Time Square Jigsaw Puzzle

Hi Puzzlers,



Time Square Jigsaw Pauzzle Item #922



Today my thoughts turn toward big cities. You know the ones that all you have to do is say the name and people from around the country and across the globe know where you are talking about. If the city of Tokyo gets mentioned, everyone knows it is in Japan. How about Milan? You guessed it, Italy. If something happens in Boston and it makes the news and we all know that city is in Massachusetts. How about Chicago? Bingo! It is Illinois. But alas, not all cities have this distinction. Take for example the lovely city of Concord. Some folks who live in New England may have correctly guessed I was referring to New Hampshire’s capital city, but for those of you living in other parts of the country the name Concord would have held little significance. New York City on the other hand is quickly recognizable, but what makes it unusual is, it’s a double header. Not only does its name make it instantly recognizable but it has an inner layer that also serves to make it a distinction within itself and that is Time Square.

Time Square is located in central Manhattan at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue. It is a vast intermingling of commerce, art and life; shared by locals and tourist, performers and spectators. Time Square is home to the American news and the modern American culture. Behind each building and down every street is vast rich history showcasing America at its best and at its worst.

In the beginning the Square was called Longacre Square. It was originally built and developed with a few brownstones for a new “uptown” neighborhood. Once the area was developed people flocked to it in droves, bringing with them pickpockets, streetwalkers and brothels. It wouldn’t be long before the Square was known as a red-light district.

Oscar Hammerstein I, motivated by a desire to rekindle an interest in Opera, moved into the Square in1895 and developed a large entertainment complex called the Olympia. The complex featured three theaters and consumed a full block on 42nd Street. Other theaters, along with the vaudeville circuit quickly followed and the area became known as the Great White Way, based on the famous lights of Broadway.

In 1904, Albert Ochs, owner of The New York Times, decides to move the newspaper headquarters to a newly built sky scraper in Longacre Square. To celebrate the move and the cities approval to rename the Square; Ochs decides to host a New Year's Eve celebration. Albert wants the celebration to be the grandest of any ever seen and spares no expense. The celebration began with an all- day festival followed by a gigantic fireworks display set off at midnight to a cheering crowd of 200,000 people. Reports state that noise from the rattles, cheering and noisemaker could be heard as far as thirty miles away!

In 1907 the city restricts the fireworks display which forces Albert into designing another grand finale for his annual New Year’s Eve celebration. Ochs decides to have an illuminated seven-hundred-pound iron and wood ball lowered from the tower flagpole at midnight to usher in the New Year. Since its inception in 1907 the ball drop ceremony has become a televised, worldwide-celebration that attracts millions of people from around the globe. Now that’s what I call a double header!

Happy Puzzling!