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Times Square

A square named for a newspaper, where a ball has dropped on New Year’s Eve since 1907

Local name: Times Square

Collection: New York · USA · Open in OpenStreetMap

The story

Before you is Times Square, where Broadway crosses Seventh Avenue. It used to be called Longacre Square. Adolph Ochs, the owner of The New York Times, built a skyscraper at the south end of the square. In the spring of 1904 the mayor signed a resolution naming the square after the newspaper, and early in 1905 the paper moved into its new tower. On New Year’s Eve 1904, Ochs threw a party to celebrate the new building, and New Yorkers have greeted the New Year here ever since. In 1907 a lighted ball was lowered on the tower for the first time: iron and wood, five feet across, with a hundred light bulbs. The ball has dropped every year since. The only years it was skipped were 1942 and 1943, when wartime rules dimmed the lights. Then the crowd greeted the New Year with a minute of silence and the sound of chimes. Today’s ball, the ninth, was unveiled in November 2025: twelve and a half feet across, with five thousand two hundred and eighty round crystal discs. The red steps before you rise above a booth selling theater tickets. Nearby is the statue of Father Francis Duffy, a regimental chaplain in the First World War. He faces his former church on 42nd Street. In 2009 Broadway was closed to cars from 42nd to 47th Street, and the square became a pedestrian plaza.

Visiting

Broadway and Seventh Avenue, from 42nd to 47th Street. The square is open around the clock and is brightest after sunset. The Times Square–42nd Street subway station is nearby. Watch your bag and phone in the crowd.

Photos

Sources

• Times Square Alliance — History of Times Square
• Baruch College, CUNY — NYC Data: Uniquely NYC, Times Square Ball Drop
• NYC Department of Transportation — Green Light for Midtown (press release, 2009)
• Time Out New York — First look: The 2026 New Year’s Eve ball is bigger and more beautiful than ever (11/24/2025)
• NYC Parks — Father Duffy Square: Father Francis P. Duffy monument

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