Page "Oscar Hammerstein II" Paragraph 14

According to The Rodgers and Hammerstein Story by Stanley Green, " For three minutes, on the night of September first, the entire Times Square area in New York City was blacked out in honor of the man who had done so much to light up that particular part of the world.

From 8: 57 to 9: 00 pm, every neon sign and every lightbulb was turned off and all traffic was halted between 42nd Street and 53rd Street, and between 8th Ave and the Avenue of the Americas.

A crowd of 5, 000 people, many with heads bowed, assembled at the base of the statue of Father Duffy on Times Square where two trumpeters blew taps.

It was the most complete blackout on Broadway since World War II, and the greatest tribute of its kind ever paid to one man.