Today a new Walgreens drugstore opened at 1 Times Square, but the real news for media people was not at the cosmetics counter inside but outside and high above: 16,000 total square feet of digital video screens spanning three faces of the building, making it the largest digital video installation in Times Square, dwarfing all other spectaculars, as well as in the U.S. and maybe even the world.

The south side consists of a large JumboTron, along with plasma TVs at street level. The east and west sides have screens that slash across the building, with each beginning 15 feet off the ground and going up to 340 feet in the air. The east and west sides each also have 30-foot-long, H-shaped screens.

The signage went live last night.

The building’s 23 synchronized screens will run ads from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, with rates that average between $50 and $75 per minute.

The entire lot of screens can be taken by one advertiser, with creative running on all three sides. Or it can accommodate a mix of advertisers each running unique creative.

Unlike much of Times Square, advertisers can jump in and out, without making long-term commitments. Says Teresa Rix, vice president at ABC New Media Sales, which manages the inventory: "With this it could be for a day, a week, or a specific daypart."

The 1 Times Square building, which is where the New Year’s Eve ball drops, is owned by Jamestown Properties, a German investment firm. Minority owner Sherwood Equities manages the building. The Walgreens store occupies three floors and more than 16,000 square feet. The giant drug chain signed a 20-year lease and is the site’s first permanent occupant since a Warner Bros. Studio Store closed down in 2001.

Work on the LED display started last December, and construction crews installed it on the building over several months this past spring.