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ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — On December 31, 1904, New York City’s Times Square hosted its first ever New Year’s Eve celebration.

Along with ringing in the new year, the 1904 celebration marked the official opening of the new headquarters for the New York Times — a towering building on a triangle lot at the intersection of 7th Avenue, Broadway and 42nd Street.

Leaders hosted an all-day street festival to celebrate the new building, and the festivities ended with a fireworks show.

Over 200,000 people were in attendance on that first New Year’s Eve party in Times Square. Now, an estimated million people go in-person to Times Square to watch the ball drop on New Year’s Eve and about a billion people watch it globally on TV.

If you would like to see the ball drop this year, the celebration in New York City will be available to watch on ABC.

Happy New Year!

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