The first official Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York City took place in 1907.
The event was organized for the celebration welcoming 1908. The illuminated ball was lowered from the flagpole atop the headquarters of The New York Times, the newspaper that had helped give the area its name after moving there in 1904. The newspaper’s earlier New Year celebration had used fireworks, but city authorities later prohibited fireworks at the site.
The original ball was made of iron and wood, measured about five feet in diameter, and was lit by 100 light bulbs. It weighed roughly 700 pounds. Its descent created a dramatic visual countdown, even though the modern digital displays and tightly choreographed ceremony did not yet exist.
There were no official drops in 1942 or 1943 because wartime blackout rules required the lights to be extinguished. The tradition later resumed and has continued with several larger, brighter ball designs.