New Year’s Eve celebrations first began in New York City’s Times Square in 1904.
The celebration was organized to mark the opening of the headquarters of The New York Times, which had moved to a newly developed area then known as Longacre Square. A large street celebration accompanied the event, ending with fireworks at midnight.
The district was renamed Times Square in April 1904, shortly before the celebration. The fireworks tradition did not last long because city officials later prohibited fireworks in the area. That change led The New York Times’ publisher, Adolph Ochs, to seek a new midnight attraction.
The replacement was the illuminated ball lowered from the flagpole atop the Times building. Thus, the 1904 date refers to the beginning of the Times Square New Year celebration, while the famous ball-drop tradition began later, in 1907.