Duffy Square

Duffy Square. . , Named in honor of Father Francis Patrick Duffy (1871-1932), a military chaplain and a priest in the Times Square area, this site has been a magnet for tourists, a staging area for public rallies, and a scene of victory celebrations. In 1973, Mayor John V. Lindsay, a passionate supporter of the Broadway theatre, was instrumental in creating the original TKTS booth with the Theatre Development Fund, making Duffy Square ever since a destination point for those in search of reduced price theatre tickets., Once dominated by an eighty-ton, fifty-foot statue entitled Purity (Defeat of Slander) by Leo Lentilli in the early 20th century, today the square is defined by the iconic red glass steps that were completed in 2008 to house the TKTS booth., In 1999 The Theatre Development Fund sponsored an international competition, administered by the Van Allen institute, to design a new permanent booth which would transform both the park and Times Square. The winning design concept by Choi Ropiha was the catalyst for a complete redesign of the park, spearheaded by the Times Square Alliance, and its realization was due in no small part to the great dedication and strength of spirit on the part of Major General Joseph Healey (Ret. US Army)., The red steps, designed by Perkins Eastman and engineered by Dewhurst MacFarlane and Partners, represent the cutting edge of glass technology; red glass steps supported on glass stringers and spanning all-glass, load-bearing walls, are illuminated from within by red L.E.D. lights. In addition, a geothermal system that descends 400 feet below Times Square, in between two subway lines, heats and cools the glass structure and fiberglass ticket booth, which itself was custom fabricated by the builders of America’s Cup sailboats., Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor, City of New York , Adrian Benepe, Commissioner, Department of Parks and Recreation , City of New York Parks and Recreation ,