Times Square was called Longacre Square until 1904. The name changed after The New York Times chose the intersection of Broadway, Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street for a new headquarters; the newspaper moved into the completed building in January 1905. The first New Year’s Eve celebration there marked that building with fireworks, beginning a tradition that continued after the newspaper left.
The thirty-photo sequence below follows that transition. It begins with Longacre Square, separates the 1904 renaming from the 1905 move, and then uses early streetscape photographs to show how the district became a cultural and entertainment center. Dates and descriptions stay at the level supported by archive records; every reproduced image still needs its own creator, collection, item identifier, date range and rights statement.
Where Times Square is, and what it was called before 1904
Times Square occupies the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue at 42nd Street. New York Public Library author Cierra Bland describes it as “one of the most recognizable intersections in the world and, for many, a quintessential tourist destination” (NYPL, “Views from the Digital Collections: Times Square,” November 18, 2021).
That identity is relatively recent. Before 1904, the same area was known as Longacre Square. NYPL’s historical material emphasizes that its earlier character differed from the entertainment district associated with the name Times Square. A photograph made before the change should therefore be captioned Longacre Square, even if the modern reader recognizes the location immediately.
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The date distinction matters. The city renamed the intersection in 1904 after The New York Times selected the site for its tower. The newspaper did not move into the completed headquarters until January 1905. Treating those events as one date erases the short but important interval in which the new name existed before the newsroom occupied the building.
Thirty historical views, read in chronological order
Historical photographs are most useful when the caption tells readers what is documented and what is visible. The Library of Congress catalog includes Long Acre Square material dated around 1905, including a scene described with theaters, shops, hotels, pedestrians, trolleys and horse-drawn wagons. Those details belong to that cataloged scene; they should not automatically be assigned to every photograph in a gallery. The captions below keep that distinction clear.
1. Longacre Square before the renaming
This is the essential “before” image. Use the archive’s date or date range, but retain Longacre Square in the caption whenever the photograph predates 1904. The old name is not a minor label: it identifies the district before the newspaper and its tower altered the address’s meaning.
2. The Broadway–Seventh Avenue–42nd Street junction
Orient the viewer first. A caption that names all three streets explains why this location became a natural visual and transportation focus. If the camera angle is uncertain, describe the intersection without guessing which corner the photographer occupied.
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3. A streetscape from Longacre Square’s earlier phase
NYPL’s account presents the pre-1904 area as different from the later entertainment center. A dated view from this phase should be read for its overall urban character rather than forced into a later Times Square narrative.
4. The old name in archival records
Library of Congress records use both “Long Acre Square” and related historical forms. Preserve the spelling used by the specific catalog record, while explaining in surrounding text that Longacre Square was the pre-1904 name.
5. The approach to the future square
Photographs looking toward the intersection can establish scale and orientation even when the catalog supplies few architectural details. Identify only landmarks the item record or the image itself supports; do not infer a building name from a partial façade.
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6. A reminder that the district was not yet “Times Square”
This image belongs in the first group if its date is before 1904. The caption should resist anachronism: the modern name may help readers locate the scene, but it was not the address’s historical name at the time.
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7. The 1904 decision to rename the intersection
The seventh image marks the civic change. The Times Square Alliance’s history records that the city renamed the intersection in 1904 after The New York Times selected the site for its headquarters. A photograph from this year should be labeled 1904 unless the archive gives a narrower date.
8. The selected headquarters site
The newspaper’s decision to establish a tower at the prominent junction helped produce the new name. A site view can therefore be paired with an explanation of cause and sequence, without claiming that the photograph shows a particular construction stage unless its catalog says so.
9. The name enters public use
Renaming is a process visible through captions, maps, signs and newspaper references. If an image carries a contemporary “Times Square” label, preserve that wording and cite the item record; if not, do not add the name merely because the photograph was made in 1904.
10. Adolph S. Ochs’s contemporary explanation
Adolph S. Ochs, then owner and publisher of The New York Times, was quoted by the Times Square Alliance from the Syracuse Herald: “I am pleased to say that Times Square was named without any effort or suggestion on the part of The Times.” The quotation is useful context, but it should remain attributed rather than presented as an anonymous fact.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors11. The interval between renaming and occupancy
The city’s 1904 action and the newspaper’s move were separate events. A photograph dated late 1904 belongs to that interval: the place had the new name, while the headquarters story was still unfolding.
12. A new address taking shape
Use this number for a photograph whose record connects it to the headquarters project, but do not supply an unverified construction date. The reliable historical hinge is the year of renaming, not an assumed month or building milestone.
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13. January 1905: The Times moves in
The Alliance dates the move into the new headquarters to January 1905. This is the correct caption date for an image documented as showing the occupied building; it should not be collapsed into the 1904 renaming.
14. The completed headquarters as an urban marker
The headquarters gave the newly named square a distinctive reference point. Describe the tower or building only as far as the image and catalog support, and identify the newspaper connection in the historical text rather than guessing architectural details.
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The first Times Square New Year’s Eve event celebrated the new Times building and included a fireworks display. A photograph connected to that inaugural event should carry the archive’s exact date or date range; the tradition’s origin is the documented point.
16. Fireworks and the beginning of a tradition
The event did more than mark a single opening. The gathering became an ongoing New Year’s Eve tradition, even after The New York Times moved out. Keep the sequence in that order: building celebration first, continuation later.
17. A January 1905 headquarters view
This image should be captioned with “January 1905” only when the source record supports that month. Otherwise use the archive’s stated range and explain that the newspaper’s move occurred in January.
18. The square as a named destination
Once the newspaper occupied the building, “Times Square” referred to more than a proposed site. A dated photograph from this phase can show how a corporate address became a public point of reference without requiring an unsupported claim about visitor numbers.
19. The early-1905 street scene cataloged by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress records include Long Acre Square items dated around 1905. One catalog description identifies theaters, shops, hotels, pedestrians, trolleys and horse-drawn wagons. Those elements provide a precise period snapshot when they belong to that item’s record.
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20. Theaters in the frame
Theaters are among the features identified in the Library of Congress description. Read marquee lettering carefully and transcribe only what is legible or confirmed by the catalog; a blurry sign is not evidence for a theater name.
21. Shops along the square
Shops in an early-1905 view show the intersection as a working commercial district, not only a ceremonial newspaper address. Distinguish a storefront that is visible from a business name supplied by a catalog record.
22. Hotels and short-term movement
The same Library of Congress description includes hotels. Their presence helps explain why the area could support both daily commerce and visitors, but the photograph does not establish occupancy, prices or the size of the lodging market.
23. Pedestrians and the public realm
Pedestrians make scale legible. Describe them as people moving through the scene unless the source provides an event or crowd identification. No reliable population or attendance statistic is needed to make the visual point.
24. Trolleys and horse-drawn wagons together
The cataloged scene includes both trolleys and horse-drawn wagons, a useful reminder that early-20th-century Times Square combined electric street transport with older vehicles. Keep this observation tied to the specific Library of Congress item rather than generalizing it to every photograph.
25. From junction to cultural center
NYPL describes the area’s later shift toward a cultural and entertainment center. A later photograph should be compared with the Longacre Square images by date, visible landmarks, transport, advertising and theater signage—not by an assumed single “turning point.”
26. Advertising and theater signage
Signs reveal changing commercial language and entertainment emphasis. Record the exact wording only when the image or archive makes it secure; do not modernize a title or silently expand an abbreviation.
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27. Comparing vantage points
Two photographs can show different histories simply because they were taken from different corners or elevations. State the vantage point when documented, and use fixed features at 42nd Street, Broadway and Seventh Avenue to explain orientation.
28. The name after The Times leaves
The New Year’s Eve tradition continued after The New York Times moved out, demonstrating that the place-name had acquired an identity beyond the newspaper. A later image belongs in this sequence when its date and repository record are clear.
29. The archive behind a photograph
NYPL’s 2021 essay models a strong caption: photographer or creator, collection, item title or identifier, and the date or date range supplied by the archive. One example comes from the Morris Huberland Collection and includes a Digital Collections item ID. Replicate that level of specificity for each image rather than using a generic “vintage photo” label.
30. A documented endpoint for the visual history
End the gallery with the latest securely dated historical view in the chosen collection. Its role is comparative: readers should be able to see how Longacre Square became the named, heavily cultural and entertainment-oriented district associated with Times Square, while the caption remains faithful to the item record.
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Every photograph needs item-level verification. Record the creator, collection or repository, title or identifier, and the archive’s date or date range. Then describe only what the frame and catalog support: location, transport, signs, buildings or event context.
- Check whether the record says Longacre Square, Long Acre Square or Times Square, and retain the historical form appropriate to the date.
- Separate what is visible from what the catalog explains. A trolley identified in one Library of Congress record should not be added to an unrelated image.
- Review the repository’s reproduction and rights statement for every item. The existence of an archival scan does not establish blanket public-domain or licensing status for a thirty-image set.
- Keep uncertain dates as the archive gives them, such as “around 1905,” instead of converting a range into a precise day.
NYPL’s digital collections and Library of Congress catalog records are strong starting points for finding material, while the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission’s Times Square walking-tour guide places the district’s development—from Longacre Square to the present—within a landmark framework. A related reading choice is Ghosts of 42nd Street: A History of America’s Most Infamous Block; verify the current edition before listing it.
Why the timeline matters
The photographs do not show a place that became modern Times Square overnight. They document a sequence: an earlier Longacre Square, a 1904 civic renaming connected to a newspaper’s headquarters decision, a January 1905 move into that building, a fireworks-centered New Year’s Eve event, and a longer shift toward culture and entertainment. Reading each frame with its date, vantage point and archival metadata preserves that sequence—and keeps the visual history more reliable than a caption that simply calls every old street scene “Times Square.”
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