A new dawn on a new horizon—thank you, President Elect Obama. Just after 11 p.m. here in New York, I heard an eruption of cheers outside my window, followed by fireworks. Earlier, I was at Rockefeller Center and Times Square, where the energy was absolutely combustible. Here are a few photos from the early part of the evening. (I went back to my apartment around 8 to settle in for coverage.) The above photos are of Rock Center, which was fully staged for what many thought would be a long night. (All photos in this entry © 2008 George Stilabower.)

In Times Square, the crowd had started gathering by 6 p.m., cramming in around the new TKTS Broadway ticketing booth.

The CNN viewing area attracted a large number of enthusiastic Obama fans.

D.L. Hughly interviewing in Times Square.

At the CNN viewing area.

On the short walk from Rock Center to Times Square, Radio City Music Hall caught my eye.

Rockefeller Center was beautifully staged for thousands of people who gathered in unusually warm weather.

A reporter waits for her cue at Rock Center.

TV crew at Rock Center. Though hardly ever seen, a small army of technical crew work long hours to produce the images we see on TV.

A few people dined at the Sea Grill, located on the concourse level at Rock Center. Just outside the window is the ice rink, which had been transformed into a large map.

MSNBC staff on the concourse level at Rock Center, just outside the ice rink. Huge vinyl "states" lay on the floor just to their left, hauled out as each state was called.

More to come...