In the seventies and eighties, Times Square was the capital of sin and crime in America.
By 1975, the financial crisis had left New York City on the brink of bankruptcy. It was felt strongest in the center of the city itself, at Times Square. The streets were lined with crime, peep shows, and theaters showing films most people would never admit to buying a ticket for. The Times Square of today has been gentrified and resembles Disneyland more than an urban jungle, but back in the day, it was just that.
Go back to the neon-lit, stressed-out streets of Times Square in its gritty days.
1
Times Square, 1972
u/frecklefactor
2
Times Square in New York City, 1970s
u/5_Frog_Margin
3
Times Square in New York City in the 1970s
u/AdSpecialist6598
4
Times Square, New York in December 1978
u/UltimateLazer
5
Getting some ice cream, Times Square, New York City, early 1980s
u/DiosMioMan63
6
Times Square, NYC, 1975. Photo by Kenneth Siegel
u/AxlCobainVedder
7
Times Square, New York during a snowstorm, 1978
u/UltimateLazer
8
Street scene of Midtown Manhattan, looking North towards Times Square, NYC, 1979
u/MyIpodStillWorks
9
New York City's Times Square, early 1980's
u/5_Frog_Margin
10
Times Square, NYC, 1974. Photo by Neil Libbert
u/AxlCobainVedder
11
Times Square, 1972
u/frecklefactor
12
Boy holding a Coke can in front of a Coca-Cola billboard in Times Square, NY, 1970s
u/cjc883
13
Times Square, 1982. Photo by Niles Jaeger
u/AxlCobainVedder
14
Times Square 1980's Peep Shows
u/susierabbit
15
Ladies Strolling Through The Times Square Of The 1970's
u/FNaXQ
16
New York City in 1971
u/5_Frog_Margin
17
42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, New York City 1973
u/oldsoul8789
18
New York, 1983
u/AdSpecialist6598
19
New York City's Times Square in the 1980s
u/AdSpecialist6598
20
Times Square in the 1970s
u/EssoEssex
