Times Square History

Dating back before the Revolutionary War the land belonged to John Morin Scott, who was a general of the New York State militia. When he owned the land it was considered the countryside and was used for farming and breeding Horses. 

In the first half of the 19^th century a man by the name of John Jacob Astor bought the land. He then started selling off lots as the city rapidly spread uptown.

In 1904 the New York Times moved their newspaper operations to 42^nd street, at the address One Times Square, which until then was called Longacre Square. The square was then renamed after the prominent newspaper, becoming Time Square. On top of the building sits the famous Time Square Ball which drops every New Year’s Eve. Within weeks the first electrified advertisement appeared. In that same year the city started construction on a subway station there. Although the paper sold the building to Allied Chemicals in 1913 the square kept its name Time Square. In this same year the Lincoln Highway Association chose Time Square as its Eastern Terminus – the first road to cross the United States and end in San Francisco, California.

Bibliography

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Times Square. 6 6, 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square (accessed 6 6, 2011).

Moon, Johnny. Times Square New York City. 2011. http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/207131/new_york_guide/times_square_new_york_city.html (accessed 6 6, 2011).

N/A. Time Square History. 6 6, 2011. http://www.nyctourist.com/times-square-history.php (accessed 6 6, 2011).