By Bill Butterworth
Review & Description
In the 1970s and 80s New York was internationally renowned for its seedy underbelly; the world capital of leisure, luxury, and sin. And the epicenter of New York vice, hands down, was 42nd Street-Times Square—a.k.a. the Forty-Deuce.
On any given night on the Forty-Deuce you could take in the latest blockbuster, B-movie, or skin flick; cop drugs or cop a feel. A playground for the perverse, as well as a destination for thrill-seekers and partyers from every borough of New York City and beyond, Times Square was the electric heart of the city that refused to sleep.
The Forty-Deuce: Times Square 1983–1984 is a series of photographs by Bill Butterworth shot exclusively in Times Square in the early 80s—capturing a gritty, glamorous, and authentic old-school New York, well before Mickey Mouse took over and scrubbed it clean. In the tradition of Jamel Shabazz’s classic, Back in the Days, The Forty-Deuce showcases the timeless style of New York’s first b-boys, out on the town and dressed to impress, rocking fly track suits, Adidas kicks with fat laces, oversized Cazal frames, and monster boom boxes. But it adds to the mix the Deuce’s own slick pimps, strung out hustlers, and the prostitutes, strippers, and trannies all decked out in spandex and leather, not to mention the johns, that flooded 42nd Street nightly. Read more
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