50 Time Square Quotes That Are InstaWorthy

By Norbert Juma

Master quote curator and editor on a mission to inspire

Published May 11, 2023

As the title suggests, this article is about Time Square quotes.

We are confident you will enjoy reading through our collection of quotes.

You can also share the quotes via any social media platform.

Apart from the quotes section, we have also discussed Time Square, its history, and tourist attractions.

If interested, please continue reading!

A Brief Introduction to Time Square

Located in New York City, Times Square is among the most popular landmarks in the world.

It is located in the heart of Manhattan, making it a bustling place of culture, entertainment, and commerce.

Millions of visitors come to visit this landmark every year.

With its rich history, cultural significance, and iconic neon lights, Time Square is a must-see if you are visiting the city.

Time Square in Historical Perspective

Times Square gained popularity in 1904 when The New York Times headquarters was shifted to the area.

At that time, it was known as Longacre Square.

The first reason for the popularity of this place is the headquarters of the New York Times.

On New Year’s Eve, Adolph S. Ochs, the owner of the New York Times, inaugurated the new building.

The highlight of this event was an impressive fireworks display.

The success of this event made it an annual tradition.

Eventually, this place was renamed Times Square.

Today’s Time Square

At present, Times Square is a massive commercial center.

Besides, it is a hub of tourist-based activities.

This area is also known for its brightly lit advertisements and billboards.

As a result, Time Square turns out to be a well-recognized landmark.

Key Highlights of the Time Square

Below are the major highlights of Time Square:

Apart from the other attractions, the TKTS booth is popular among visitors for the availability of discounted Broadway shows tickets.
A popular wax museum named “Madame Tussaud’s New York” is also located in this area, which features the dummies of historical figures and celebrities.
You can also visit the New Year’s Eve Ball at the Times Square Museum.
This area is home to various popular brands like Viacom, Condé Nast, and Thomson Reuters.
There are various theaters in the area and the most iconic one is the Radio City Music Hall.
Pedestrian plaza is another highlight of this area, which is a famous event place and gathering area.

Top 10 Times Square Quotes

Let’s check out the top 10 best Times Square quotes that are short and awesome.

1. “I hate, hate Times Square!” — Elena Roger

2. “You can’t stop traffic on Times Square.” — Sydney Pollack

3. “This race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex.” — Dan Rather

4. “How can you be organized when you’re in Times Square?” — Mary-Kate Olsen

5. “If you give me Times Square, I want to give it back to the people.” — JR

6. “I’m waiting for the Times Square characters to start dressing as me.” — Scott Rogowsky

7. “I won’t go anywhere near the new Times Square. It’s seizure-inducing.” — Jami Attenberg

8. “Everyone loves to feast their eyes on Times Square on New Year’s Eve.” — Kimberly Guilfoyle

9. “I feel New York is too crazy for me, especially when you go to Times Square.” — Alessia Cara

10. “Is there really anyone, besides Rudy Giuliani, who prefers the new Times Square?” — Jonathan Safran Foer

Times Square Quotes with Nostalgia

The following Times Square quotes have reflective elements inside.

11. “I don’t mourn the old, romantic, dirty Times Square, although it was more unique.” — Lee Ranaldo

12. “I don’t hunt, I don’t camp, and I get lost on my subway to work here in Times Square!” — David Grann

13. “Eighteen years ago, the Holy Spirit led me to establish a church in Times Square.” — David Wilkerson

14. “I used to walk through Old Times Square fearing for my life. Now I wouldn’t be caught dead there.” — James McBride

15. “It’s New York City; you want to be shown in Times Square. you want your picture there. You want those kinds of things. To inspire people, that’s really what it’s about.” — RJ Barrett

16. “Around 16, I began going out with friends to the city. That’s where the action was. We would go to this place on Times Square – real shifty – and get fake IDs made up.” — Rande Gerber

17. “That’s what the internet is: it’s like bombarding your eyeballs with these myriad blinking color lights. It’s like trying to watch a movie on your phone in the middle of Times Square.” — Michel Gondry

18. “L.A., it’s nice, but I think of sunshine and people on rollerblades eating sushi. New York, I think of nighttime, I think of Times Square and Broadway and nightlife and the city that never sleeps.” — Jimmy Fallon

19. “When I opened the world’s largest Internet cafe, certified by the ‘Guinness Book of Records,’ in Times Square in New York, I was live on ‘Good Morning America,’ and for me, that was an achievement.” — Stelios Haji-Ioannou

20. “From 1985 to 1994, I lived in Manhattan in a big old loft right off Times Square. I could walk to work, which was in a couple of Broadway theaters, to Howard Stern’s studio, and to 30 Rock for ‘Letterman’ and ‘SNL.’ Even in New York, walking to work is homey and folksy, like living in a small town.” — Penn Jillette

Times Square Quotes about its Importance

These Times Square quotes show the importance of this marvelous place from different angles.

21. “My mom was scared of the old Times Square, so I was never allowed to go.” — Padma Lakshmi

22. “It’s pretty clichéd, but Times Square is incredible. You really feel like you’re in the capital of the world.” — Timothy F. Cahill

23. “I would say that Times Square was the central hangout for Burroughs, Kerouac, and myself from about 1945 to 1948.” — Allen Ginsberg

24. “It’s very weird waking around a corner and being nose to nose with myself on the side of a bus. And Times Square – that’s the craziest one.” — Allison Williams

25. “When I was growing up in New Jersey, my mom would regularly take my sister and I into the city to see shows. I have many fond memories of standing in the half-price ticket line in Times Square and going to matinees.” — Trey Anastasio

26. “When I was on Broadway when I was little, I remember always driving through Times Square with my dad to the theater. Now when I go back, you can’t even drive on Broadway in the 40s. New Times Square is too touristy to me.” — Jenna Ushkowitz

27. “I once stood in the middle of New York City watching my name go round the electronic zipper sign in Times Square, and I felt pretty thrilled, but not quite as thrilled as I felt when I saw my name in the ‘Examiner’ for the first time.” — Simon Armitage

28. “The idea that time is an illusion is an old one, predating any Times Square ball drop or champagne celebrations. It reaches back to the days of Heraclitus and Parmenides, pre-Socratic thinkers who are staples of introductory philosophy courses.” — Sean M. Carroll

29. “Whether it is an attempt to bomb the New York City subway system, an attempt to bring down an airplane over Detroit, an attempt to set off a bomb in Times Square… I think that gives us a sense of the breadth of the challenges that we face, and the kinds of things that our enemy is trying to do.” — Eric Holder

30. “I’ve seen terrorism close up, but I don’t live in a state of terror at all. I’m comfortable going to the Manhattan Thanksgiving Day Parade, the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center, and Times Square on New Year’s Eve. For perspective, the world today is a safer place than it was during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Berlin Airlift, World War II.” — Douglas Brunt

Times Square Quotes with Little Sarcasm

Let’s explore Times Square’s humorous and irreverent quotes that capture the essence of New York’s most iconic landmark.

31. “Now I’m scared of the new Times Square, so I still never go.” — Padma Lakshmi

32. “I’m on a billboard in Times Square, but my bathroom is still dirty, and I have toothpaste on my face.” — Betty Gilpin

33. “For people who mourn for old Times Square – hey, there’s a ton of places in the city still like that! Get on the train and go visit them!” — Kurt Braunohler

34. “I remember the old Times Square from when I was younger, and there was a seedy thrill to it. Some of that is gone, which I have a little bit of nostalgia for.” — Janeane Garofalo

35. “I started Verite on savings from three years working at Applebee’s in Times Square. I was a ridiculously good waitress. I was making more money than my brother, who worked at a start-up.” — Verite

36. “For a while, many years ago, my job was to get mugged. My job was to walk around Times Square trying to get a mugger to attack me so that someone else could come in and arrest the mugger.” — Don Winslow

37. “Wouldn’t it be great if cars came equipped with screens like that thing they have in Times Square that spells out the news? You could punch out your own instant messages: ‘Will the small red car with the ugly driver please stay a little further behind?’” — Albert Brooks

38. “The media was always so focused on the money a movie makes. But I was in Times Square, and a bunch of Japanese tourists looked at me and started shouting, ‘Toula!’ I loved it. It’s these tiny moments of connection that register with me the most and always have.” — Nia Vardalos

39. “People often think of New York as a city, a concrete jungle with soaring skyscrapers and yellow taxis and the bright lights of Times Square. And it is that, in part. But beyond that, it’s rolling hills of fruit orchards and fields of grain and ice-cold waters brimming with oysters.” — Daniel Humm

40. “For the three years I lived in New York leading up to moving out to Los Angeles for ‘Mad Men,’ I was an office temp at Ernst & Young in Times Square. That’s about a desk job, as it can get. There was a lot of, Go two floors up and make a copy of this and then bring it to me.” — Rich Sommer

More Times Square Quotes

Suppose you are still hungry to read more Times Square quotes. Here are some more quotes so that you keep enjoying them.

41. “I love New Year’s in Times Square so much.” — Lisa Kennedy Montgomery

42. “Times Square, much like these TV ads, expects little of us, if not quite the worst.” — Kathleen Rooney

43. “The safest day at the Melody is St. Paddy’s. All the cops are out vomiting at the parade.” — Josh Alan Friedman

44. “No one comes to New York and says We’ve got to check out Times Square and Spa Castle!” — Joe Gatto

45. “Well, I grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, right next to Times Square, in a subsidized arts building.” — Pauline Chalamet

46. “Everyone wants to be chosen for Up Next. You get on a billboard in Times Square and in Los Angeles! This helps get your name out there on a huge scale.” — Dean Lewis

47. “Even Vegas around two o’clock in the morning isn’t as busy as here. It’s always busy in Times Square, not that we’ve been out at two in the morning. That’s what we hear.” — Channing Frye

48. “In a city where millions of people are drawn to Times Square, we need to push against the immorality that has taken root there once again so families can enjoy New York.” — Ruben Diaz Sr.

49. “The very first time I came to The States, I came right to New York, and I remember walking around Times Square, I saw a couple of shows, and I thought, I’d love to come here and do this.” — Cody Simpson

50. “When we got off the streetcar at Times Square, it was somewhat of a letdown. Newspapers were blowing about the road and pavement, and Broadway looked seedy, like a slovenly woman just out of bed.” — Charlie Chaplin