Times Square Ball on New Year's Eve in New York City (© Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Demotix/Corbis)
【December 31 2014】Hundreds of thousands of people will stand in Times Square tonight to welcome the new year by watching this ball descend. How did this odd tradition start? New York Times owner Alfred Ochs had already convinced city officials to rename Longacre Square "Times Square" for the newspaper's new headquarters there. In 1904, he decided to organize a New Year's Eve celebration to show off the paper's fancy new digs. The street party was a hit and Times Square has been thronged with celebrants on New Year's Eve ever since. When fireworks displays were banned in 1907, the iconic ball made its debut.Explore breathtaking Gallery from the HuluTrip homepage over the past 5 years..
