The New York Times helped start the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square through a 1904 promotion for its new headquarters.
The newspaper moved into the Times Building, now One Times Square, in 1904. To celebrate the opening, it organized a New Year's Eve party featuring fireworks at the building's roof. The spectacle drew a large crowd and established the area as a major site for the city's year-end celebration.
Fireworks were later replaced by the ball drop in 1907 because city officials would not continue permitting the pyrotechnic display. The ball became a safer and more repeatable symbol for the countdown.
The district was previously called Longacre Square. It was renamed Times Square after The New York Times moved there, so the newspaper's role affected both the place name and the celebration's early history.