The New Year’s Eve ball-drop at Times Square has been a national tradition since 1907, but it’s not the first form of celebration of the occasion. How did Adolph Ochs and company celebrate the festive occasion before that?
A – With an extravagant fireworks display.
B – With a grand ball held on the street, and an orchestra conducted by Walter Damrosch.
C – With an all-night sale; all the stores in Times Square were open 24 hours.
D – With a parade of paperboys, throwing free newspapers to the crowds.
Answer
A – Fireworks, which had been the mode of celebrating the holiday in Knoxville, was the first big celebration of the new year in New York, too, ca. 1904, until city authorities banned them due to the fire hazard (by that time, Christmas holiday fireworks had been blamed for the destruction of major buildings here in Knoxville). The 1907 celebration focused on a much quieter, safer icon, the electrically illuminated ball.
