What do people wish for? Good health, good fortune. A job, any job. To see a certain someone or a place they miss. Love. Healing. Ryan Gosling. Someone to kiss when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. How does one make a wish when the clock strikes to mark that once-in-525,600-minutes moment? Times Square is the iconic place to be, but we don’t recommend getting penned inside the gates on the plaza’s most crowded day of the year. The best way to make express your aspirations in Times Square is to visit before New Year’s Eve. Yes, in the same city where it is sometimes impossible to make advance reservations or travel plans, it is possible to make advance wishes.
With about 10 days left to make your wish (or two), head past the hustle and bustle and straight to the Times Square Museum & Visitor Center (formerly the Embassy Theater, the world’s first newsreel theater). There, you will not only find the Waterford crystal ball that debuted in 2007, but also a Wishing Wall. Write your dream for 2014 on a piece of confetti and display it on the Wishing Wall, or stash it for your eyes only in the wish box. All of the wish-filled confetti will be collected and scattered to release across Times Square when the clock strikes midnight and the Ball drops.
To avoid the masses, exit from the 49th Street N/R train stop, or walk along 6th Avenue until 47th Street. You’ll be surprised to find that the museum isn’t nearly as packed as the main street attraction — and is open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Whether your New Year’s Eve tradition is to bang pots and pans to scare away evil spirits, nibble black-eyed peas, or eat 12 grapes with every bell that chimes, this is a new tradition that is certainly worth visiting. And if you happen to be standing in Times Square when the confetti falls, look to see if can catch someone’s wish. Perhaps you’ll be able to make it come true! Happy 2014 from all of us. As one year ends, here’s to a BEGINNING state of mind! Times Square Museum and Visitor Center 1560 Broadway; Entrance at 7th Ave between 46th and 47th Streets. Open 7 days a Week, 8am - 8pm 212-452-5283
Leave a comment