A boy takes a picture of a 20-foot-tall model of King Kong in New York's Times Square. The gorilla model is part of the New York premiere of the new movie directed by Peter Jackson.

New York ? Not surprisingly, considering New York’s long-held fascination with the big gorilla, the city went ape for King Kong on Monday.

The supersized simian has captivated New Yorkers since he first stepped foot, a giant one at that, in the city in 1933, via the classic RKO film. His building-scaling, blonde-loving ways made him an instant legend.

With the arrival Monday of the new $150 million cinematic version of the ape-meets-girl story, King Kong was once again the toast of the town.

Besides Mayor Bloomberg declaring Monday “King Kong Day,” the hairy creature took a seat of honor in Times Square, growled from billboards throughout town and was the guest of honor at many parties. One of them was at the Empire State Building – the structure he famously climbed while carrying Fay Wray in the original movie.

Part of the reason the King Kong legend had so much impact was that “it came out at the right time,” said Ray Morton, author of “King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon.” The film, he said, “was brand-new at the same time the Empire State Building was.”

The 1976 remake of “King Kong,” starring Jessica Lange, placed the ape atop the World Trade Center towers.

But the new rendition of the film, directed by Peter Jackson of “The Lord of the Rings” fame, takes the creature back to the Empire State Building, which, because of the tragic events of 9-11, is once again New York’s tallest building.