exactly been world-class," Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance, said yesterday while standing on the sweeping new granite plaza hidden behind the blue fence.

Duffy Square, named for the priest who ministered to front-line soldiers in World War I before becoming pastor of Holy Cross Church on 42nd St., is just north of Times Square between Broadway and Seventh Ave.

It was for decades a cramped and crowded island between 46th and 47th Sts., with long TKTS lines threatening to jostle pedestrians into traffic.

The new square will be more than twice as large, with traffic lanes on Broadway and Seventh Ave. reclaimed as pedestrian space - and with a raised set of steps rising over the TKTS booth to provide as many as 1,500 places to sit, eat and people-watch.

"There's nowhere to sit in Times Square right now," said Victoria Bailey, executive director of the Theater Development Fund, which runs the TKTS office and expects bigger sales from the new building.

"I'm hoping that more people will be encouraged to go by there on their way home," Bailey said. "Good architecture makes all the difference."

Yesterday, workers with welding torches and surveying tools prepared the metal base for the Austrian-made glass beams that will arrive in the next few weeks.

The project broke ground on Father Duffy's birthday in May 2006 with a $12.7 million price tag and a hope to finish by the end of that year.

But the glass supplier went bankrupt and the engineering turned out to be much more difficult than expected, Tompkins said, forcing delays and overruns.

He now estimates Duffy Square will reopen in late spring 2008 at a cost of $14.5 million - including $11.5 million from the city.

"For the first time, Times Square will be pedestrian-friendly," Tompkins said.

"There will be a space that's clearly devoted to the people who come here, who in the past would sort of shuffle around but not have a place to really go."

© Copyright 2007 NYDailyNews.com

***

[BPC]

The Daily News speaks the truth. From my window I count five construction guys on site. They all seem to be just standing around and talking, but still this counts as progress.

[antinimby]

But late spring 2008 now?!! Geez...

I believe this project got started right around when Burj Dubai was gettin' off the ground and that structure will likely be topped off by late spring '08.

[MidtownGuy]

Any delay like this is a disappointment but I'm just so happy that Times Square is finally getting a place to sit down outside. A capacity of around 1500 is more than I imagined. This will be "the" place for travelers to stand and pose
for a snapshot in TS. I am so excited!!

The Burj comparison cracked me up:D

[Peteynyc1]

This guy must be pleased.
http://www.paulscharffphotography.com/Naked_Cowboy_In_Times_Square.JPG

[BrooklynRider]

The Daily News speaks the truth. From my window I count five construction guys on site. They all seem to be just standing around and talking, but still this counts as progress.

That's the superintendent, the assistant super, the shop steward, the journeyman and that one doing all the hard work - he's the apprentice.

The first step should be installed by Spring 2008, followed by one new one ever season through 2015.

[brianac]

Looking from Earth Cam Times Square today at 2.00pm, I notice that the wooden box covering the statue of George M Cohan has been removed.
Is it just for cleaning I wonder?

[antinimby]

Don't worry, they're not getting rid of the statue if that's what you were thinking about.

Probably moving it in order to do work on the spot where the statue stands.

That is actually a good sign because that means something is finally happening.

[structure99]

If any of you guys are interested, the first piece of glass will be installed tomorrow (assuming it doesn't rain). It will be the 16ft tall North Wall glass panels. You can probably see on the earthcam the scaffolding at the northern end of the site.

[ZippyTheChimp]

BPC, bring a camera to work.

[brianac]

Father Duffy will see the light of day again.

1937

[lofter1]

Father Duffy is currently in Connecticut, where he awaits the completion of his new square.

[BPC]

BPC, bring a camera to work.

I wil try some shots from my window tomorrow in the light. There seems to be a new red crane like machine that I don't remember being there before.

[lofter1]

Father Duffy (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE3DC113EF934A35751C1A96F9582 60) arrives in his namesake square, captured by Berenice Abbott on his birthday 1937 ...

FATHER DUFFY, TIMES SQUARE

APRIL 14, 1937; Triangle bounded by Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and West 46th Street

ABBOTT FILE 255 (http://www.mcny.org/collections/abbott/a255.htm)

http://www.mcny.org/collections/abbott/255.jpg

In the 1930s, Times Square's electrically lit commercial glitter was already a world-famous symbol of New York. Abbott's only photograph of the square, however, is this irreverent image of the soon-to-be unveiled statue of Father Duffy. After serving as lieutenant colonel and chaplain in the Spanish-American War and World War I, Francis P. Duffy was pastor of Holy Cross Catholic Church at 329 West 42nd Street in the heart of Hell's Kitchen, the Irish-American neighborhood west of Times Square. After his death in 1932, the parish gave to the city a bronze statue by Charles Keck mounted on a granite Celtic cross in memory of "a life of service for God and country."

Abbott was not interested in either the theatrical life of Times Square or in Hell's Kitchen. The bound and gagged war hero set down amidst gargantuan product advertisements aroused her surrealist sense of the absurd. As she hurriedly exposed a negative of the statue, a crowd gathered, and a policeman shooed her away (McQuaid, 135).

The statue of Father Duffy still stands in Times Square, often surrounded by crowds waiting to purchase half-price theater tickets at the TKTS booth, erected in 1973.


www.mcny.org (http://www.mcny.org/)


COPYRIGHT MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

[BrooklynRider]

Looks more like a monument to U.S. Rendition.

[BPC]

There'sa big crane today moving glass panels. I tried to capture it on my camera phone, but it comes out sort of a blur. Will try with a better camera on Monday.

[MidtownGuy]

great news, thanks!

[brianac]

Times Square Earthcam Saturday at 15.30

[lofter1]

FINALLY ...

GLASS is going in !!!

The crew was setting up the panels that run parallel to W. 47th -- there are four panels, each is 2" thick and weighs 2,500 pounds.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a2.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a3.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_09e.jpg

[lofter1]

I took lots of pictures :D

The cut-out circles will line up with the glass stringers, all of which must be set with great precision ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a6.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a8.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a9.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a10.jpg

***

[lofter1]

More ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a13.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a11.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a12.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a15.jpg

***

[lofter1]

Lowering a big pane ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_08a.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a15.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a17.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a18.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_07a21.jpg

***

[lofter1]

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_08a10.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_08a7.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_08a8.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_08a1.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_08a4.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_08a15.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_08a23.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_08a18.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_09a.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_09d.jpg

***

[BrooklynRider]

I thought the glass was going to be red. Am I not envisioning this correctly?:confused:

[ramvid01]

^^^ I think the stands were supposed to be red but the other glass was supposed to be clear.

[chefrock]

the perimeter stringers are red, as well as the canopy glass. in addition, the northwall glass will receive a special graphic coating in the field that has red as well.

[chefrock]

the first load of glass stringers (beams) has arrived in NYC from Austria, and will begin to be installed later this month. As you guys can see the project is into high gear now, and should be completed and buttoned up in appx. 3-4 months. This has been a fun project to work on recently as things are finally happening! Let me know if you guys have any questions.

[lofter1]

chefrock: Welcome Aboard.

We're always crazy about pictures, so if you want to post any that might be laying around your workspace we'd give you no complaints.

I see that there are small circular cut-outs on the recently installed slabs of glass. The cut-outs on top I was told will line up with the stringers. I also see that there are holes ~ 48" above the ground, seeemingly for tickets / money. Will there be a shelf unit that is joined to the glass through / near these lower cut-outs?

[chefrock]

yes - there will indeed be shelf units here at these lowers holes in the north wall glass- these "service trays" will be comprised of stainless steel, and there will also be provisions for a speaker box installed into the glass as well. see the attached pdf for a view of the northwall with the graphics and trays installed.

[MidtownGuy]

Thanks for the info chefrock, good to have you here. This project is extremely exciting, a quality space for the public to enjoy that just makes so much sense in every way- location, design, dual-use, etc.
Wonderful.

[kz1000ps]

looking south

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/219/dscf0187kq7.jpg

[scumonkey]

not much progress?
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/tks.jpg

[lofter1]

Fits and starts ...

Waiting for those stringers to arrive, as previously promised ...

[chefrock]

The Stringers will be delivered and begin to be installed on Thursday or Friday - as promised (before the end of the month !!)

In the meantime there has been a fair amount of progress despite 3 rain days and the 4 day thanksgiving weekend:

Midwall Glass Installed
Midwall Brackets Installed
Midwall Steel Beam Installed
Perimeter Steel Beams Installed
Perimeter Beam Supports (bridging across the moat) Installed

Other work about to be completed (in addition to the glass beam "stringers" being delivered to site this week) include Graphics Installation on the Northwall Glass and the Northwall Stainless Steel Beam - both scheduled for next week.

[antinimby]

Chefrock, will they open up the site, i.e. take down the fences and allow revelers to use that space during New Year's Eve even if it's not completely finished by then?


not much progress?That's pretty much the theme of this whole project.

[lofter1]

Thanks again, chefrock.

Sounds like next week should be busy at the site ... cameras ready, please :cool:

[MidtownGuy]

Yes, Thank You, chefrock, for the update.

Finally, there will be a place to actually sit down in Times Square. hooray!

[chefrock]

There appears to be an imminent request (or demand) from the City and the New Years Committee to ask for the Crane to be removed for 2 weeks (Dec. 20 - Jan 2) and that may likely happen because there's going to be a 2-3 week period of time where the waterproofing and interior liner panels and radiant heating trays are being installed (no crane needed) prior to the glass treads and risers going on in early-mid January.

On a side note the stringers look like they may arrive on Friday instead of Thursday - and therefore the major glass stringer "beam" installation will occur next week (the majority of the week) - there are 11 lower stringers to go in for now.... we are building the bottom half of the structural system first (perimeter steel beams, midwall redundancy beam, then lower stringers), and then the top half later (upper perimeter steel, upper Northwall SS Beam, then upper stringers)

[lofter1]

Understandable that they'd want the crane out of the way ...

Pics from today showing some progress, along with new materials on site (hope to get more pics on Friday):

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_13b.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_13a.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_13c.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_13e.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_13f.jpg

+++

[MidtownGuy]

Bravo chefrock for your hard work on this amazing project.

...and Bravo lofter for these peeks at the site.

[chefrock]

The glass stringers will be delivered tomorrow (Saturday) and installation will commence on Monday !!!

[chefrock]

Let me clarify - the glass stringers that will be installed first are the ones that on the ends - and those ones have to be mated up with the perimeter edge steel beams. The mating up work is quite cumbersome and involves quite a bit of connections and hardware (much of which is done on the ground)

As SUCH - the actual flying of the glass stringer beams into position may not happen until Tuesday/Wednesday.

ps - the Graphics will be applied to the Northwall Glass on Thursday

[jaxim]

I thought the glass was the thing that was delaying this project. The pavement stones don't seem to be finished either. Sheesh, this project is taking a heck of a long time!

[MidtownGuy]

There was a delay for a while due to a supplier change.

[chefrock]

The first glass stringer beam was installed today (see photo)!!!!!

ps - The long delay was due to the original (scottish) glass design/build firm going bankrupt mid-stream. In general though, the lengthly nature of this job is due to being the first of its kind in the world! Nobody has ever done this before, or anything close to this - therefore each piece, beam, bolt, nut, fitting, and panel is totally 100% custom and has to run through extensive engineering and architectural review prior to being fabricated.....

[Optimus Prime]

Nice! Thanks for sharing chefrock.

[BrooklynRider]

Nobody has ever done this before, or anything close to this...

Do you mean the construction with glass materials?

You make it sound so exciting. I wonder if I missed anything else.

[chefrock]

Yes - this is the first glass structure in the world of its kind - having glass beams, glass walls, glass roof (stair treads), cantilevered glass canopy, and glass ballustrades. All of the glass is structural and self supporting - in fact the steel beams that are included in the design are in fact redundancy beams that only serve to hold the structure up in the event of a major failure or glass replacement due to damage !

[ablarc]

^ Future tourbus patter. ;)

[panosxxx]

Hi, everyone !
I am coming to NYC on the beginning of April ! Do you think that the project will be ready by then ? I'd love to marvel at the new booth and surroundings, instead of seeing a big ugly construction sight !

[Alonzo-ny]

You dont appreciate the beautiful ballet of construction?

[panosxxx]

Oh, I do, don't get me wrong, but isn't this ballet's time for curtain, at last ?
I am bringing my best buddy with me and since it's his first time in the most beautiful city in the world, I'd rather he'd see a great looking Times Square than one with a big fenced obstacle right in the middle !

[chefrock]

The completion date right now for the glass structure is March 31 - I can't speak for the interior of the booth and whether or not it will actually be operational (I'm only responsible for the installation of the glass structure) but April should be right around the grand opening...

ps - all of the lower glass beams are now in (see photo)

[ablarc]

"Glass beams": that is so counter-intuitive.

I guess that's the poetry's source.

[panosxxx]

Thank you chefrock ! That's really good to know ! I suppose the interior of the booth shouldn't be such a time-consuming work ! You guys do all the hard work and it seems like things are finally moving really fast ! Congrats !

[lofter1]

This is what I was dong when they were raising the spire on the BA Tower :o

Some details of the glass beams that went in this week ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_17a9.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_17a2.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_17a11.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_17a14.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_17a17.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_17a29.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_17a32.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_17a33.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_17a36.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_17a37.jpg

***

[antinimby]

Seriously, will that glass really be able to hold up the weight of a thousand people?

[lofter1]

Seriously, do you think the City of New York would allow this to be built without very strict testing & quality control to assure that the glass will hold all those folk as the design stipulates?

Besides, chefrock (our insider from the job site) tells us that not only will the glass fulfill its structural duty, but they have added steel beams for redundancy.

have no fear here :cool:

[BrooklynRider]

I hope they took into consideration that this thing might have to support a thousand pear shaped women from Nebraska eating hot dogs and diet cokes while their rotund husbands, in matching too tight polo shirts, scratch their nether regions while wishing they were at a ball game.

[lofter1]

Your descriptive prose :eek: makes me long for the days of summer :cool:

Imagine the amount of windex that will be needed to clean the Diet Pepsi off those glass steps ...

[MidtownGuy]

These pictures are very exciting. Thank you so much for posting them.

I was having a hard time believing 1000 people could fit on there, but now that I see the top extensions going in it really does look large.

I can't wait to see it lit up and covered with people.

[philvia]

so what exactly is the purpose of the stairs <_<

btw in the movie I am Legend, you can see the old stairs :p

[lofter1]

The purpose of he stairs is to give folks someplace to sit and take in the magnificence of Times Square. http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

The "old" stairs you see in "I am Legend" are only old in the world of the movie (which takes place 2009 - 2012).

Goes to show that Will Smith isn't as smart as he wants us to believe. The top of those stairs could have been a perfect spot for a hunting outpost (and up there no sneaky lions would creep up on him unseen).

As of today the stairs are not even new yet, and won't be new until they're finished next spring :cool:

[MidtownGuy]

The purpose of the stairs is to give folks someplace to sit and take in the magnificence of Times Square.

yeah, until now there was almost nothing. The stairs will be like the Spanish Steps in Rome, a place to meet, to sit, until moving on. It's brilliant.

[lofter1]

One better aspect of the Spanish Steps (Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti) is that they can be accessed both at the top from Via Sistina and below from the Piazza di Spagna.

I like what we'll have in Times Square, but it's a bit more of a cul de sac / fancy bleachers than the gracious and glorious passageway like what the Romans have.

[GlassLite]

hey lofter, great job with the photos - would be a great documentary at some stage

[lofter1]

glasslite: Glad you like them and Welcome Aboard!

I've got tons of pics -- enough frames to turn them into a film of sorts :cool:

A couple more from today (looks like almost all the stringers - all the way across - are up now):

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_18a_PAN_01b.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/TKTS/TKTS_18a.jpg

tkts

[MidtownGuy]

Yes of course the ones in Rome are actually leading somewhere but it's more how they'll be used that I was referring to. A big meeting place/hangout/tourist stop/place to sit/landmark. The spirit, not the structure.

Anyway I can see you're as excited by this project as I am. Great photo reportage.

[lofter1]

I am crazy for it :D

It will be the most transformative thing to hit Times Square since, well ...

The Electric Light Bulb :cool:

1 Times Square, New York City, 1908 (damn those spires!!!)

http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/English/exhibits/hammond/pics/17237_flatiron_bldg_1020.jpg

1 Times Square, New York City, 1908
M. O. Hammond
Black and white print
Reference Code: F 1075-13
Archives of Ontario, I0017237


1 TS

[ablarc]

Seriously, will that glass really be able to hold up the weight of a thousand people?
Hope at least the glass is tempered just in case.

[structure99]

Hope at least the glass is tempered just in case.


The glass is both tempered and laminated. The lamination means that if an individual ply of glass breaks, the element is still intact. Additionally, the structure is designed so that even in the unlikely even of an element being completely destroyed, the overall structure will still be safe.

[lofter1]

I'd guess that the work required to replace a broken beam component --
once the stair / bleacher is completed -- would be quite the pain in the asterisk, eh?

[scumonkey]

Glass can be a lot stronger than you might think.....
I had to replace the safty glass in my gallery's street display window.
It took many swings of a sledgehammer just to get it to crack!

[ZippyTheChimp]

Let's hope so.

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/mba/lowres/mban1020l.jpg