The first official Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop occurred in 1907.
The ball was lowered on December 31, 1907, to welcome 1908. Newspaper publisher Adolph Ochs arranged the spectacle for The New York Times, whose new headquarters stood in the area. The event offered a dramatic alternative to fireworks, which New York City had restricted in the years before the first drop.
The original ball was made of iron and wood, measured about five feet across, and was illuminated by electric lights. It was lowered from the flagpole atop the Times building, a location now known as One Times Square. The ritual quickly became an annual New York tradition.
There were later interruptions and changes, including wartime blackouts in 1942 and 1943. The ball has also been redesigned several times, becoming larger, brighter, and more technologically sophisticated while retaining the same countdown purpose.