http://www.timessquarenyc.org/visitor-tips/history/index.aspx#.V1I3X-n9S0c

http://www.britannica.com/topic/Times-Square

• Time Square was known as long Acre square and consisted of lots of open space and drab apartments in the late 1880s and had an unsavory reputation as the center of illicit activity in the 1890s.
• The square was renamed in 1904 for The New York Times which moved their new offices in the Times Tower on the square.
• Time Square is known as the center of the theatre district and the most famous entertainment district in the country.
• It is famous for its bright electric signage and advertising. Especially after the introducing neon signs in the 1920s.
• There is a large station for the newly constructed subway and the square’s central location earned itself the nickname ”Crossroads of the World”.
• Adolph S. Ochs(owner and publisher of the New York Times from 1896 to 1935) staged the first event to commemorate the new skyscraper building which became a tradition that continues today: The New Year’s Eve Spectacular.
• The Coca-Cola sign , Paramount Building, Disney store, Theatre district , M&M’s World, Times Square Studios, and New York Times Tower are some notable landmarks in the times square.
• Times Square changed from a place of illicit activities to a place known for its commerce value and center of theatre district through the process of rapid development of the city. The new skyscrapers rising in the Times Square and these neon advertisement signs changed the Times Square’s reputation through decades.
• Times Square is famous for the moment that the huge glass ball down its flagpole at midnight on New Year’s Eve to mark the occasion.
• Times square now serves as a place of entertainment and where tourists sightseeing and shoping as well as a landmark of the New York City.