One Times Square’s 300-Foot-Long LED Screen Nearly Completed, in Times Square

7:30 am on May 19, 2019 By Michael Young

One Times Square, aka the Times Tower, is one of the most photographed buildings in the world. Millions of tourists from across the country and around the world constantly take photos of Times Square, formerly called Longacre Square, and the flashing digital advertisements that run nonstop year round. Even more view it during the annual ball drop and lighting of the four numbers at the start of every year since 1904. The culturally iconic and economically famous 25-story skyscraper stands 363 feet tall and is in the midst of getting a 21st century makeover. Six giant screens that once lit the slender northern wall have been taken down and will be consolidated into one 350-foot-tall LED panel. Jamestown is the owner of the property. One Times Square can be touted as the most expensive and lucrative place on the planet to advertise.

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Undeveloped conditions at The Windmere (400 West 57th Street) - Photo by Michael Young

400 West 57th Street’s Exterior Re-emerges After Decades Behind Scaffolding, in Hell’s Kitchen

8:00 am on May 18, 2019 By Michael Young

The scaffolding that had obscured 400 West 57th Street for years has finally been removed, exposing its ornamental masonry walls and arched windows. Once called the Windermere, the property has had a long and complex history, standing both as an architectural gem for the neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen and as a crumbling and almost-abandoned relic. The eight-story structure, which is located at the corner of West 57th Street and Ninth Avenue, suffered decades of neglect, deterioration, and attracted a large number of homeless squatters in the past. The façade was covered up with blue scaffolding and netting, and the building’s fate was unknown for some time after the disappearance of its owners, who reportedly left the country for Japan. The redevelopment was an arduous process, due to political drama and the task of getting the handful of remaining tenants to vacate the structure.

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