1968-1969 Celebration

A 35mm shot taken during the celebration.

The 1968-1969 Celebration was the 65th New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square which began on late Tuesday night, December 31st, 1968. In this event, the 60th ball drop took place. The annual New Year's Eve ball rested atop the Allied Chemical Tower until roughly 60 seconds before midnight, when it descended to signal the arrival of 1969. As the ball touched the bottom, a sign reading '1969' lighted as the signal that the new year was there. Another signification was the gargantuan strip of numerals that lighted facing north on the building at 12:00 a.m. as had been done since the 1965-1966 Celebration.

## Summary

The ball was raised above the tower's flagpole at 6 pm. There were around 300,000 revelers that showed up for this festivity, which would be slightly less than average for the time of this event. This was due to the rain that fell on New York City that night. The mayor of New York City joined the celebration once again, with his usual animated message on a screen on the east side of Times Square, it read: "As mayor, I join my fellow New Yorkers in extending to you best wishes for peace, happiness, and prosperity in 1969." This would be the first Times Square New Year's Eve celebration that the Hotel Astor did not stand. It was torn down during 1968.

This celebration marked the return of the top sign, last used for the 1964-1965 Celebration. It was originally discontinued during the 1965-1966 Celebration and replaced with the 'side numerals', the strip of light located at the north face of the newly-constructed Allied Chemical Tower. This new variation of the top sign had one, blue border around it, and used a different font compared to its last usage during New Year's Eve 1964.

## Coverage

### Television

This New Year's Eve celebration from Times Square was televised in color by several networks. These included NBC.

A New Year's Eve Party with Guy Lombardo, produced by ABC Films, aired in syndication for the fourth year. The annual musical show featured the festivities and ball drop in Times Square and the celebration just east of Times Square at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The program was sponsored by Allied Chemical and went from 11:30 PM to 1 AM in the morning. John Schubeck narrated the scenes in Times Square from his vantage point on the 11th floor balcony of the Hotel Claridge and as midnight drew near, Guy Lombardo counted down the last seconds of 1968.

NBC aired The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The program had brief, live Times Square inserts at 11:40 pm, 11:55 pm, 11:58 pm (which featured the ball drop), and finally at 12:02 AM. Ben Grauer, originating from the Hotel Claridge, provided commentary.

Local New York television station WOR-9 also provided Times Square coverage on its “Countdown with Basie” TV special. The program had musical performances from Count Basie and his Orchestra live from the Riverboat in the Empire State Building, as well as other musical performers such as Jay and the Americans from the Playboy Club. The special lasted two hours, from 11 PM to 1 AM in the morning. Jim Lowe was the announcer for the special, and narrated the Times Square scenes.

Unlike in previous years, CBS did not provide any Times Square coverage on December 31, 1968.

An advertisement for the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, December 31, 1968.Newspaper spot promoting Guy Lombardo's New Years' Eve show, broadcasted on WAKR-TV Channel 23 Akron, Ohio (now WVPX-TV), December 31, 1968.Advertisement for WOR-9's TV Special, "Countdown with Basie", December 31, 1968.

### Radio

NBC Radio broadcasted the festivities from Times Square on their All-Star Parade of Bands program, a radio program with live band remotes from across the country. The musical program had a brief cut to Times Square at 11:30 pm with newsman Jim Harriott and announcer Ben Grauer describing the crowd from the 4th floor of the Hotel Claridge. The program returned to Times Square at 11:55 pm where Jim Harriott gave a description of the festivities and by 11:59 pm, the radio switched over to Ben Grauer simulcasting on NBC Network. It then switched back to Jim Harriott nearly a minute after the new year came in.

## Trivia

* During the ball's descent, some lightbulbs had gone out and were not lighted. It is believed the cause of this error was due to a circuit failure.

## Gallery

35 mm shot of the celebration.A New York Times image.Press photo.The crowd looks up as they anticipate the arrival of 1969.The ball slowly descends.A capture from a news film clip. Ball begins to descend.Capture from film clip. Sign lights up.Capture from film clip. Side numerals read "1-9-6-9".Times Square nearly 24 hours after the conclusion of the celebrations.

## Media

* NBC Radio Coverage
* Raw Film Footage of the Event
* 8mm Home Movie Footage of Guy Lombardo's Program