Times Square

Times Square is a famous area in the Midtown Manhattan part of New York City. It is where Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street meet. This place is known for its bright lights and many digital billboards. It is very busy, with about 330,000 people walking through each day.

Times Square is also a big tourist spot. Many people visit to see the theaters, shops, and bright lights. It is the center of the Theater District, where most Broadway theaters are located. Every year, millions of tourists come to enjoy this lively area.

Originally called Longacre Square, it was renamed in 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters there. One of the most famous events there is the New Year's Eve ball drop, which started in 1907 and is watched by millions of people around the world on digital media. Times Square is often called "the Crossroads of the World" because so many people visit and pass through it every day.

Geography

Times Square acts like a town square but isn’t shaped like a square. Instead, it looks more like a bowtie, with two triangle parts that stretch north and south from 45th Street where Seventh Avenue meets Broadway. Broadway crosses other streets at places like Union Square, Madison Square, Herald Square, and Verdi Square, but none of these are squares either.

The area is bordered by West 42nd Street, West 47th Street, 7th Avenue, and Broadway. Broadway runs at an angle across the street layout of Manhattan. The southern triangle is called Times Square, while the northern triangle is Duffy Square, named to honor a World War I hero. There are statues there, including one for a famous composer, and a ticket booth for Broadway shows.

History

Times Square has a rich and varied history. When Dutch colonists first settled Manhattan Island, small streams flowed near what is now the intersection of 10th Avenue and 40th Street, forming a waterway called the “Great Kill.” This area was later named Longacre Square after a similar place in London.

In 1904, The New York Times moved its operations to a new skyscraper on 42nd Street, and the area was renamed “Times Square.” The area grew into a cultural hub with theaters, music halls, and upscale hotels. Over time, it faced challenges, including crime and changes in its character. Efforts to revitalize the area began in the 1980s with new buildings and bright signage.

In the 1990s, the area underwent significant changes to improve safety and attract tourists. Today, Times Square is known for its bright lights, theaters, and annual events like the New Year’s Eve ball drop. It remains a major tourist destination and a symbol of New York City.

Number of visitors

Times Square is the most visited place in the world, with around 360,000 people walking through each day. That means over 131 million visitors come each year! In 2013, more people visited Times Square than any of the Disney theme parks around the world.

New Year's Eve celebrations

See also: Times Square Ball

Times Square is famous for its New Year's Eve ball drop. About one million people gather there to celebrate the new year, which is more than double the usual daily crowd. The first ball drop happened on December 31, 1907, and it has been a tradition ever since. A special ball is lowered to mark the start of the new year. Today, the event is managed by Countdown Entertainment and One Times Square, working with the Times Square Alliance.

Impact of COVID-19

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, fewer people traveled to Times Square. In late 2020, only about 108,000 people visited each day, compared to 380,000 before the pandemic. Many hotels, stores, and restaurants closed during this time. For New Year's Day 2021, Times Square was closed to the public, and people were asked to stay in small, separate areas instead of gathering together.

Notable landmarks

The Paramount Building at 1501 Broadway once housed the Paramount Theatre.

One Astor Plaza is where Paramount Global has its main office. It was built in 1972 after the Astor Hotel was torn down.

Times Square is a lively place filled with bright lights and advertisements. Some famous spots you might see include:

• Coca-Cola sign
• Disney Store Times Square
• Fashion One
• FashionTV
• Forever 21 (which used to be Virgin Megastores)
• Hard Rock Cafe New York
• M&M's World
• Hershey's Chocolate World
• Planet Hollywood
• Palladium Times Square
• Revlon
• Times Square Studios – where ABC News and ESPN show shows like Good Morning America
• TKTS – a ticket booth with special discounts, backed by colorful stairs that many people enjoy sitting on.
• Times Square – a special sound art piece by Max Neuhaus located between 45th and 46th Streets.

Artists often perform here too, like test pattern [times square] by Ryoji Ikeda and Continuum by Krista Kim.

In popular culture

Times Square is a famous place that has appeared many times in books, movies, video games, music videos, and on TV.

The area has been shown in many films, such as Midnight Cowboy (1969), Born to Win (1971), and Taxi Driver (1976). It was also featured in the 1980 film Times Square, which had a punk rock/new wave soundtrack. The square appeared in the 2011 movie New Year's Eve. It was the starting point in the first episode of the 25th season of The Amazing Race, and also appeared in the sixth season of the Israeli edition of The Amazing Race.

Times Square has also been part of stories where it is attacked or destroyed, like in Knowing, Deep Impact, Godzilla, the Ghostbusters movies, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and (/wiki/2012(film))_. It was seen in a big battle scene in the 2002 film Spider-Man, and in a later film The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Some films and TV shows have shown Times Square as empty and quiet, like in Vanilla Sky and the post-apocalyptic I Am Legend. In the first episode of the TV series Blindspot, Times Square was empty because people thought there was a bomb.

Times Square is also popular in video games. For example, in Grand Theft Auto IV, there is a place called "Star Junction" that looks like Times Square in the game's made-up city called "Liberty City". Times Square appears in Battlefield 3, where players stop a bad guy from setting off a bomb, and in Crysis 2, where players fight aliens to help soldiers leave the area. It is also in Gran Turismo 4 as a photo spot and part of a race track that includes Central Park.