3...2...1...Happy New Year!
OK, you’re probably not actually reading this at midnight on New Year’s Eve, but a new destination in New York lets you live the magic of the Times Square ball drop year-round.
One Times Square, the building with the ball on its roof, recently completed a major renovation that allow guests a new view on the crossroads of the world, along with exhibits on the neighborhood’s history and, most excitingly, the opportunity to get up close to arguably the most famous ball in the world. You can even touch it if you’re willing to pay for a deluxe ticket.
A lot of people think Times Square got its name from the fact that the country’s most famous New Year’s Eve celebration takes place there, but the name is really more of a happy coincidence. The area was originally called Longacre Square, but was renamed when The New York Times moved its headquarters to the building that is now home to the ball.
In fact, the ball drop itself started as a sort of publicity stunt for the newspaper. When the Gray Lady first moved to Longacre Square in 1904 (the area was renamed shortly after the move) the paper’s publisher wanted to stage a fireworks show to ring in 1905. The tradition continued but the company wanted something bigger a few years later, and the first ball drop happened in 1907, after the city banned fireworks in the square.
