Father Duffy Square is the exact spot every photograph of Times Square is taken from - the red glass steps above the TKTS booth, billboards wrapping 360 degrees - and TSQ Live turns it into a stage for free performance rather than just a place to stand. Programming runs the range from music to dance to spoken word, all of it outdoors and unticketed. If you are downtown-averse but want a free show, this is the most New York possible version.
What to expect
Expect performances staged on or beside the red steps with the plaza crowd forming and reforming around them, amplified sound competing pleasantly with the square, and pedestrians joining mid-set. The steps double as seating, and the pedestrian plazas run north and south from there. Nothing is reserved; you stand or sit wherever there is room.
Good to know
- Father Duffy Square is at Broadway and 47th Street; the 1/2/3/7/N/Q/R/W/S to Times Square-42nd Street leaves a five-block walk north.
- Free and unticketed — the red steps are public seating.
- Go earlier in the day for space; Times Square gets dense by evening.
- The plazas are flat and fully accessible.
- Sun protection helps — the square is exposed for most of the day.
- Keep bags close; it is one of the busiest pedestrian spaces in the world.
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Common questions
Where is Father Duffy Square?
The northern triangle of Times Square at 47th Street, above the TKTS booth and its red steps.
Is TSQ Live free?
Yes — it is free public programming in the Times Square pedestrian plazas.
Is there seating?
The TKTS red steps and plaza chairs serve as public seating, first-come.
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