Getting the Key
To get a key you have to stop by a special kiosk in Times Square.  You must bring a friend, co-worker, or loved one with you because each key is bestowed upon another person in recognition of a good deed or a special trait . Your child can give the key to you or a sibling or vice versa.  It’s a super short pomp-free ceremony of sorts but it lends meaning to an otherwise perfunctory act thereby making it…Art.  And once you have the key you get to use it all summer long (until Labor Day) to explore. You also get a special booklet which lists all the venues and how to find what’s locked at each of them, along with detailed travel directions.

Note on Admissions: The majority of the Open A Lock locations have no admission fee but you should know that key holders are not granted free entry to venues that do charge for admission. That said, having something fun to unlock is certainly “added value” for kids especially.

Key To The City
Keys are distributed from June 3rd to June 27th , 2010
Go to the Key to the City Kiosk on Broadway between 43rd and 44th Streets, in Times Square.
Hours are Monday thru Friday 2 pm – 8pm and Saturday and Sunday 12pm – 8pm. All ages. FREE!


A few fun “Key To The City” facts…

Giving an honorary Key to the City harkens back to medieval times when cities were fortified and had all manner of gates and checkpoints.  Getting a key in those feudal days meant bypassing all the red tape from the sword and shield set and being allowed to roam freely within, a privilege reserved for very select members of society indeed—never the teeming masses.

New York City Key recipients include pilots Lucky Lindy and, recently, safe-landing “Sully” whose gold-plated key (valued at $100) is a too-small (i.e. non-working) casting of an actual antique City-Hall key which is still in use.