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See Also: Transportation in New York City 42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City Borough of Manhattan , known for its Theater s, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square . It is also the name of the region of the theater district (and, at times, the Red-light District ) near that intersection. 42nd Street has held a special place in New York lingo since at least the turn of the twentieth century. The Lincoln Highway , conceived in 1913 as America's first transcontinental highway, used the portion of 42nd Street west of Times Square to reach the Weehawken Ferry to Weehawken, New Jersey , where it continued for about 3000 miles across the country to San Francisco . HISTORY The former Longacre Square was renamed to honor '' The New York Times '' which established its offices and printing plant nearby. For a long period in the mid 20th Century , the area of 42nd Street near Times Square was home to Peep Show s and other activities often considered unsavory. A Comedian once said, "They call it 42nd Street because you're not safe if you spend more than forty seconds on it." A popular 1933 movie musical named 42nd Street , set in pre- Depression Manhattan, colorfully described the bawdy mixture of Broadway shows and Prostitution during the early 20th century. In 1980 , it was turned into a successful Broadway musical, which was revived in 2001 in a theater that was itself on 42nd Street. The following is an excerpt from the musical: In the heart of little old New York It's the part of little old New York From the early 1960 s until the late 1980s, 42nd Street was the cultural center of American Grindhouse Theatres , which spawned an entire subculture. The book ''Sleazoid Express,'' a travelogue of the 42nd Street grindhouses and the films they showed, describes in detail the unique blend of people who made up the theatregoers, including of black Pimps , low-grade Mafioso , Transvestites , Latino gangsters, "rough trade" homosexuals, aggressive lesbians, Trench Coat clad Perverts , and thrill seeking Squares . In the late 1980s, the grindhouses were all shut down in a series of late-night raids by the New York Police, under the orders of Mayor Ed Koch , as a part of his resolution to clean up the city's seedier elements. Recent changes In the late 1990s , city government encouraged a clean-up of the Times Square area. The block of 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues again became home to a "legitimate" Theater , along with shops and eateries that transformed the street into a showplace thronged with Out-of-towners once again. PUBLIC TRANSIT Every subway line that crosses 42nd Street has an express station at it.
The IRT 42nd Street Shuttle runs under 42nd Street between Broadway/Seventh Avenue ( Times Square ) and Park Avenue ( Grand Central Terminal ); the IRT Flushing Line begins at 41st Street/Seventh Avenue, runs between 41st and 42nd from Sixth Avenue to Park Avenue , curves onto 42nd Street between Park and Lexington Avenues , and continues under the East River to Queens . Each line stops at Times Square and Grand Central ; the Flushing Line also stops at Fifth Avenue-Bryant Park . Additionally, MTA New York City Transit 's M42 bus runs the length of 42nd Street between the Circle Line and the United Nations , and its '''M104''' bus runs from the United Nations via Times Square before turning north along Broadway to 125th Street . There was never a crosstown Streetcar line on 42nd Street; however the Forty-Second Street And Grand Street Ferry Railroad used 42nd Street west of Tenth Avenue. PLACES ALONG 42ND STREET Places located along 42nd Street include (from west to east):
INTERSECTIONS FROM EAST TO WEST
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