About The Ribbon 44 Location
Our building - "The New York Times Annex"
The building was built in three stages between 1912 and 1937. It was originally designed by Mortimer J. Fox, of the firm Buchman & Fox, and called the New York Times Annex because it was designed to supplement the One Times Square Times Tower, built in 1905 at Broadway and 42nd Street (which gives Times Square its name). In 1922, the Ludlow & Peabody firm designed a 100-foot (30 m) extension on the west side as well as a five-story setback attic level in the style of the French Renaissance, including the Mansard roofs. From 1930 to 1932, architect Albert Kahn designed a further expansion to the west including a second lobby and roof-top studio. Further expansions included a 12-story New York Times North building adjoining it to the north on 44th Street.
Long Acre Square
(now Times Square)
circa 1900
Originally known as Long Acre Square after London’s carriage district, Times Square served as the location for William H. Vanderbilt’s American Horse Exchange. In the late 1880s, Long Acre Square consisted of a large open space surrounded by dingy apartments. With the advent of distributed electricity, theater advertisements and street lights, the area became a safer, more inviting area. Additionally, the construction of New York’s first rapid transit system, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), gave New Yorkers new found mobility in the city.
Allied Chemical Building
(now 1 Times Square)
1965
The New York Times moved to larger offices one block west of the square in 1913 and sold the building in 1961. The old Times Building was later named the Allied Chemical Building in 1963. Now known as One Times Square, it is famed for the Times Square Ball drop on its roof every New Year's Eve.
Coca-Cola billboard ad
in Times Square
circa 1920
Advertising also grew significantly in the 1920s, growing from $25 million to $85 million over the decade. The Wrigley Spearmint Gum sign, possibly the biggest electric sign in the world, cost a staggering $9,000 per month to rent in 1922. Entertainment icons such as Irving Berlin, Charlie Chaplin, and Fred Astaire were closely associated with Times Square in the 1920s and 1930s.
Weber& Fields
A theatre on the roof of the building, Lew Fields' 44th Street Roof Garden, became the Nora Bayes Theatre in 1918. In the basement of the 44th Street Theatre was a small nightclub, probably a speakeasy named the Canteen during Prohibition. Our location is convenient to many of Broadway’s best theatres and production companies. Literally walking distance from our front door The Ribbon is convenient for the best that Broadway has to offer.