HISTORY OF THE TIMES SQUARE NEW YEAR’S EVE BALL DROP
Time Square’s historic annual New Year’s Eve ball-drop has become a monumental worldwide
celebration. This Times Square celebration is attended by a million revelers, enjoys performances by the country’s biggest celebrities, and is broadcast across the world. This Times Square tradition has even been copied by businesses, towns and cities across the country.
DID TIMES SQUARE INVENT THE BALL DROP
The history of a ball dropping to signify passing of time existed long before the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebrations. In fact, the tradition is older than Times Square by at least 70 years!
The “tradition” seems to have largely began in England in the early 1830s. Through the various industries using nautical navigation, caught on across the Atlantic in New York. Ships sailing a good distance from shore could see a time-telling ball. Looking at where the ball was in its descent, ships were able to tell the time within the hour. Ship crews could then adjust their chronometers more easily, and be better able to track their time while navigating.
With an estimated 150 or more similar lights installed around the world, this technological innovation was even used on a lighthouse memorializing the Titanic tragedy, and is still able to be visited in New York’s South Street Seaport.
BEFORE TIMES SQUARE
Before it was named Times Square, this area was known as Longacre Square. Longacre Square was largely an area for horse barns and carriage factories. It was sparsely populated, far from the bustling “Crossroads of the World” we know today.
Everything changed when publisher Adolph Ochs acquired the New York Times in 1896. He set out to establish a more honest and accurate publishing organization. One of Adolph Ochs most notable acts was to move the New York Times Headquarters. In 1904-1905, the Times moved its headquarters from Park Row to Longacre Square. The reason for this move was Longacre Square was where New York City’s nascent subway system was originating. This would allow for great distribution advantages for the paper. This move was so success that Longacre Square would be re-named Times Square after the New York Times. This is how Times Square got its name!
The New York Times built a giant building that we know today as One Times Square. Fun fact, did you know that the New York Times’ nickname during this time was “The Grey Lady?” This was both because of the black ink used on white paper and the New York Times’ dedication to deliberate journalism. The New York Times did so well that they outgrew the building in just 8 years!
Aftt the New York Times moved out, One Times Square underwent several ownership transfers. At one point the building ended up completely empty, and was used solely for prime advertising and billboard space in Times Square.
One Times Square is currently undergoing a more than $500M renovation to add a museum, observation deck, and more, and is expected to be completed in2025.
THE VERY FIRST TIMES SQUARE NEW YEAR’S EVE BALL DROP
The very first Times Square New Year’s Eve ball-drop took place in 1907.
After a few years of hugely-popular Times Square New Year’s Eve celebrations involving fireworks, the city recognized the dangers of pyrotechnics and banned the practice. The Times Square New Year’s fireworks were replaced with the New Year’s Eve ball’s brilliant lights.
The very first Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop was attended by over 200,000 revelers, and has been a monster hit ever since!
THE 2025 TIMES SQUARE NEW YEAR’S EVE BALL DROP
Attendance for the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop currently tops 1M people each year!
Now synchronized to an atomic clock in Boulder Colorado, the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball has undergone several redesigns and expansions over the years. The Times Square Ball started descending a regular flagpole before graduating to a much larger pole, and becoming a permanent fixture of Times Square. You can see the New Year’s Eve ball atop One Times Square, visible from the ground throughout the year.
Lighting innovations, and artistic improvements have changed the ball at least 4 times. Since the turn of the millennium, the ball has consisted of over 32,000 LED lamps, is 12 feet in diameter (from its original 5 feet, and approaching 400 pounds), weighs 6 tons, and is capable of displaying over 16 million colors, and billions of kaleidoscopic effects, and now boasts beautiful bright Waterford Crystal triangular panels, inscribed for each year’s theme, and is officially a geodesic sphere, rather than a perfectly-round ball.
There were two times when the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball majorly broke from tradition. In the 1980’s the ball was even redesigned to resemble a big apple, reflecting New York City’s “Big Apple” nickname and the hit “I Love NY” ad campaign. Due to the blackouts and security needs during WWII, the ball and its accompanying light fixtures were kept dark in 1942-1943.