Instant Cities: New York

New York › Places and landmarks

Times Square

The crossing of Broadway and Seventh Avenue, under walls of lit screens, at the heart of the Theater District.

See it in 3D Watch the tour

Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Times Square was Longacre Square, a place of horse dealers and carriage makers, until The New York Times built its tower here and the city renamed the square after it in 1904. Since then the screens and neon signs have grown until they cover every wall, and they stay on day and night.

Round it lie the Broadway theatres. Since 2009 the stretch of Broadway through the square has been closed to cars, and people sit on red steps over the TKTS booth to watch the crowd. On New Year’s Eve about a million people gather to see the ball drop from One Times Square at midnight, a custom that goes back to 1907. Visit it in 3D ›

More in New York

Empire State BuildingThe Art Deco tower on Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, the tallest building in the world from 1931 to 1970. Chrysler BuildingThe Art Deco tower on 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, with a crown of steel arches and a needle on top. Grand Central TerminalThe great railway station on 42nd Street, with its hall under a ceiling of stars and its clock of opal. New York Public LibraryThe marble library on Fifth Avenue, guarded by the two stone lions Patience and Fortitude. Rockefeller CenterThe Art Deco towers between Fifth and Sixth Avenue, with the golden Prometheus, the skating rink and the Christmas tree. Bryant ParkThe green lawn behind the Public Library, with its plane trees, its green chairs and in winter its ice rink. St. Patrick’s CathedralThe Gothic cathedral of white marble on Fifth Avenue, facing Rockefeller Center. Macy’s Herald SquareOne of the largest department stores in the world, on 34th Street, where the Thanksgiving Day Parade ends. Statue of LibertyThe copper statue in the harbour, a gift from France, that greeted the ships of the immigrants. Central ParkThe great park in the middle of Manhattan, four kilometres long, just north of the game’s map. Yellow cabsThe yellow taxis of New York, which you hail from the kerb with a raised hand. New York pizzaThe big, thin pizza sold by the slice, to be folded in half and eaten on the street.