In which New York City location was the iconic V-J Day kiss photograph taken?

The iconic V-J Day kiss photograph was taken in Times Square in New York City.

The scene occurred on August 14, 1945, as people gathered in Manhattan to celebrate the expected end of the war with Japan. Photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt was documenting the crowd when he captured a Navy sailor kissing a woman in a white uniform.

Times Square was already a major public gathering place because of its theaters, hotels, restaurants, and enormous illuminated signs. Its dense crowds made it a natural center for spontaneous celebrations when news of Japan’s surrender spread through the city.

The photograph is sometimes described as showing a nurse, but the woman was later identified as Greta Zimmer Friedman, a dental assistant wearing a white work uniform. The sailor was identified as George Mendonsa by researchers, although the image’s subjects became the subject of later public debate. The location itself is not disputed: the embrace happened in Times Square near Broadway and Seventh Avenue.