NEW YORK—One Times Square, home of the iconic New Year’s Eve Ball, recently announced the opening of Times Travel, a multi-sensory, experiential journey through the history of Times Square and New Year’s Eve Ball drop. SNA Displays, the only LED display manufacturer headquartered in Times Square, provided an array of direct-view LED throughout the experience. The display builder also recently upgraded the site’s exterior video network.
Two highlights of the new video network include the basement-level exhibit Cellar Crystal Core as well as the Decades of Change exhibit. The Cellar Crystal Core exhibit sports 142 linear feet of LED video walls that line a path and take visitors on an experiential journey through time. The BRILLIANT™ Interior dvLEDs snake through the space in concave and convex curves and feature a tight 1.5 mm pixel pitch for crystal clarity.
For Decades of Change, a 50-foot-long concave video screen, also featuring a 1.5 mm pitch, envelopes the room and provides an immersive “taxi cab” view throughout the history of Times Square.
“Times Travel is an extremely elaborate interactive experience that will be a huge hit both with tourists and New Yorkers alike,” said Pete Simon, New York City-based sales director for SNA Displays. “We’re thrilled to see our technology integrated to create a dynamic history of one of the world’s most famous landmarks. Having recently worked with Jamestown to upgrade iconic building’s exterior, the new-and-improved One Times Square represents SNA Displays’ deep connection to the Big Apple, from top to bottom, inside and out.”
The immersive Times Travel exhibits that transport visitors back to centuries of Times Square history through interactive storytelling include:
- Cellar Crystal Core: Through a captivating blend of motion-activated photo portals and virtual storytelling, guests access the “memories” of One Times Square in a way that bridges the past and present, while walking a path lined with LED video.
- Times Machine: Board the “Times Machine,” a tech-enabled glass elevator that allows visitors to take in centuries of Times Square history in seconds.
- Building One Times Square: Experience the construction of One Times Square as the headquarters of The New York Times through the eyes of its then-owner, Adolph Ochs, and the workers who made it the tallest structure in New York when it was completed in 1904.
- An Airship Above Manhattan: Fly through 1930s Manhattan to view bridges and the seaport as they existed almost 100 years ago.
- Decades of Change: Board a virtual taxicab that zips up Broadway in an adventure through history, passing old Broadway theaters, marquee signs, and other scenes and sounds from historic events that changed the neighborhood.
- Eternal Midnight: Visitors experience the iconic New Year’s Eve Ball drop from two unique perspectives: among revelers from the past century as they ring in the New Year and from a virtual zipline through Times Square as the clock counts down to midnight. Past New Year’s Eve Balls, including a replica of the original 1907 Ball and the most recently retired “Big Ball” that rang in the new year from 2008-2025, will be on display for guests to observe and photograph.
The experience concludes on the Times Square Skywalk, offering a one-of-a-kind vantage point over the Crossroads of the World.
“One Times Square is transforming the iconic New Year’s Eve Ball into a quintessential New York destination where visitors can celebrate every day, discover the history of the neighborhood, and experience the energy of Times Square in a new way,” said Michael Phillips, President of Jamestown, owner and operator of One Times Square and creator of Times Travel. “Times Travel is a cornerstone of that vision because there is no better place to tell the story of Times Square than One Times Square itself.”
SNA Displays manufactured and supplied more than 2,700 square feet of video hardware throughout the Times Travel interactive museum. The indoor dvLEDs sport pixel pitches ranging from 1.5 mm to 6 mm, and the combined display network processes more than 86 million pixels.
Experience design firm Roto provided design consultation services. SNA Displays and AMA Signs performed installation services. Elevate is the property’s operating partner and exclusive brand partnerships agency.
Tickets for the Times Travel experience at One Times Square can be purchased at onetimessquare.com. Learn more about the Times Travel video network at SNA Displays’ Times Travel portfolio.
About SNA Displays
SNA Displays is a leading LED video display manufacturer across several market sectors including sports and live-event venues, out-of-home (OOH), commercial real estate, retail environments, museums and commissioned digital art, workplaces, new construction, and many others. With a focus on quality, technological and construction expertise, and dependable service, SNA Displays has worked alongside technology partners to design and build some of the largest and most recognizable LED video installations in the world. Discover how SNA Displays builds big on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Vimeo, or visit us at snadisplays.com.
About Roto
Roto is a premier experience design and production firm serving the museum, aquarium, zoo, and cultural attraction markets. Organized into a dynamic network of multidisciplinary design and technology studios, we thrive on creating bespoke environments that foster genuine human connections through nature, play, creativity, science, and multisensory immersion. Learn more at roto.com.
About One Times Square
One Times Square is a 26-story building located at the intersection of 42nd Street, Seventh Avenue, and Broadway in the heart of Times Square. Originally built as the headquarters for the New York Times at the turn of the 20th century, the building is being reimagined as a modern-day destination for entertainment, technology, history, and art. The building has served as the focal point for the iconic Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball Drop Celebration since 1907 and continues to play a central role in the world’s New Year’s Eve traditions. For more information, visit onetimessquare.com.
