My Story: As Told by the Times Square Ball

NEW YORK CITY -- The Times Square Ball has seen it all in the past 115 years, debuting on New Year's Eve 1907, just three years after midtown's Longacre Square was renamed for the New York Times, which had just moved to the neighborhood.

The tradition has outlasted 21 presidents, presided over the creation of 36 subway lines, and witnessed two world wars and two pandemics. With the exception of 1942 and 1943, when a citywide dimout during World War II preempted the drop, the Ball has kept revelers company for one, glorious minute each and every New Year's Eve since its birth shortly after the turn of the 20th century.

This year, Localish got up close and personal with the Times Square Ball for a tale that could only be told in its own words. In this exclusive origin story, New York City's brightest star tells us what it's like to command the gaze of the universe for one scintillating moment.