A Brief History of Times Square NYC – The Heart of New York City | Times Square Hotel

Your New York Hotel – The Paramount Hotel – sits in one of the most storied New York Neighborhoods, Times Square NYC. This lively epicenter of New York City has become a top New York Attraction for tourists Visiting New York, one that has hosted the Best of NYC and…

Travelers to New York City usually try to Visit Times Square, NYC’s thriving heart and hub of larger-than-life illuminated billboards and fun New York Activities. Times Square often seems like it has come straight out of an amusement park, and it is one of the top Tourist Attractions in New York. Times Square brings in thousands of Visitors to New York every day to enjoy a variety of New York Shopping Boutiques and NY Restaurants. Times Square wasn’t always the illuminated urban playground that it is today, however. This energy-filled New York Attraction has been everything from a small commercial district to a seedy night spot full of peep shows and sex shops, but from your New York Hotel – The Paramount Hotel - today you’ll see mostly family-friendly New York Attractions and clean, walkable pedestrian-friendly Streets in Times Square.

Times Square NYC is known across the globe as a symbol of the bustle of New York City. This lively commercial center is also known as “The Crossroads of the World,” and sits where 7th Avenue and 42nd Street meet, in the middle of Manhattan. When most New York City Travelers Visit Times Square, they are immediately awestruck by the towering neon signs and the almost whimsical nature of this New York City Neighborhood, which rivals only Las Vegas, Nevada for density of light “spectaculars” in one area.

Before you start roaming around Times Square from your Times Square Hotel, catch up on a Brief History of Times Square, and perhaps you’ll gain even more appreciation for this New York City Attraction, which speaks of the rise of New York City as the capital of everything BIG.

Times Square was formerly known as Longacre Square, and was renamed in April of 1904 after the New York Times moved their headquarters to the newly-built skyscraper in Times Square, The Times Building. Adolph S. Ochs, New York Times publisher at the time, persuaded then Mayor, George B. McClellan, to construct a subway station, which would stop at Times Square. Just about 3 weeks later, the first giant, lit-up advertisement was erected in Times Square, appearing on the side of a bank that sat on the corner of 46th Street and Broadway.

The New York Times moved to bigger offices in 1913, and their former headquarters turned into an Allied Chemical Building and then into One Times Square, which it is known as now. One Times Square hosts the Ball Drop in New Year’s Eve every year from it’s roof, as the entire country looks to New York City as the official place to “ring in of the New Year” in America.

Many memorable New York Events happened in 1913, in the History of Times Square. A this time, the Lincoln Highway Association chose 42nd Street and Broadway, at the southeast corner of Times Square, to be the Eastern Terminus for the Lincoln Highway. This 3,389-mile long highway spanned cross-country, from New York City to the Western Terminus in San Francisco, California.  In 1913, Times Square experienced a period of rapid growth, and became the center of Entertainment in New York City, complete with New York Theaters, New York City Music Halls, and an upscale New York Hotel or 2 or 3.

When you visit New York, choose Paramount Hotel - A Times Square Hotel located in the heart of Times Square.

Times Square was synonymous for hosting celebrities like Charlie Chaplin, Irvine Berlin, and Fred Estaire in the 1910’s and 1020’s. Given the moniker “The Tenderloin,” Times Square represented the most desirable area of Manhattan during these times, despite the prolific prostitution and gambling that took place there.

The Great Depression of the 1930’s saw Times Square fall into a decline, and Times Square was met with subsequent decades that are notable for ill-reputed businesses coming in like adult theaters and go-go-bars. Times Square also suffered the stigma of being a dangerous place to Visit in New York City during this period.

Midtown Manhattan’s business boom in the 80’s allowed Times Square to recover some of its heyday as a legitimate commercial center, with New York Office Buildings, New York City Retailers, and New York Hotels moving in. Mayor Giuliani’s efforts in the 1990’s to spruce up Times Square and make it safer for New York Visitors resulted in a tourist-friendly New York Attraction that is now a haven for great New York City Dining, New York Shopping, and Entertainment in New York. With an increase in security and an influx of established NYC Shops, Times Square is now a great place to Visit in New York when you want to explore fun New York Attractions from your Times Square Hotel. Many say that Times Square has lost some of its grit and character, however, and has become to “Disneyfied.”

The 90’s showed further Revitalization of Times Square, with the restoration of several historic New York City Theaters in Times Square. The number of gargantuan “Jumbotrons” and other light displays increased in the 1990’s, when a city ordinance passed that required all building owners to display illuminated signs. Some of the most notable Billboards in Times Square are the Coca-Cola, Toshiba, Samsung, and 7-story NASDAQ signs.

The Times Square Alliance brought in many improvement measures in 1992, which paved the way for New York Shops like Toys R Us to enter Times Square. Famous media corporations like ABC, which produces the Good Morning America show in Times Square, took the opportunity to mark their place in the History of Times Square during the 90’s. Now, you’ll find multiplex Movie Theaters in Times Square, New York Financial Institutions, NY Publishers, and fine New York Restaurants like Carmines, all of which enjoy a large and steady presence in Times Square.

In 2003, the entire New York District of Times Square went black for 2 days, due to the 2003 Northeastern Blackout, and December of 2008 welcomed the first environmentally-friendly lighted advertisement in Times Square, which is still powered today by solar and wind energy.

Government officials wanted to make Times Square more New York Visitor-friendly, so the streets from Broadway to 42nd were de-mapped and stripped of cars in 2009. Times Square became a place for New York Travelers to stroll pedestrian walking areas and plazas, complete with sitting and gathering spaces. If you’re exploring Times Square from your New York Hotel, take note that Times Square is officially “smoke-free” from within 50 feet of the entire district.

About Paramount Hotel – A New York Hotel
The Paramount Hotel is unrivaled for combining style, comfort, and affordability in the most popular part of New York City. Having been part of the New York scene since the late 1920s, Paramount Hotel sits in the middle of Times Square, close to all things Manhattan – from the Broadway Theater District, Empire State Building, and neighborhoods of Greenwich Village and SoHo to Central Park, Rockefeller Center, and Madison Avenue.

Visiting New York? Choose Paramount Hotel - A New York Hotel located near Times Square, Javits Center, Madison Square Garden and Rockefeller Center.