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

[lofter1]

2.5 weeks?

Then they'd better get their acts in gear ...

[panosxxx]

June 20, of which year ?

[NYC4Life]

Hopefully of this year, this project has been running for 2 years now.

[antinimby]

Apparently it is true because curbed got that scoop from the Post:

It has been a long time coming, but the Theater Development Fund's dramatic new TKTS booth and Father Duffy Square plaza reconstruction in Times Square are 90 per cent done and "the current completion date is June 20," said Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins.

Getting the job done has been "one of the most painful experiences of my life," Tompkins said, half kidding.

The Alliance has managed the $13 million project backed by Mayor Bloomberg and several city agencies in the north end of the "bowtie," between Broadway and Seventh Avenue and West 46th and 47th streets.

Copyright 2008 NYP Holdings, Inc.

[NYC4Life]

This long construction project has been a Times Square eyesore for 2 years, good to see it's "90%" complete and will soon wrap up

[lofter1]

What's 2 years when considering the long run of history?

TKTS Brings Back Some Old Time Religion

CURBED
June 6, 2008



We love a party, and just about any excuse will do. How about a 99 year
birthday celebration? And an end-of-construction ribbon cutting? Both are
on the horizon over at Duffy Square, the little triangle at the north end
of the Times Square bow-tie that, like its three-sided neighbor to the
south, often gets short shrift. But that's all about to change. Now that a
June 20 re-opening date has been set for the forever-under-construction
big red TKTS plaza-bleacher extravaganza the time seemed ripe for
dusting off the old Duffy Square archives. We even found a surprise or two.

This busy spot smack dab in the middle of Manhattan has seen more than
its share of statues, although all haven't been as long-lived as the
venerable and soon-too-be-returned image of Father Duffy. The good
Father D., a chaplain for the famed Fighting 69th Infantry in WWI, was
the fellow who cleaned up this nabe the first time around, before those
corporate types did a more recent wipe up in these parts. Duffy's likeness
has been seen on the northern wedge of Times Square since 1937, and
the return of his 17-foot statue some 70 years later, following a full
restoration, is hard upon us. Which is one good reason to raise a toast.


Model showing the TKTS plan from the AIA exhibition.


Sailors in Father Duffy Square, circa 1941.

Another is the near-centenary celebration in honor of an older statue that first
appeared here way back in '09. She was dubbed "Miss Purity" and was erected
from 8 tons of white plaster by a gang of good old boys from Tammany Hall
during one of their political dust ups. Seems a foe of theirs did something nasty
involving a cow, a bunch of rubber tubing and some not-so-nice words.
Well, not surprisingly the Tammany boys took offense. In response they built
a 50 foot woman, shielded her plaster bosom with the words "Lover of Purity",
and stood her atop a base announcing the "Defeat of Slander." Sadly,
after a mere two months some heavy rains melted her message, leaving a
puddle of gooey slop where Duffy was later to rise. That's a good enough
reason to raise a second toast. When Father Duffy finally does return we'll
have yet another cause for celebration and, of course, a moment to think
of those who came before. Do give your regards to Broadway.


Father Duffy, 1974. Photograph by Lee Friedlander.


The restored and repositioned base is readied for the return of the statue of Father Duffy.


Another inhabitant of Duffy Square, songwriter-actor-producer George M. Cohan.


TKTS model with Father Duffy restored.

· Greeley's Flare [Curbed]
· In Cuozzo We Trust [Curbed]
· TKTS Raises Red Treads to Nowhere [Curbed]
· When You've Got to Go, Go in Times Square [Curbed]

[NYC4Life]

That last pic looks like the Oscars on the red carpet at the Academy awards

[antinimby]

Exactly two more weeks to go.

Did they do anything the past several days? BPC, hello?

[lofter1]

They've finished laying the granite pavers around the newly-extended areas of Duffy Square all the way down to 46th Street.

They also changed out the broken glass panels along the north side of the TKTS pod, a job which was niether easy nor quick -- it involved a big crane and a crew of 4 or more.

Here's what went down, starting with a close-up of the shattered glass panels ...

[lofter1]

Underneath the steps a worker scrunched himself into position atop the pod in order to guide the glass into place ...

[lofter1]

Seemingly the fit wasn't right, so the big pane of glass had to come out ...

[lofter1]

Securing that thick pane of glass onto the truck involved a bit of a dance in the center of Times Square ...

[NYC4Life]

He certainly was expecting his Kodak Moment . About that glass panel, wouldn't they have known in advanced if wouldn't had fit? Perhaps yet another wait for this one to get completed.

[BrooklynRider]

Is Lofter reporting or stalking? Hmmm.

[lofter1]

That's a fine line, sometimes.

Can't tell you how many times I've stopped myself from talking a pic because it seemed too intrusive.

I was about a quarter of a block away for some of these ...

The last 10 or so were all taken within about 2 minutes of each other.

Then I was gone ...