22 photos that show the evolution of New York City's Times Square ball drop

Revelers wending their way in New York's Times Square to ring in the New Year on January 1, 1942.AP

Every year, over a million people pack into New York City's Times Square to revel in the new year.

2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the ball drop — the tradition of watching a glowing sphere that slides down a pole until midnight.

Let's take a look at how the celebration has evolved over the past century.

Since the tradition began in 1904, New York's New Year's Eve celebration has been one of the world's largest. The first celebration had about 200,000 attendees.

In the early years, crowds gathered at Wall Street's Trinity Church to listen to church bells at midnight before the Times Square festivity became more popular.

New York had its first ball drop in 1907 after the city banned fireworks. The 700-pound ball had 100 bulbs, was made of iron and wood, and appeared every year until 1920.

New Year's Eve in Times Square in New York City, circa 1940s.YouTube/Screenshot

Over the next few decades, the number of spectators swelled. This was the crowd on December 31, 1941.

When the US entered World War II, the fire department started ramping up security. Because of wartime blackouts, 1942 and 1943 were the only two years without ball drops.

New York's fire department in Times Square on December 31, 1941.

Nevertheless, an estimated half million turned out to Times Square in 1942. At midnight, there was a moment of silence and then a ringing of church bells.

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