Eve of the New Year

The iconic event of this holiday for many Americans is the dropping of the mega-ball in Times Square. Do you have any idea how long this has been going on? On December 31, 1907 over 200,000 revelers witnessed the original descent of the electric ball from the Times Tower. It was a huge hit! The crowd's noisy approval could be heard in Shropshire. Well, maybe not, but I'm sure it was very loud. The previous 3 years Adolph Ochs, owner and publisher of the Times, shot off fireworks from the Tower. From the base of the Tower. In the middle of New York City. At the Turn of the Century. Miraculously, the city didn't burn down to a teensy pile of ashes, and we can thank the Mother of Invention for the existence of the New Year's Ball. Read all this and much more in:
The Devil's playground : a century of pleasure and profit in Times Square