--- description: Remembering a wartime New Year's Eve when the lyrics to "Auld Lange Syne" probably evoked more intense emotions than they do today. title: New Year's Eve, 1941-42: Photos From a Vanished New York image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e21e6c9be6da70b/69876cfc35ba6f25b2c05c71/141205-new-years-eve-10.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [photography](/tag/photography/) ## photography Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Old-School New Year's Eve: Photos From a Vanished, Wartime New York by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 31, 2013 9:31 PM CUT  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 by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 31, 2013 9:31 PM CUT 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 at midnight on New Year's Eve, as 1941 becomes 1942. John Phillips—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Military police in Times Square 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. Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Times Square in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942. Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  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. Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  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. Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  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. Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Times Square in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942. Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3620563/old-school-new-years-eve-photos-from-a-vanished-wartime-new-york/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3620563/old-school-new-years-eve-photos-from-a-vanished-wartime-new-york/"},"headline":"Old-School New Year's Eve: Photos From a Vanished, Wartime New York","datePublished":"2013-12-31T21:31:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:48.159Z","description":"Remembering a wartime New Year's Eve when the lyrics to \"Auld Lange Syne\" probably evoked more intense emotions than they do today.","url":"https://time.com/3620563/old-school-new-years-eve-photos-from-a-vanished-wartime-new-york/","keywords":["photography","New York City","WWII"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e21e6c9be6da70b/69876cfc35ba6f25b2c05c71/141205-new-years-eve-10.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Cosgrove","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e21e6c9be6da70b/69876cfc35ba6f25b2c05c71/141205-new-years-eve-10.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"New Year's Eve in New York City, 1941-1942","caption":"Partiers in New York City on New Year's Eve, as 1941 turns to 1942.","creditText":"Gordon Coster—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/photography/","name":"photography"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3620563/old-school-new-years-eve-photos-from-a-vanished-wartime-new-york/","name":"Old-School New Year's Eve: Photos From a Vanished, Wartime New York"}}]}] ```