One Times Square

One Times Square
Name	One Times Square
Location	42nd Street and Broadway, Manhattan, New York City
Status	Completed
Start date	1903
Completion date	1904
Architect	Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz
Floor count	25
Building type	Commercial / Advertising

One Times Square One Times Square occupies a prominent triangular site at 42nd Street and Broadway in Manhattan. The building became internationally visible after a major newspaper relocation triggered civic ceremonies and permanent annual festivities, transforming the property from a publishing headquarters into an iconic illuminated advertising landmark. Its role in urban celebration, real estate speculation, and media spectacle intersects with institutions and events such as The New York Times, Times Square, New Year's Eve, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and major broadcasting networks.

History

Commissioned when The New York Times sought larger headquarters in the early 20th century, the structure replaced earlier commercial properties near Bowery, Herald Square, and Madison Square Garden (1890) venues. Architect Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz designed the building as part of the newspaper's relocation tied to the expansion of Broadway (Manhattan), the development of 42nd Street (Manhattan), and civic ambitions linked to Mayor George B. McClellan Jr. and business leaders. The building opened amid the cultural milieu of the Progressive Era, contemporary with projects like the Panama Canal construction era publicity and the rise of corporations such as Standard Oil and United States Steel.

After The New York Times moved to a new tower in Times Square (1904–1913) and later to its 1913 headquarters, the property began renting billboard space, attracting advertisers connected to firms like RKO Pictures, MGM, and later AT&T. The building endured the economic fluctuations of the Great Depression, the World War II mobilization period when Times Square became a military parade route and entertainment hub, and the late-20th-century decline and subsequent revitalization that involved actors such as Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and development entities tied to The Durst Organization and Forest City Ratner Companies.

Architecture and design

Eidlitz's design reflected Beaux-Arts influences common to civic commissions such as New York Public Library and private skyscrapers like Flatiron Building. The narrow, vertically oriented masonry massing responded to the triangular lot between Broadway (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street (Manhattan). Cladding and cornice details echoed contemporary examples by firms such as McKim, Mead & White and matched ornamental programs seen near Pennsylvania Station (original) and Grand Central Terminal precursors. Interior configurations once included pressrooms, editorial suites, and mechanical systems comparable to those in early high-rise printing plants like The Sun (New York newspaper) facilities.

Verticality and fenestration accommodated typesetting, presses, and distribution, paralleling workplace layouts seen at Harper & Brothers and Curtis Publishing Company properties. Subsequent retrofits removed industrial plant equipment and inserted telecommunications, elevator modernization reminiscent of Otis Elevator Company projects, and billboard-support structures that transformed the façade into an engineered media surface similar in function to installations at Piccadilly Circus and Shinjuku commercial nodes.

Advertising and signage

The façade evolved into one of the world's most lucrative advertising canvases, attracting marquee brands such as Coca-Cola, Toshiba, Samsung, LG Corporation, and Hershey Company. Illuminated signs, electronic displays, and neon installations paralleled developments at Times Square (advertising district), Piccadilly Circus, and Shibuya Crossing. The property's signage strategy involved billboard leasing, spectacular installations timed with campaigns from agencies representing firms like Ogilvy & Mather and Saatchi & Saatchi.

Innovations included early electric motion signs akin to experiments by General Electric, large-scale LED conversions influenced by displays in Tokyo and London, and sponsorship tie-ins with media conglomerates such as Viacom and Warner Bros. Entertainment. Regulatory interactions occurred with municipal agencies overseeing lighting and zoning similar to cases involving Port Authority of New York and New Jersey projects and landmarking debates linked to New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission precedents.

Times Square Ball and New Year's Eve celebrations

The rooftop hosted a New Year's Eve illuminated ball first dropped as a civic spectacle concurrent with the annual commemorations that draw broadcasters including NBC, ABC, and CBS. The event became tied to live telecasts featuring performers associated with Ed Sullivan Show traditions and later variety presentations involving stars from Madonna to Beyoncé. The ball drop ritual gained international recognition comparable to celebrations at Eiffel Tower light shows and Sydney Harbour Bridge fireworks.

Engineering of the ball incorporated technology advances from companies like Siemens and Philips, with ball redesigns reflecting collaborations with designers linked to Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibitions and corporate sponsors such as General Motors and AT&T. Security and crowd-management partnerships have involved agencies such as the New York City Police Department and Federal Emergency Management Agency for major-event coordination.

Ownership and redevelopment

Over the decades ownership passed through investors, newspapers, and real estate firms including entities similar to S. W. Straus & Co. and conglomerates associated with Adelson-like developers and institutional investors. Redevelopment ambitions focused on monetizing exterior advertising while minimizing interior tenancy, a strategy pursued by ownership groups that worked with architectural firms known for commercial redevelopment near Hudson Yards and Lincoln Center. Capital transactions involved financing structures tied to firms resembling Goldman Sachs, Blackstone Group, and major pension funds.

Adaptive reuse proposals alternated between boutique retail, experiential attractions, and billboard-centric revenue models that mirrored redevelopment in Times Square redevelopment (1990s) and projects undertaken by developers like Rockefeller Center renovators. Tax incentives and zoning actions comparable to 421-a discussions influenced financial modeling.

Cultural impact and in media

The site has been depicted in films and television series including productions associated with studios like Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and 20th Century Fox, and in music videos referencing performers from Frank Sinatra to Taylor Swift. Photographers from agencies such as Associated Press and publications like Life (magazine) and The New Yorker have used the illuminated façade as an emblem of commercial modernity. Academic studies by scholars at institutions such as Columbia University, New York University, and CUNY examine the site's intersections with urban redevelopment, media spectacle, and nightlife economies seen in works on Jane Jacobs urbanism and Robert Moses era transformations.

The building remains a metonym for mass-mediated public ritual and corporate spectacle, continually referenced in documentaries about New York City history, architectural surveys alongside Empire State Building and Chrysler Building, and cultural histories of Times Square (cultural) as a longitudinal node of entertainment and advertising.

Category:Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan