Times Square

Times Square is the area where Broadway crosses Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, roughly between West 42nd and West 47th streets. It was called Longacre Square until 1904, when The New York Times moved its offices to the new tower at One Times Square and the city renamed the square after the newspaper.

The Times started the tradition of New Year celebrations here, and the first ball was lowered from the tower's flagpole to mark the arrival of 1908. The ball drop is now watched by large crowds in the square and broadcast around the world. Through the 20th century the area became the centre of the Theater District, and after decades of decline it was redeveloped from the 1990s.

The square is surrounded by large illuminated and digital billboards, which zoning rules require buildings here to display, so the area is bright day and night. In 2009 parts of Broadway were closed to cars and turned into pedestrian plazas, which were rebuilt in granite in 2017. The red glass steps above the TKTS booth in Father Duffy Square sell same day discount tickets to Broadway shows and are a popular place to sit and look out over the square.

Around the square are dozens of Broadway theatres, along with flagship stores, restaurants and hotels. Hundreds of thousands of people pass through on a busy day, making it one of the most visited places in the world.

Times Square is free and open at all hours. Times Sq-42 St station is served by many subway lines. Late evening shows the lights at their best, and visitors should watch their belongings in the crowds and be wary of costumed characters who ask for money for photos.

The numbers explain the crush on the pavements. Counts put foot traffic at around 330,000 to 360,000 people a day, and the area draws an estimated 50 million visitors a year. The first ball drop took place on 31 December 1907, and about a million people now gather for it each New Year's Eve.

The bright signs are a legal requirement. Since 1987 zoning has obliged buildings here to carry illuminated signs, the only district in New York City with such a rule. The pedestrian plazas began as a trial in 2009, became permanent in February 2010 and were rebuilt to a design by the Norwegian firm Snøhetta, finished just before New Year's Eve 2016. The red stairs over the TKTS booth have stood in Duffy Square since 2008.

Times Square-42nd Street and the linked 42nd Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal station are among the busiest in the subway system, served by the 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, A, C and E trains and the 42nd Street Shuttle.