Is Times Square Dead?

The Commodification of place:
Times Square possesses historical linkages that have been cast in shadow by the influx of flashing lights and media advertisements over the past 15 odd years. The article calls into question the authenticity of experience and validity of place offered to the public by the structured imposition of a 'mediascape' within the previously historically emblematic Times' Square. The issue lies in the re-'place'ment of the gritty 'real' experience of the old Times Square (emblematic of the exchange of industrial capitol)with a pre-fabricated, plasticized model of experience (emblematic of the new age of information). Many loathe the new Times Square for its complete detachment from any historical reference it held previously, and for its apparent function as a masking mechanism serving to create the 'illusion of place' while behind the mask the 'real' Times Square is dying.

What is brought into question is the notion of what in fact is the 'authentic' Times Square? Is it the 'old version', emblematic of historical phenomena that took place within its confines? Or is the new version, emblematic of the current age of commodification and information explosion that holds more authenticity to the current value system? Is not the ephemeral, media dominated social arena of the new Times Square not the product of the dominant social arena of our time? Does this not in fact make the new Times Square more authentic than the older version that bespoke of a bygone age that no longer holds cultural currency today?