This Broadway plaza has always been the center of city life - not necessarily legal, but very active. Now it is a concentration of various electronic advertising, theaters and cinemas are located here, and in the last seconds before the New Year, with a large crowd of people, a special "ritual" is held - a huge glowing ball is lowered from a mast at the top of the building at 1 Times Square. the building was previously occupied by the editorial office of the New York Times, which gave the name to the square.
The long-held idea of turning Broadway in general and Times Square in particular into a pedestrian zone has now been embodied in the Snehatta project. The architects have significantly narrowed the roadway, marking its old boundaries with long stone benches. The new "sidewalk" is paved with two-tone tiles with small shiny inclusions. The pavement that crosses Broadway 7th Avenue has also taken over - but here, in accordance with the ideas of "Snøhetta" about public self-regulation, people and cars will divide the space on their own, without the intervention of city planners and authorities.
The renovation will not only turn Times Square into a key public space in New York, a venue for a variety of cultural and social events, but will also serve as an excuse for a complete change of infrastructure, which is already half a century old: for example, old tram rails are hidden under the asphalt.
