LANDON NORDEMAN PHOTOGRAPHY

Projects: times square now

On April 8, 1904, NYC Mayor George McClellan signed a resolution changing the name of Long Acre Square to Times Square. On its 100th anniversary, the crossroads of the world--a living icon of popular culture--is still the vibrant heart of New York City--and America.

An estimated 1.5 million people pass through Times Square each day. This corner table for two at the Howard Johnson's on 46th and Broadway provides an excellent view.
   
Klaus Wunderhits (in the red velvet suit) from Denmark takes in the view from the median at 45th Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue in Times Square April 3, 2004 in New York City. Wunderhits visited New York to shoot a music video of himself for his song called, "Let's Have A Cheer," which is about a crazy man walking around New York having a good time. His only comment about Times Square was, "I don't like that naked cowboy guy, really."
   
A couple eats lunch beside a mural of Times Square and other New York icons like the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building at McDonald's in Times Square March 31, 2004 in New York City. This McDonald's, which is open 24 hours a day, claims to be the busiest McDonald's in the world.
     
  
The Great White Way requires clean sight lines, and this clear umbrella is the perfect rainy-day accessory.
   
  
Organic, never-completed Times Square is in a constant state of construction, renovation, reinvention. The sky above is a constellation of neon; the earth below a tangled nest of pipes, wires and tunnels that support the whole thing.
     
  
Not all of Broadway's actors are in theaters. Street performer John Darrin prepares for a night's work on 42nd Street.
   
The "Broadway Lounge" located on the 8th floor of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square provides an excellent view of Times Square April 2, 2004 in New York City.
   
A painting of Times Square is displayed inside the Marriott Hotel in Times Square April 2, 2004 in New York City.
     
  
Lawrence Rush sings show tunes on the median between Broadway and 7th Avenue in the heart of Times Square April 3, 2004 in New York City. Lawrence sings in front of the statue of Father Francis Patrick Duffy, a military chaplain cited for bravery in World War I, for carrying wounded soldiers from the battlefield. Duffy later became rector of Holy Cross Church, a few steps from the square that was named for him after his death in 1932. Duffy's statue was erected in 1937.
   
A woman wearing scuba gear walks across 46th street to promote the National Geographic Channel.
   
The New Times Square is the corporate Times Square. More than 200,000 people work here, and the big corporations (Time Warner, Disney, Viacom) have replaced the sex shops of the 70s and 80s. Here, performers promote Hershey's Chocolate.
     
  
A photographer steadies himself for a shot on 43rd Street in Times Square April 2, 2004 in New York City. On every block in Times Square there are a handful of self-proclaimed "official Times Square photographers," who for a small fee will make a digital photo of you and then print it out while you wait.
   
A man dressed as the cartoon character "Sponge-Bob Square-Pants," greets pedestrians with a permanent smile in Times Square April 1, 2004 in New York City. For $2 you may have your photograph taken with Sponge-Bob.