In the early 1900s, a stretch of Broadway near 42nd Street in New York City was called Longacre Square. It was known for horse stables and carriage shops. Then, in 1904, the New York Times newspaper built a brand-new headquarters there. The building used electric lights on its outside walls. On April 8, 1904, the city officially renamed the area Times Square. The renaming changed everything. The New York Times hosted the first New Year's Eve celebration there in 1904. Thousands of people gathered to watch fireworks. A few years later, the paper began lowering a lighted ball at midnight. That tradition continues to this day. The bright electric signs that advertisers placed on buildings turned the area into something the world had never seen before. A place where nighttime looked almost as bright as daytime. By the 1920s, Times Square had become the center of New York's theater district. Dozens of stages were packed into a few blocks. Tourists and performers came from every continent. Today, about 330,000 people pass through Times Square every day.