Often described as the "Crossroads of the World," New York City’s Times Square is one of the planet’s best-known and busiest pedestrian areas, drawing an estimated 50 million visitors annually. But for decades — right up until the early 1990s — it was a seedy, crime-ridden space, most notable for its go-go bars, peep shows and adult theaters.
A major cleanup of the neighborhood, led by Mayor Rudy Giuliani and a local business alliance, began turning things around in the mid-‘90s. Broadway’s renowned theaters were renovated; restaurants, shopping courts and art galleries replaced tawdry storefronts, and massive neon billboards shined new light on Times Square.
Just when the thought was that Times Square had it all, four major, new themed attractions have opened in this Midtown tourist mecca within the last year, vying for visitors’ attention with a variety of immersive and interactive experiences.
All four sites are within easy walking distance of each other — and here’s what they have to offer.
NFL Experience, at 20 Times Square, engages football fans from the start with the "Monday Night Football" jingle playing on a loop in the lobby of this $40 million, 40,000-square-foot attraction opened last December by the National Football League in partnership with Cirque du Soleil.
It’s not so much a football museum as it is a loud, showy tribute to the NFL itself and its 32 teams. The first floor is jam-packed with memorabilia — helmets, jerseys and other personal gear — honoring a host of gridiron greats and teams that span the league’s 98-year history.
Farther on is a mammoth 185-seat theater that features a 10-minute, in-your-face training film augmented with "thrill-ride" special effects including booming audios and jostling seats. On the second level, active fans are invited to test their skills against virtual pigskin pros through passing and blocking drills and jumping challenges.
The top level is the Champion’s Floor, where guests can view a glitzy display of Super Bowl rings, experience a virtual Gatorade dunk, and pose with a replica of the Lombardi Trophy.
www.nflexperience.com, 646-883-0088
Gulliver’s Gate, at 216 W. 44th St., is a whimsical wonderland where visitors leave the Land of Large to experience an interactive museum of miniatures from around the globe. Inspired by Jonathan Swift’s "Gulliver’s Travels" and permanently housed in a space of nearly 50,000 square feet, this is a unique and playful interpretation of the real world in miniature.
It includes more than 300 miniature displays of world cities and landmarks, ranging from the Great Pyramids to the Great Wall, scaled down to 1/87th of their true size. Many of the displays include moving elements and lighting.
Visitors are genuinely mesmerized by the remarkable precision and artistry exhibited in this tiny but expansive 3-D universe — a true melding of art and technology. The project cost a whopping $40 million and took several hundred professional model-makers from around the world almost two years to complete.
www.gulliversgate.com, 212-235-2016
National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey, at 226 W. 44th St., is an aquatic adventure that visitors can enjoy without the need of a snorkel and flippers. It’s all a splashy product of cutting-edge virtual technology, including 3-D animation, video mapping and authentic soundscapes.
A fluorescent blue escalator delivers visitors from the bustling streets of the Big Apple to the wave lapped sands of a South Pacific island — where their virtual journey through 10 different undersea environments begins.
It’s all about interactive elements — fluorescent stingrays darting about beneath your feet and sprightly sea lions that react to the wave of a hand. Touch-sensitive floors, floor-to-ceiling video screens and 3-D imagery magnify the subaquatic sensory experiences.
Before leaving, visitors can opt to join hands-on activities designed to inspire positive environmental practices aimed at reducing pollution and protecting marine life.
www.natgeoencounter.com, 646-308-1337
Spyscape, secreted away at 928 Eighth Ave., is sure to appeal to James Bond fans and those who relish the intrigue of a good spy novel.
This state-of-the-art interactive museum of the clandestine is the ingenious design of David Adjaye, architect of the widely heralded National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C. It’s divided into seven galleries: Deception, Encryption, Surveillance, Hacking, Intelligence, Cyberwarfare and Special Ops.
Visitors scan their ID bracelets at kiosks positioned around the 60,000-square-foot, three-level pavilion to assess their personality traits, risk tolerance, intelligence and agility through a series of interactive tests, games and physical challenges to determine their personal spy profile.
For serious students of international espionage, there are artifacts and documents that tell the stories of history’s most famous spies and intelligence operations like how the Enigma Code was cracked during World War II and the security breach at the CIA website by a teenage hacker.
www.spyscape.com, 212-549-1941
