# Times Square–42nd St

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**Borough:** Manhattan  
**URL:** https://standing-on-history.com/times-square

The crossroads of the world extends underground.

## 1. The station predates the name "Times Square."

This station helped rename the neighborhood. Before the subway arrived in 1904, this area was called Longacre Square. When the New York Times moved in, the city renamed the plaza—and the brand-new station—with it.

**Why it matters:** The subway helped define the identity of one of the world's most famous intersections.

**Source:** "RAPID TRANSIT BOARD'S NEW SUBWAY PLANS; Metropolitan's Route, with Surface Transfers, Is Favored. WILL HOLD PUBLIC HEARING Subway Station at Broadway and 42d St. to Be Known as "Times Station"." New York Times, 29 Apr. 1904.

## 2. You could once check into a hotel right from this platform.

This station had private exits to both the Knickerbocker Hotel and the New York Times building. In 2021, the old Knickerbocker sign was brought back—replicating a hidden piece of subway glamour.

**Why it matters:** The station once served as a private gateway to luxury — a connection most riders never knew existed.

**Source:** Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York by New York (State). Public Service Commission. First District - Books on Google Play, New York State, play.google.com/store/books/details?id=0fBLAQAAMAAJ&rdid=book-0fBLAQAAMAAJ&rdot=1. Accessed 12 July 2025.

## 3. More people pass through here than anywhere else in the subway.

Times Square has been the system's busiest station since 1923—a nonstop crossroads of New Yorkers, commuters, and visitors for over a century.

**Why it matters:** For over a hundred years, no station has matched this one's daily human current.

**Source:** "TIMES SQUARE GAINS AS TRANSIT CENTRE; Outstrips All Subway Stations With 65,557,667 Fares Collected on Two Lines in Year." New York Times, 15 Nov. 1925, p. 1.

## 4. The Times Square Shuttle runs right beneath the New Year's Ball Drop.

Its tracks pass directly under the New Year's Eve countdown and the old New York Times building—the institution that gave Times Square its name.

**Why it matters:** Every New Year's Eve, millions celebrate with confetti. Below, the shuttle glides under the spotlight.

**Source:** OpenRailwayMap, openrailwaymap.org/. Accessed 16 June 2025.