Times Square is one big, incredible machine that has the sweet caress of capitalism to thank for its success as much as it does careful city planning. However, when the area was famously filthy in 1984, New York City contemplated a major intervention that would've changed the landscape of Midtown profoundly.


The intervention itself never quite panned out, but the proposed designs for a Times Square sure did say a lot about the state of architecture at the time. The Skyscraper Museum in downtown Manhattan is currently exhibiting a selection of the original designs, which range from Blade Runner-inspired futurescapes to tepid, postmodern pastiche. None of them really look like Times Square today, but that's kind of the point.

Inevitably, every design team's approach offers unique insight not only into what Times Square could've become but also what American architecture did become. [NYT via FastCo]


Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown

While it seemed like a good idea at the time, this bland, boxy approach would've turned Times Square into a supersized version of the generic skyscraper that dots America's exurbs. And that apple.

Gilbert Gorski


This sort of Space Needle-inspired creation would've been great for New Year's Eve celebrations. And that gondola-looking thing could be cool for tourists. Pretty much everything else about this design is just awful, though.

Lee Dunnette


Now we're talking. This thing looks like a spaceport that shoots holograms into the stars. And any design that mentions Indiana Jones clearly gets extra points.

George Ranalli


This frankly sort of fascist-looking design swings back into the realm of terrible. That said, it also resembles the original romantic modernist design of 2 Columbus Circle (RIP).

Gilbert Gorski


Umm, is that a zeppelin? Is this a set drawing from the movie Metropolis? Have you ever seen Times Square look so clean and modern?

David Stein


Seriously, though, this design is legitimately cool. Stein wanted to cover the original New York Times headquarters with lightbulbs that could display the face of old Broadway stars. Given the ubiquity of LED signs in Times Square today, the idea was oddly prescient.

William Schacht and Cassandra McGowen


This simple idea is essentially a more analog version of Stein's concept. Instead of a new incandescent façade, however, One Times Square would be restored and wrapped with the face of Lady Liberty. It's perfect inoffensive but also not very transformative.

Frank Lupo and Daniel Rowen


I'm not entirely sure what's going on here, but it looks expensive and very spacey.

Chip Sloan