After years of marking the New Year’s Eve countdown, the iconic Times Square ball has made its final descent, signaling both the start of 2025 and the end of an era. The glittering sphere, which has been watched by millions each year, is retiring to become part of a new immersive exhibit, joining its predecessors as a piece of history.
On Wednesday, Jan. 15, crowds formed in Times Square to witness the ball’s final 139-foot drop, not to mark a new year but to make room for a new iteration.
“These balls have helped us take time and ring in the New Year throughout all of our lifetimes,” said Michael Phillips, president of Jamestown, the real estate firm that owns One Times Square. “Many of our memories are embedded in this.”
The Times Square ball’s retirement marks the end of a chapter. The ball has seen a number of iterations, from the first wooden version, weighing 700 pounds in 1907, to the current version, a six-ton sphere outfitted with Waterford crystals.
After lighting up the skies over Times Square for nearly two decades, the ball will join other historic versions in a new exhibit set to open this fall.
The new exhibit will allow visitors to explore the evolution of the Times Square ball. Organizers are planning to deliver an immersive experience to a tradition that has marked the passage of time for over a century.