November 5, 2008 - Located at the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue at 46th Street, the enlarged and enhanced Father Duffy Square now features a redesigned TKTS booth under glowing glass steps. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and representatives from the Times Square Alliance, the Theatre Development Fund (TDF), the Coalition for Father Duffy, Bishop Dennis Sullivan and Bernadette Peters were on hand to open the new Father Duffy Square and TKTS booth on October 16, 2008.

“The new Duffy Square and TKTS booth exemplify the energy and creativity with which we welcome visitors to the City,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Times Square is known around the globe as the greatest stage for theatre, the best place to celebrate the new year and ‘the crossroads of the world,’ and these improvements will make the Times Square experience even greater.”

The new Duffy Square creates more usable pedestrian space, featuring high-quality design that garnered the City’s Design Commission Award for Excellence. It also provides a new home for the TKTS booth, operated by the Theater Development Fund, which has provided more than 51 million discounted tickets to Broadway and off-Broadway performances since its inception in 1973. For the first time ever, ticket buyers will be able to make their purchases using major credit cards, in addition to cash and travelers checks, for same-day tickets to Broadway, Off Broadway, music, and dance productions.

The custom-fabricated fiberglass TKTS booth is enclosed in an amphitheatre-style red glass staircase, 27 steps high, boasting seating room for more than 500 people. The state-of-the-art slip-resistant glass steps are lit from below with advanced LED technology and utilize unique geothermal-based heating and cooling technology.

The TKTS booth and floating red glass amphitheater were designed by Perkins Eastman, one of the nation’s largest architecture and design firms. The design was inspired by the winner of the international ideas competition, Australia-based architectural firm Choi Ropiha. Williams Fellows Architects, a New York-based architecture and interior design firm, designed the plaza.

For more information about TDF and TKTS, visit www.tdf.org.