Times Square in New York City is referred to by some as the centre of the United States. Others refer to it as the centre of the modern world, and by those with vivid imaginations as the point around which the Milky Way revolves.
An urban legend claims that regardless of where you go in New York City, you’ll eventually end up in Manhattan and at Times Square. There’s some truth to this because, eventually, we too found ourselves in this extraordinary place that never sleeps. It lies between Broadway and the equally famous Seventh Avenue. This area is home to theatres, department stores, and massive advertisements stretching all the way to 53rd Street. Almost everyone recognizes Times Square, whether they’ve visited New York or not.
In the article below, I’ll briefly share the history of Times Square and compile plenty of information and fun facts about this most iconic part of New York City.
Times Square, the history of the place considered the heart of New York
At the beginning of the last century, Times Square was called Longacre Square. Its current name comes from the famous publishing house, The New York Times, which moved its newspaper headquarters to the newly constructed Times Building in 1904. This narrow skyscraper is the focal point of every photo you’ll see of Times Square. It’s also where the clock counting down to the New Year is displayed, and during New Year’s Eve, the famous illuminated ball is lowered from its roof in the iconic ball drop tradition.
The 1920s were a golden era for this part of the city. Large theatres were opened, showcasing all the major hits of the time. Every actor and director dreamed of performing on one of their stages. The area was bustling with the biggest stars of the theatre and the still-emerging film industry. Property prices skyrocketed, and owning a flat in Times Square was a symbol of prestige and wealth. Among its notable residents were Charlie Chaplin and my personal favourite, Fred Astaire.
Old-time glamour in Times Square
Nothing lasts forever. Big money attracts both big and bad players. The area saw the rise of the mafia, prostitutes, and criminals. After the introduction of Prohibition in 1919, illegal bars began popping up along Broadway and its neighbouring streets. These speakerships drew the biggest celebrities of the time, and it was said that their patrons often outnumbered theatre audiences.
Even today, you can still find bars in the area that you enter through a phone booth or a Chinese laundry. Despite the dark undertones, everything at the time still seemed intriguing and entertaining. Money continued to flow in, and property prices in the area skyrocketed without limits. That is, until the stock market crash of 1929. Thereafter, the smiles disappeared.
The Fall of Times Square, One of New York’s Most Popular Districts
Within just a few days, the largest companies collapsed. Theatres were shut down, and the wealthy elites and glamorous women who once strolled down Seventh Avenue were replaced by crowds of unemployed and hungry people. This marked the beginning of a dark era in American history. Instead of upscale restaurants, cinemas, and exclusive theatres, the area became home to seedy establishments filled with prostitutes, drugs, and criminals.
By the 1990s, this part of Manhattan housed hundreds of semi-legal or outright illegal porn theatres, cheap brothels, and sex shops. Brothel ads boldly proclaimed, “If you find cheaper girls anywhere else, we’ll refund the difference.” Times Square at that time was extremely dangerous; in 1990 alone, Manhattan recorded over 500 murders and thousands of other serious crimes. This part of the city became a symbol of New York’s moral decay.
It wasn’t until Rudolph Giuliani was elected mayor that the situation began to change. He announced a plan to clean up the city, emphasizing the need to tackle even the smallest crimes. Strict penalties were introduced for any offence, no matter how minor. This approach even addressed the so-called “Squeegee men”—individuals who would approach cars at shoplifts to clean their windscreens, often as a front for drug dealing. Though their activities frustrated New Yorkers, there were no laws specifically prohibiting window washing. Giuliani found a way around this by instructing the police to ticket them for jaywalking. Within months, they disappeared from the streets altogether.
How to Clean Up in New York
The next step was the introduction of the “no saving ammunition” policy, which granted the police significantly greater authority and operational capacity. Over the following years, crime in the so-called “city of sin” declined by nearly 90 percent. Porn theatres and sex shops were shut down, and pimps were driven out of the area.
Property prices skyrocketed once again. Several historic theatres were reopened, and the city became safer than ever before. Thanks to these changes, we can now stroll through and admire the bright, illuminated streets of New York City at night.
Times Square today
Times Square is the most recognizable location in the world and the most visited tourist destination in the United States. Over 300,000 people pass through the square daily, the majority of whom are tourists. With its abundance of light installations and massive screens, Times Square rivals Las Vegas. Some of the world’s most famous clothing brands have stores in the area.
From what we’ve gathered, New Yorkers tend to avoid Times Square like the plague. After a few days in the city, I began to understand why. I caught myself planning routes that bypassed Broadway. It’s loud, bright, and constantly buzzing with activity. While this sounds fantastic at first, after a few days, Times Square can become exhausting and even irritating. Still, it’s a place everyone should visit at least once—sit in Father Duffy Square, watch the most brightly lit street in New York, or shop in the surrounding boutiques.
If you’re lucky, you might also encounter some of Times Square’s famous regulars. One of them is the Naked Cowboy, a man who has gained fame for strolling Broadway dressed in just a cowboy hat, boots, and small briefs. Though it sounds funny and absurd, this cowboy earns up to $1,000 a day. Fun fact: he even works during the winter and ran for president a few years ago.
Aside from the Naked Cowboy, Times Square is filled with street performers of all kinds, some more talented than others. If you have any skills, perhaps you, too, could realize your American Dream right here.
Times Square facts, information, and curiosities
- In Times Square in the 1920s and 1930s, the most famous mafias of the time had their flats. Among them, Al Capone and several of his brothers.
- Broadway Street, unlike other streets in Manhattan, winds through the entire city. Legend has it that it was the first street in New York, built on the foundations of an old Indian road. Before urbanization, the island was full of swamps, marshes, and rocks that had to be avoided. It is Broadway and 7th Avenue that create Times Square.
- Broadway Street is part of the famous Lincoln Highway, the first road running through the entire United States of America. It was put into use in the 1920s. It starts in Times Square and ends over 5 thousand kilometres away in San Francisco.
- The first illuminated advertisement in Times Square flashed on the wall of one of the banks in 1904. This started the fashion for large billboards and neon signs, which are today a symbol of this part of New York.
- In the 1980s, Times Square was the capital of the American porn industry.
- In 1945, over 2 million people celebrated the end of World War II in Times Square. It was here that the famous photo of a sailor kissing a nurse was taken.
- Today, Times Square welcomes over 20 million visitors a year.
- Times Square is known worldwide for its lavish New Year’s Eve celebrations. Here, the famous ball of light is lowered from the mast on the One Times Square building, which has been heralding the arrival of the New Year for over 100 years.
- Each year, over a million people await the New Year in Times Square alone. Over a billion people watch New Year’s in Times Square on television.
- The idea of the ball being lowered is not new. It is an old naval custom. In old ports full of sailing ships, a wooden ball was lowered from the highest mast in the area at exactly noon. This allowed sailors to synchronize their chronometers.
- The One Times Square building has been almost empty since the 1960s. The reason is that its owner earns over a quarter of a million dollars a month from displayed ads, and it is not profitable for him to rent the usable space of the building, which would require a major renovation.
- It was on this building in the 1930s that the famous news ticker was invented. Today, every news channel uses this type of latest information at the bottom of the page. The first tickers on the building of The New York Times displayed hot news that would appear in the next edition of the newspaper.
- The New York Times newspaper is the most widely read newspaper of all time. On average, over a million copies are printed.
- Journalists working for The New York Times have won 80 Pulitzer Prizes.
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