Why they called new york the big apple

The Big Apple: How NYC Got Its Name

TripSavvy / Brakethrough Media

New York, New York, the most populous city in the United States, has been given many nicknames, including The City That Never Sleeps, Empire City, and Gotham—but perhaps the most famous one of all is the Big Apple.

The nickname «The Big Apple» originated in the 1920s in reference to the prizes (or «big apples») rewarded at the many racing courses in and around New York City. However, it wasn’t officially adopted as the city’s nickname until 1971 as the result of a successful ad campaign intended to attract tourists.

Throughout its history, the term «big apple» has always come down to simply mean the best and biggest of places to be, and New York City has long lived up to its nickname. Once you visit this seven-mile-long city, you’ll truly understand why it’s called the Capital of the World and the Big Apple.

The Big Reward: From Racing to Jazz

The first mention of New York City as «The Big Apple» was in the 1909 book «The Wayfarer in New York.» In the introduction, Edward Martin writes about the dynamic between NYC and the Midwest, using the apple as an extended metaphor:

«New York is merely one of the fruits of that great tree whose roots go down in the Mississippi Valley, and whose branches spread from one ocean to the other, but the tree has no great degree of affection for its fruit. It inclines to think that the big apple gets a disproportionate share of the national sap. It is disturbed by the enormous drawing power of a metropolis which constantly attracts to itself wealth and its possessors from all the lesser centers of the land. Every city, every State pays an annual tribute of men and of business to New York, and no State or city likes particularly to do it.»

The term only started gaining traction when sports writer John J. Fitz Gerald began writing about the city’s horse races for the New York Morning Telegraph. In his column, he wrote that these were «the big apples» of competitive racing in the United States.

Fitz Gerald got the term from African American stable hands in New Orleans; jockeys and trainers who aspired to race on New York City tracks referred to the money prizes as the «Big Apple. He once explained the term in an article for the Morning Telegraph:

«The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There’s only one Big Apple. That’s New York.»

Although the audience for Fitz Gerald’s articles was markedly smaller than most, the concept of «big apple» representing the best of the best—or most-sought-after of rewards or accomplishments—began to popularize across the country.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the nickname started to become well known outside of the northeast, as New York City’s jazz musicians began referring to New York City as the «Big Apple» in their songs. An old saying in show business was «There are many apples on the tree, but only one Big Apple.» New York City was (and is) the premier place for jazz musicians to perform, which made it more common to refer to New York City as the Big Apple.

A Bad Reputation for the Big Apple

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, New York City was quickly earning a national reputation as a dark and dangerous city. To increase tourism to New York City in 1971, the city launched an ad campaign with Charles Gillett, president of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, at the helm. A fan of jazz, he wanted to restore the city to its former glory by adopting the Big Apple as an officially recognized reference to New York City.

The campaign featured red apples in an effort to lure visitors to New York City. The red apples, intended to serve as a bright and cheery image of the city, would stand in contrast to the common belief that New York City was riddled with crime and poverty. T-shirts, pins, and stickers promoting the «Big Apple» quickly became popular, thanks in part to the help of celebrities like New York Knicks legend Dave DeBusschere—and the city welcomed tourists to «take a bite out of the Big Apple.»

Since the conclusion of the campaign—and subsequent «rebranding» of the city—New York City has officially been nicknamed The Big Apple. In recognition of Fitz Gerald, the corner of 54th and Broadway (where Fitz Gerald lived for 30 years) was renamed «Big Apple Corner» in 1997.

Источник

Why is New York City Called The Big Apple?

New York City has been called many things—“The Great American Melting Pot,” “Gotham,” “The City that Never Sleeps”—but its most famous nickname is “The Big Apple.” So just where did this now-ubiquitous moniker originate?

MAKING A BIG APPLE

Over the years, there have been many theories about how New York City came to be called “The Big Apple.” Some say it comes from the former well-to-do families who sold apples on the city’s streets to make ends meet during the Great Depression. Another account posits that the term comes from a famous 19th-century brothel madam named Eve, whose girls were cheekily referred to as her “Big Apples.” But the nickname actually springs from a catchphrase used in the 1920s by The Morning Telegraph sports writer John J. Fitz Gerald in his horse racing column, “Around the Big Apple.” Beginning on February 18, 1924, he began every column with the header, “The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There’s only one Big Apple. That’s New York.”

At the time, the jockeys and trainers of smaller horses were said to want to make a “Big Apple,» which was their term for the big money prizes at larger races in and around New York City.

Fitz Gerald reportedly first heard «The Big Apple» used to describe New York’s racetracks by two African American stable hands at the famed New Orleans Fair Grounds, as he explained in his inaugural «Around the Big Apple» column: “Two dusky stable hands were leading a pair of thoroughbreds around the ‘cooling rings’ of adjoining stables at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans and engaging in desultory conversation. ‘Where y’all goin’ from here?’ queried one. ‘From here we’re headin’ for The Big Apple,’ proudly replied the other. ‘Well, you’d better fatten up them skinners or all you’ll get from the apple will be the core,’ was the quick rejoinder.” Fitz Gerald nabbed the colloquialism for his column, where it quickly took off.

CATCHING ON

Once the term entered the vocabularies of society up north, its popularity slowly spread outside of the horseracing context, and everything from nightclubs in Harlem to hit songs and dances about the city were named after “The Big Apple.” Most notably, New York jazz musicians in the 1930s—who had a habit of using the nickname to reference their hometown in their songs—helped the nickname spread beyond the northeast.

Throughout the mid-20th century, it remained New York City’s nickname until it was officially adopted by the city in the 1970s. The New York Convention & Visitors Bureau hoped that using the moniker would brighten the image of an economically downtrodden and crime-ridden city in decline and revive the tourist economy. In 1997, to give Fitz Gerald his (somewhat unjust) due, then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani signed legislation naming the corner where Fitz Gerald and his family lived at West 54th Street and Broadway between 1934 and 1963 “Big Apple Corner.”

Источник

Why is New York Called Big Apple

If you are aware of American culture you must wonder why is New York called big apple? US is generally referred to as America by the people. It is a developed and very advanced country with great opportunities for all those who dream and are ready to work hard to realize their dreams. Many people refer to as America as Big Apple though it is the city of New York that is actually nicknamed the Big Apple. Not many people are aware of the reason behind this nickname though they continue to use this name for this big and very important city of US. This article takes a look at the origins of the nickname Big Apple for the city of New York.

Why is New York Called Big Apple – Reasons

Various reasons put forward for this nickname

New York is a metropolitan that has got not one but several nicknames. These include The City that Never Sleeps, Gotham, The Great American Melting Pot, and of course The Big Apple. However, it is The Big Apple that has stuck and used most commonly by the people around the country. There are some people who say that the name came from some rich families that were forced to sell apples on the streets of the city after their wealth collapsed during the Great Depression. There is even a story that links the name Big Apple with a brothel owned by a lady called Eve in the 19th century. The girls of this particular brothel were referred to as Big Apples by the people of the city.

Sports columnist FitzGerald used the phrase in his column

However, more realistic account of the name Big Apple comes from a phrase used by sports journalist John J FitzGerald in his newspaper column called Around the Big Apple. He used to start his column with a header titled ‘The Big Apple’. His column was dealing with horse racing. This was a time when it was a dream of every jockey to earn big prize money by taking part in big races. Big Apple was a phrase that alluded to a large purse of money given to winners in races held in New York in those times. Soon the phrase caught the fancy of the common people and New York came to be referred as Big Apple by not just the people of the city but even the outsiders.

Big Apple has become a symbol of New York

The phrase Big Apple was made popular by the jazz musicians of those times as they used it to describe the jazz scene in the city of New York. The name lost some of its appeal in the next two decades. However, it once again became popular in the 1970’s when New York Convention and Visitors Bureau made a red apple as its logo to attract visitors to the city. Since then, Big Apple has become associated with the city of New York and it has even become an unofficial name for New York just as Sin City has become a nickname for Las Vegas.

The phrase Big Apple, when used to refer to New York, reflects the alluring nature of the city. It symbolizes New York as a fast moving and exciting city with lots of opportunities for who dream to make it big someday in their lives.

Источник

Why New York Is Called The Big Apple, And How 7 Other U.S. Cities Got Their Famous Nicknames

If someone mentions The Big Apple, you immediately know that they are talking about New York City. A nickname is a form of endearment, but those for cities are also a kind of batch of honor. They indicate that these cities are special, standing out from many others for several reasons. They may have to do with history, monuments, traditions, or nature. There are several more cities in the United States that are known by their nicknames.

In some cases, the reasoning behind the nickname is obvious. In others, nicknames have surprising histories. And sometimes there is more than one story about how the nickname came to be.

Enjoy our exploration of how these eight iconic American cities got their nicknames!

New York City: The Big Apple

You will never guess the origin of this nickname. It began in the 1920s when sports journalist John J. Fitz Gerald wrote a column for the New York Morning Telegraph about the many horse races and racecourses in and around New York. He referred to the substantial prizes to be won as “the big apple,” symbolizing the biggest and best one can achieve. The term started to gain traction. Next came the jazz musicians of the 1930s, who referred to New York as the big apple in their songs. A mantra for show business at the time was: There are many apples on a tree, but only one big apple —New York.

By the 1960s and ’70s, New York had gained a reputation as dark, violent, and dangerous. To improve its image and attract tourism, in 1971 a successful advertising campaign was launched, making a big red apple the city’s logo and firmly establishing the nickname The Big Apple. The corner of 54th Street and Broadway got a street sign that read Big Apple Corner. Volunteers actually handed out real apples to passers-by, and the apple became the logo of many New York City enterprises.

Marco Rubino / Shutterstock.com

Philadelphia: City Of Brotherly Love

William Penn, the founder of Philadelphia, must have had a great admiration for ancient Greece. He named his city by combining the ancient Greek words phileo for “love” and adelphos for “brother” into Philadelphia, which means City of Brotherly Love. A lot has been written about the truthfulness of that nickname, and it’s been discussed by some as being rather ironic.

Oleksandr Koretskyi / Shutterstock.com

Chicago: The Windy City

There are several stories explaining this nickname. One is obvious — it can be understood as a reference to the icy winds blowing off Lake Michigan — but another is far more interesting and, again, involved journalists. Apparently, editor Charles Dana of the New York Sun depicted the city’s residents and particularly its politicians as “windbags” and “full of hot air” in an article published in 1890. Whichever you prefer, Chicago is established as the Windy City.

Andrew Zarivny / Shutterstock.com

Las Vegas: Sin City

You think Las Vegas, and images of non-stop gambling, free-flowing alcohol, over-the-top casinos, and scantily clothed showgirls come to mind. Sin City for sure. But it wasn’t always glamorous, and there is some compelling history even around this seemingly obvious nickname.

Fremont East was the hub at the beginning of the 20th century, Block 16 being the red light district and Block 17 selling liquor to workers and travelers. It was all low-key and quite sordid. Gambling became legal in 1931. In the 1950s, the mobsters came to town and started their gambling resort empires, creating The Strip with the Flamingo and Stardust as the earliest glitzy casinos. They are no demolished and have given way to ever-bigger and more lavish resorts, still justifying the nickname Sin City.

GTS Productions / Shutterstock.com

New Orleans: The Big Easy

As you might have thought, this moniker has to do with the laid-back lifestyle of the city between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. But, who coined the name? There are several theories. Apparently, in the 1960s gossip columnist Betty Guillaud used the name whilst comparing the hectic life of the Big Apple to the sedate rhythm of New Orleans. Others think that it came from the abundance of street musicians who had the best chance of performing and getting recognized here. In other words, it was easy. And lastly, yet others think it is a reference to a popular dance hall of the same name.

C Rolan / Shutterstock.com

Seattle: The Emerald City

I have to disappoint you: It’s not the precious gemstones that gave Seattle its nickname. However, something equally precious, the green of nature, led to the name. It’s a reference to the greenery in and around Seattle which thrives all year round, including evergreens, shrubs, and moss. Right in the middle of the city, you find the Discovery Park Arboretum. For once, it wasn’t a journalist who coined this name. Instead, it won a 1980 Convention and Visitors Bureau contest for the best nickname. Emerald City won hands down.

Chris LaBasco / Shutterstock

Miami: The Magic City

Railway tycoon Henry Flagler and Julia Tuttle were the parents of this growing city, which, in 1940, counted only 172,172 inhabitants. They wanted to attract more visitors and residents and therefore asked writer E.V. Blackman to compose an article for his magazine, East Coast Homeseeker, that painted Miami in a magical light.

Obviously, he succeeded and the name was born. Also, winter visitors noticed the fast growth of the population from one year to the next and commented that it seemed to happen by magic. As a former Miami resident myself, I personally attribute the magic to the unique atmosphere of South Beach.

Charles Knowles / Shutterstock.com

Boise: City Of Trees

This story goes back to the early settlers who climbed a hill and looked down at a vast forest in Treasure Valley, but the city itself, founded in 1863, actually sat in a dry sagebrush plain, as the woods along the river were miles away. From early on, the citizens of Boise (from the French word bois, for “wood”) were determined to grow trees. The nickname City of Trees really came about after some ads in the local newspaper, the Tri-Weekly Statesman. The forestation trend in Boise is alive and well to this day.

• Inka Piegsa Quischotte View Full Profile

For the past eleven years, blogger and traveler Inka Piegsa Quischotte has been documenting her adventures over at her blog GlamourGranny Travels. Inka loves to write about luxury and solo travel, mostly to places where the sun shines. She has lived in London, Miami, and Istanbul for several years, and now makes her home in Spain’s Costa Blanca.

Источник