TKTS

The original TKTS pavilion in Times Square was designed by the Manhattan architecture firm of Mayers & Schiff Associates and was inaugurated by Mayor John Lindsay.

The project began in 1999 with an international design competition sponsored the Van Alen Institute to re-design the popular TKTS Discount Booth.

[13] The competition's winner, Australian firm Choi Ropiha, reframed the challenge as a broader urban design response to invigorate and provide a center for Times Square.

After many delays,[16] the new TKTS booth opened for business on October 16, 2008, on a renovated Duffy Square, with a ceremony featuring Mayor Michael Bloomberg and various Broadway performers.

[6] The booth is wedge-shaped, with wide, bleacher-like stairs covering the roof, allowing pedestrians to sit down or climb the steps for a panoramic, unobstructed view of Times Square.

At the time, it was the largest load-bearing glass structure in the world, designed by engineers at Dewhurst Macfarlane using a plastic film called SentryGlas Plus from DuPont.

[19] The TKTS booth, its parent organization Theatre Development Fund (TDF), and Broadway show producers have been criticized for their claimed 50% off ticket prices.

[21] As Broadway producer Ken Davenport states in multiple articles and seminars, dynamic pricing is applied in theaters to help a show get more money for a seat.

[21][22][23][24] There have also been several documented case studies where a ticket found at the theater at full price for $89 to Kinky Boots, which is a Ken Davenport production, were sold at the TKTS booth at "50% off" for $75 plus the $5 TDF Fee.

In an effort to help patrons make the most informed choices, TKTS began listing prices alongside discount percentages at all its booths in October 2018.