Bargains on Broadway: How TKTS helped to save theater and Times Square
On a recent Sunday afternoon, business was booming at the TKTS booth on Times Square. As street performers dressed as Elmo and Iron Man enticed visitors to snap photos nearby, a long line snaked around the booth, with people waiting to snap up theater tickets at a dramatic discount. Visitors congregated and chatted on the bright red staircase that was added to the booth in a 2008 makeover.
It’s a dramatic change from when the TKTS booth opened 50 years ago on June 25, 1973. At that time, the theater district was a place to avoid and Broadway was in a state of crisis.
“The city was depressed, and Times Square was a disaster,” said Bob Mayers, the architect who helped design the booth and its famous all lowercase logo. “There was very little pedestrian activity,” he said. “It was considered dangerous. There were muggings. People were afraid to come down to this area at night, especially. And the theaters were half empty.”
As they sought a solution, Mayor John V. Lindsay and his administration teamed up with the Theatre Development Fund. Their response was to create a ticket booth that sold same-day tickets for Broadway shows at half price, plus a modest service charge. An inventory of unsold tickets would be provided by the shows’ producers.
Now, 50 years later, “it has become that kind of town square – which I think is really powerful, because theater is part of community,” said Theatre Development Fund Executive Director Victoria Bailey. And on Wednesday morning, the booth’s anniversary will be officially celebrated on the scenic red steps added in a 2008 redesign, in an event that includes a performance and audience sing-along.
