Times Square, where you are now standing, is often called the crossroads of the world.  In the course of a year approximately 40 million people pass through Times Square.  Recently Times Square celebrated its 110th anniversary.  Previously called Longacre Square it received its current name in 1904 when the offices of the New York Times newspaper moved to a skyscraper, the Times Building, on 42nd street.  The same year the terminal station of the first metro line opened here.  Three weeks later at the corner of 46th Street and Broadway the first electrified advertisement appeared on the side of a bank.  From that time on, the glow of lights on Times Square has continued to increase even during the periods of the first and second World Wars.By the 1970s the square had become one of the most dangerous crime ridden regions of the city, well known for the many varied pornographic establishments, narcotic trade and frequent crime.  Twenty years later due to the work of the civil authorities and private organizations, the Square in fact underwent a second birth.  On New Years Eve now gather no less than a million people on Times Square in order to follow the descent of an enormous illuminated glass sphere down a flagpole; reaching the bottom at exactly midnight.After 8 o'clock in the evening theater goers begin to flock into the square.  Sell outs have become the norm for Broadway productions even though the cost of tickets is quite high.  But if you have a compelling desire to see one of these spectacles, drop into the small ticket office located at the intersection of Broadway and 47th Street.  At the ticket office you will see the identirying letters "tkts'.  The hottest tickets to all the spectacles in all the theaters are sold here.   Truthfully it is worth mentioning that you may have to stand in a long line and there is no guarantee that the there will be tickets available.Photo Times Square 2010 by Greg Knapp is licensed under CC BY 2.0