Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Brief History of Times Square
At the turn of last century, Times Sq was known as Longacre Sq, an unremarkable intersection far from the
city's commercial epicenter of Lower Manhattan. This changed with a deal between subway pioneer August
Belmont and
New York Times
publisher Adolph Ochs. Heading construction of the city's first subway line (from
Lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side and Harlem), Belmont realized that a business hub along 42nd St
would maximize profit and patronage on the route. He then approached Ochs, who had recently turned around
the fortunes of the
New York Times,
arguing that moving the newspaper's operations to the intersection of
Broadway and 42nd St would be a win-win for Ochs. Not only would an in-house subway station mean faster
distribution of the newspaper, but the influx of commuters to the square would mean more sales right outside its
headquarters. Belmont even convinced New York Mayor George B McClellan Jr to rename the square in honor
of the broadsheet.
7
St Patrick's Cathedral
CHURCH
GOOGLE MAP
When its face lift is complete and the scaffolding comes down in late 2015, America's
largest Catholic cathedral will once more grace Fifth Ave with its neo-Gothic splendor.
Built at a cost of nearly $2 million during the Civil War, the building did not originally in-
clude the two front spires, added in 1888. Highlights include the Louis Tiffany-designed
altar and Charles Connick's stunning Rose Window.
(
www.saintpatrickscathedral.org
;
Fifth Ave btwn
50th & 51st Sts;
6:30am-8:45pm;
B/D/F/M to 47th-50th Sts-Rockefeller Center)
