The Times Square Ball was first dropped in New York City in 1907.
The first descent took place on December 31, 1907, to welcome 1908. Newspaper publisher Adolph Ochs organized the event for the newly renamed Times Square, then called Longacre Square before The New York Times moved its headquarters there. The original ball weighed about 700 pounds and was made from iron and wood, with electric lamps providing its illumination.
The ceremony developed from the older maritime and observatory practice of dropping a time ball so people could synchronize clocks. The Times Square tradition was briefly interrupted during wartime blackout restrictions in 1942 and 1943, when midnight was observed without the usual illuminated ball. Its designs have changed dramatically, but the annual descent from One Times Square remains the central symbol of New York City’s public New Year celebration.