• LIFE
  • photography

Old-School New Year’s Eve: Photos From a Vanished, Wartime New York

1 minute read

Maybe people get so rowdy, reckless and just plain loud of New Year’s Eve because it’s a holiday that forces us to look back, as well as ahead — and for many people, looking back can be an awfully sobering experience. What better way to counter that than to surround oneself with lots of noise, lots of friends (or strangers) and lots of booze?

In 1941, meanwhile, men and women need very little excuse to get a little wild. Above all else, of course, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, America was finally, officially engaged in the world war that had begun 15 months before, when Germany invaded Poland. No one knew how long the war would last — but on December 31, no one was betting it would be over soon.

Here, three-quarters of a century later, LIFE.com remembers a wartime New Year’s Eve in a virtually unrecognizable New York City, when hearing or singing those stirring lyrics to “Auld Lange Syne” probably evoked more intense emotions than it does today.

Times Square in New York City at midnight on New Year's Eve, as 1941 becomes 1942.
Times Square at midnight on New Year's Eve, as 1941 becomes 1942.John Phillips—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.
Military police in Times Square on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.
Times Square in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.
Times Square in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.
New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.
Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.
Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.
Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.
Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.
Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Times Square in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.
Times Square in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com