Life, 1909-11-18 · page 21 of 36
Life — November 18, 1909 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the New York Board of Aldermen's decision to officially rename the intersection of 42nd-47th Streets and Seventh Avenue from "Long Acre" to "Times Square"—apparently at the behest of the *New York Times* newspaper. The cartoon's "bird's-eye view" shows a futuristic landscape labeled with various corporate/institutional names, mocking the blatant commercialism and political corruption of the renaming. The satire's core point: the Aldermen have brazenly sold off historic place names to the highest bidder, treating it as casually as "stealing candy from a child." The author acidly notes that what one Board of Aldermen gives away, another might reclaim—perhaps renaming it "Roosevelt Square" instead. The secondary cartoons are unrelated domestic humor sketches. The satire reflects Progressive Era skepticism toward municipal corruption and corporate influence over civic institutions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
It Is Times Square By Ordinance of the Board of Aldermen, Signed by the Mayor uthority is there New York, Oct. ard of Alderme d street and_ Forty the intersection of Seventh a “shall hereafter be known and desig \l provides that he necessary changes be naps and records of the city.— The whole of Long Acre A BIRD'S-EVE VIEW—THE NEAR FUTURE Square, from Forty-second to Forty- seventh Street, wiped clean off the map nd * Times Square "* put in place of it All formally done by the Alderr This is a far greater triumph of impu- . 100 dence than we had supposed. It was plain, bold, piratical highw Everybody knows that getting away robbery ! nes and square names from Aldermen is I gf candy from a child, Aldermen, as a rule, having no respect for history or local associations. How did the buyers of the Times have the brass to do it?) The comfort is that street na at one Board of Aldermen has given way another Board of Aldermen can take back. Maybe it will be Roosevelt Square some day. w ABY'S in the ice-cream freezer, Willie turns the crank to squeeze her. Ma says: “Dear, the way that's fixed “You'll have that child completely mixed."* ANNIBALS h. @ supernumerary. Tue Kine: I will have the supe served first, then you may bring on the h: APRIL AND DECEMBER comicbooks.com