JessicaSellitto

GregColes
English137H
12October2015
NewYorkCityisthehomeofamultitudeofmonuments,museums,statues,
landmarksandothericonicplacesthatattractmillionsoftouristseachyear.Someare
recognizabletopeopleallovertheworld.Somereflectaspecialpersonalmeaningto
thosewhovisitthem.BothTimesSquareandEllisIslandaretwoofthoseplacesthatare
exploredbyforeignersandNewYorkersalike,eachrepresentingauniqueaspectofthe
humanexperience.EachyearonNewYearsEve,TimesSquareattractsnearlyamillion
peopletowatchtheballdescendasitusherinthehopesofanewyear.Theballis12feet
indiameter,weighs11,875poundsandiscoveredin2,688WaterfordCrystaltriangles.It
isilluminatedby32,256LEDsandiscapableofcreatingapaletteofmorethan16
millioncolors(TimesSquareAlliance,2015).Incontrast,theAmericanImmigrantWall
ofHonoronEllisIslandisapermanentexhibitofindividualorfamilynamesandis
spectacularinanotherway.ItistheonlyplaceintheUnitedStateswhereanindividual
canhonorhisorherfamilyheritageataNationalMonumentasitiscurrentlyinscribed
withover700,000namesandisopentoallentriesofnewnames(TheStatueofLiberty
EllisIslandFoundation,2015).TheNewYearsBallinTimesSquareandtheAmerican
ImmigrantWallofHonoronEllisIslandbothattractpeoplefromallovertheworld,yet
theeventsthatdrawpeopletothemresonateinverydifferentways.Whilebothofthese
artifactsandtheeventstheyrepresentshareacommoncharacteristicofservingasafocal
pointformillionsofdiversepeoplefromallcornersoftheglobe,themannerinwhich
theyareinternalizedascivicartifactsisvastlydifferent.TheNewYearsBallframes

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unityinafreneticandsomewhatimpersonalwayasmillionsofpeoplegathertogetherin
afestiveatmospheretolooktowardthefuture.TheAmericanImmigrantWallofHonor,
ontheotherhand,representshowwe,asindividuals,areconnectedtothepastand
thereforeareremindedofourplaceandidentityintheworld.
TheNewYearsBallhasbeenredesignedthroughouttime,butnowislocated
atopOneTimesSquarewhereitsitspermanentlysinceitsunveilingin2008.Ittook
WaterfordCrystalsayeartobuildthemostrecentballthatistheonlyfinecrystal
outdoorinstallationanywhereintheworld.AWaterfordCrystalornamentcosts$1,000,
soitisofnosurprisethattheNewYearsBallitselfisvaluedatover$2million.The
AmericanImmigrantWallofHonor,liketheNewYearsBall,isinitsownway,ashiny
representationofthehumanexperience.Thewall,however,isnotmadeofexpensive
crystalsbutratheritspanelswereforgedfromcopperandarenow4feethighandmade
ofsteel.Paperreproductionsofeachwallpanelcanbepurchasedfor$30.00perpanel
(Moslund,2015).Purchasingapaperreproductionoranornamentdemonstrateshow
peopledesiretokeephistoryalive.Thereareothersignificantdifferencesbetweenthese
twoiconicartifacts.Althoughboththewallandtheballaretouristattractions,theyare
accessibletothepublicinverydifferentways.Taxis,busesandthesubwaysystemcan
takepeoplestraighttoTimesSquare.Similarly,whilepeoplehavetotakeaferrytogetto
EllisIsland,therearealsoseveraltaxi,busandsubwayservicesthattakepeoplerightto
thedockfortheferry.Whilebothlocationsarerelativelyeasytoaccess,thereisastark
contrastinhoweachartifactcanbereached.TheNewYearsBallisextravagantly
decoratedwithahighmonetaryvaluewhilethewall,althoughbeautifulinitsownway,

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isnot.Sittingatopa400footbuilding,theballlooksdownuponliterallyhundredsof
thousandsofpeople,inasingularevent,creatingaspectacleofnoise,colors,lightsand
celebration.Incontrast,thewallismoreaccessibleintermsofitscomponentsand
location,somethingthatcanbetouched,thatisinclosephysicalproximity,creatinga
personal,lessextravagantcommunion.
AmajorreasonthattheeventofNewYearsEveislesspersonalisits
accessibilityinthemedia.OveronehundredmillionpeoplejustintheU.S.andabillion
peopleworldwideturntheirtelevisionsontowatchoneofthe275broadcastersthatcarry
theevent.Since1904,OneTimesSquarehasbeenatthecenterofworldwideattention
onNewYearsEve.Today,NewYearsEveinTimesSquareisoneofthemost
recognizedandtelevisedglobalentertainmentevents(CountdownEntertainment,2014).
Eachtelevisionnetworkadvertisestheeventthroughtheuseofcelebrities,appealingto
thepublicscravingforentertainment.TheWallofHonor,incontrast,isnotapublicized,
globallywellknownartifact.Whilethelackofadvertisementdoesnotdiminishits
importance,thewallisnotsomethingthatwouldbepromotedbynearly300television
broadcastersandamillionpeoplewouldnotandcouldnotgotoEllisIslandonthesame
day.Asaresult,whilevisitingTimesSquareonNewYearsEvehasbeentransformed
intoanextravaganzathroughthemediaandadvertisements,visitingthewallisamore
contemplative,simpleexperience.Thewallismoreaccessibletothepeopleasvisitors
canactuallytouchandexploreit.ItiscoveredinnamesofpeoplewhocametoAmerica,
theancestorstoallofus.Thewallthereforeencouragesustohonorourpastandtofeela
senseofunityandpridewiththosewhocamebeforeusandchosetoaccomplishtheir

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goalsinAmerica.TheNewYearsBallisabeaconforcelebrationaswelookintoallour
hopes,dreamsandaspirations.
Inadditiontohowweexperienceeachartifact,themannerbywhichwe
internalizeandthereforeprocessitsmeaningalsovaries.WhenpeopleseetheNew
YearsBallandcometoTimesSquaretocelebrate,theyfocusonthefuture.The
traditionofNewYearResolutionsdemonstrateshowwevaluebeingabletosetgoals
forourselves.Together,peopleuniteinTimesSquareandcountdownfromtenwiththe
hopeofnewandbetterthingstocomeinthefollowingyear.Thevoicesofthemillionsof
peoplecountingdownfromtentogetherhaveaunifyingimpactaswecollectivelylookto
thefuture.Thisblendingofpeoplefromvariouscountrieswhospeakamultitudeof
languagesremindsusthatweareadiversegroupofpeoplewhocometogetherto
celebratethenewyear,evokingfeelingsofpride,unity,hopeandhappiness.The
experienceofwatchingtheballdemandsacommunity,meaningitisbestexperiencedin
agroup.Thissenseofunity,however,sometimesmakesitimpersonal.Sinceovera
millionpeoplepackthestreetsofTimesSquare,therearemanyfactorsthatmakethe
experienceadifficultone.Spendinghoursstandingandbeingpushedaroundcanbe
physicallyexhausting.Itisoftenfrigidandthecoldnightairimpactshowwefeel.Yet,
despitethediscomfort,toleratingtheconstraintsofthiseventillustrateshowweare
willingtotakeonsomepaintoexperiencetheunityofpeoplefromallovertheworldin
overtcelebration.Thisunity,nonetheless,isadetached,disconnectedtypeofunity
becauseoftheabundanceofpeoplethatsharetheexperienceofNewYearsEvein
TimesSquare.Beingsurroundedbysomanypeopleandhavingvoicesblendwith

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millionsofothervoicespromotesalossofidentityandsenseoftheindividual.
Sometimesitishardtorememberourownpersonalhopesforthefuturewhenwearein
themidstofsomanyothers.
WhiletheunityofNewYearsEveinTimesSquareismorecollectiveand
withdrawnfromtheindividual,visitingtheWallofHonorisapersonalexperience.
AlthoughpeoplefeelcompelledtovisitbothTimesSquareandthewallingroups,itis
lesscommonforapersontovisitthewallwithalargegroupofpeoplebecausevisiting
thewallislessofacelebrationandmoreofacontemplativeexperience.Wecanvisitthe
wallinsolitarytofindourancestorsnames,focusingonourownpastaswelookinward
tounderstandtheexperience,thusmakingitextremelypersonal.Thewallconveysunity
inamorecontemplativeway,promptingpeopletothinkindepthabouttheirancestors
pastsandtomakepersonalconnectionstohistory.Todothis,ourattentionseemsto
convergeonasingularspot,thatnameofadistantfamilymemberthattouchesus
internallyincontrasttothesensoryoverloadthatsurroundsusinTimesSquare.Asa
result,viewingthewallmaytendtobeamoreemotionallyoverwhelmingexperience
becauseofthepersonalconnectionsmadewiththenamesonthewall,opposedtojust
viewingasparkly,crystalballandenjoyingthesightofitwhilesometimescelebrating
withstrangers.
BoththeNewYearsBallandtheWallofHonorinspireustothinkaboutthe
futureorthepastwithoutanyoneoranythingdirectlyforcingustodoso.Wethinkabout
whatthefuturehasinstoreforuswhenwewatchtheballdescend,withoutbeingasked
whatourresolutionsare.Wealsothinkaboutourancestorswhocamefrompovertyto

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travelwithhopesofaccomplishingtheAmericanDreamwhileviewingthewall.
Childrenmightseetheirgreatgrandparentsnameengravedonthewallandclosetheir
eyesandpicturethemonashipcrossingtheAtlanticOcean.Ayoungadultwatchingthe
balldropmaytellhimselforherselfthattheyaregoingtohaveahealthierdietinthenew
year,withoutadoctorspecificallytellingthemtodoso.Itisimportanttoexplore
whetheracommunitybasedcivicartifactoronethatisfocusedontheindividualfosters
amorepowerfulsenseofunity.Assomeonewhohasexperiencedvisitingboththeball
andthewall,rememberingthepastandunderstandingwherewecamefromcanbea
morepowerfulwayforpeopleinsocietytomakeaconnectionwithacivicartifact.In
fact,itisthroughthisunderstandingthatwecanbetterseeintothefutureandembraceon
apersonallevel,allitholdsforus.

Works Cited
Countdown Entertainment, ed. "Times Square New Year's Eve." Times Square Ball. N.p.,
2014. Web. 7 Oct. 2015. <http://timessquareball.net/ball-and-numeral-facts/>.
Moslund, Sten Pultz, ed. The Culture of Migration: Politics, Aesthetics and Histories.
N.p.: n.p., 2015. Print.
The Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Foundation. "About the Wall of Honor." Liberty Ellis
Island Foundation. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.
<http://libertyellisfoundation.org/about-the-wall-of-honor>.
Times Square Alliance. "About the New Year's Eve Ball." Times Square NYC. N.p., 2015.
Web. 7 Oct. 2015. <http://www.timessquarenyc.org/events/new-years-eve/aboutthe-new-years-eve-ball/index.aspx#.VhGa4c64lPM>.