  The DIRECT project aims to determine direct distances to two important
galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder -- M31 and M33 -- using detached
eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. The search for these variables requires
time-series photometry of large areas of the target galaxies and yields
magnitudes and positions for tens of thousands of stellar objects, which may be
of use to the astronomical community at large.
  During the first phase of the project, between September 1996 and October
1997, we were awarded 95 nights on the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.2 m
telescope and 36 nights on the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT 1.3 m telescope to search
for DEBs and Cepheids in the M31 and M33 galaxies. This paper, the first in our
series of stellar catalogs, lists the positions, three-color photometry, and
variability indices of 57,581 stars with 14.4 < V < 23.6 in the central part of
M33. The catalog is available from our FTP site at
ftp://cfa-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/kstanek/DIRECT/star_catalog/M33ABC/
