A 21st Century 'Film Noir' Times Square

[Story]

The Great White Way is going dark.
A new $27 million plan to redesign Times Square’s famed “bow tie” calls for an atmospheric “film noir” look for the five-block area, featuring permanent pedestrian plazas with a smooth, dark pavement studded with reflective metal disks designed to recapture the gritty feel of the city’s past.
“It’s not taking its cues from some pretty little things in Europe or something,” said Craig Dykers, an architect with Snohetta Design, the firm that also designed the 9/11 Museum downtown.
“Our design has a film noir feel to it; it’s more muscular. Paris or London can have these little benches, but New York has a toughness to it,” he said during a presentation to Community Board 5’s Transportation Committee Monday night.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/times_square_noir_yP1RILxXMOYSseE61LUj6H#ixzz1ZGBpJvWP

 

[Nathan Dodge]

Seems like most of the piece spends its time bashing Europe, but then we're talking about The New York Post, after all.

And of course it must invoke 9/11 at every opportunity.

 

[Doctor Strange]

New York Times coverage of the same thing, for a comparison:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/nyregion/times-square-pedestrian-plazas-to-get-a-makeover.html

 

[Nathan Dodge]

New York Times coverage of the same thing, for a comparison:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/nyregion/times-square-pedestrian-plazas-to-get-a-makeover.html

The New York wit comes through in the Times version, doesn't it? I especially liked this bit:

"The pedestrian plazas, when they opened in 2009, featured terra cotta-colored asphalt and colorful beach chairs, a look that was promptly lampooned by newspaper columnists and late-night talk show hosts. The space is currently covered with a splashy blue paint job that suggests the unfinished look of a swimming pool."