Times Square United States

Legendary

Surrounded by billboards and brightly lit advertisements this commercial intersection is a favorite for tourists.

Photo by Adrian Scottow

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Every December 31, about a million people pack into Times Square to watch a glowing ball slide down a pole. More than a billion more watch on screens around the world.

The first ball, in 1907, was made of iron and wood and measured just 5 feet across. Today's weighs nearly 12,000 pounds and is covered in thousands of LED lights.

Times Square sits where Broadway and Seventh Avenue cross in the middle of Manhattan, New York City. It wasn't always famous.

In the 1800s, this was where the city built its horse-drawn carriages. People named it Longacre Square, after Long Acre, the carriage-making street in London.

Theaters started moving into the neighborhood in the 1890s. But the real change came from a newspaper.

The New York Times built a 25-story tower here and moved in during 1904. The paper's owner, Adolph Ochs, convinced the city to rename the area after his newspaper.

On April 8, 1904, Longacre Square officially became Times Square. A subway station opened underneath at the same time, bringing crowds straight to the door.

Just three weeks later, the first electric advertisement lit up. Glowing signs would soon become the square's trademark.

The Times celebrated New Year's Eve with fireworks for a few years. Ochs wanted something bigger, so on December 31, 1907, a lighted ball was lowered from the roof of the tower at midnight.

The newspaper outgrew its tower and moved out by 1913. The ball drop stayed.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Times Square was the center of American entertainment. Broadway theaters were packed every night, along with vaudeville shows, jazz clubs, and dazzling neon signs.

In 1928, a giant scrolling news ticker was added to the old Times tower, flashing headlines in lights. Crowds gathered on the street to read the news as it happened.

Look up at One Times Square, the old Times tower, where the New Year's ball sits on top all year. Grab a seat on the red glass steps above the TKTS booth, which sells same-day Broadway tickets. Come back after dark, when the giant screens light up the whole square like daytime.

Sources: Britannica, Wikipedia, and Times Square Ball Drop.