Times Square

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Times Square, which for many people came to symbolize New York and the Unites States in general has actually only existed under this name for barely a century. Before 1904, the busy intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue was known as Longacre Square. The new name, as it often happens in New York, came with a new building: in 1904 the New York Times built its 25-story tower here. In addition to giving the square its present name, the said tower is responsible for at least one enduring tradition - since the year when the tower opened, the site hosts annual New Year's eve celebrations.

Times Square was known as one of the seediest areas of the city throughout the 70's and 80's, but along with many other seedy places in Manhattan, it underwent a serious makeover (and critics say, a total loss of personality) in the 90's, overseen by the zealous then-mayor, Rudy Giuliani. Most peepshows, X-rated movie theaters and similar establishments were closed to be replaced by the billboards featuring smiling cartoon characters and other "family-friendly" commercial imagery.

Starting from 2000, the area is seeing another influx of white-collar workers - several large corporations, including Condé Nast and the NASDAQ stock market moved their offices here.

Although it plays an important 9-to-5 function, the square really comes alive at night, when hundreds of illuminated billboards, signs, electronic stock and news tickers, and other fluorescent devices lite up the entire area. Amid all this spectacular celebration of commerce, thousands of dazzled tourists, mixed with theater-goers roam the environs creating an impossible pedestrian traffic jam. For this reason, every sane New Yorker will avoid Times Square like plague most of the day and night.