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Why is New York City called "The Big Apple?"
Morning Telegraph reporter, John J. Fitz Gerald, first made common use of the term during the 1920s in reference to the city's racetracks. He apparently first heard it used by African American stable hands in New Orleans in 1921. The term was popularized among African American jazz musicians in the 1930s, who regarded New York, and particularly Harlem, as the capital city of jazz. It's modern use derives largely from a publicity campaign developed in 1971 by the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Rumor has it that the "Big Apple" is so named because during the depression, many former financiers would travel from their suburban cottages in full suits in order to sell apples on the streets of New York. The rumor goes that several well-to-do families had to make ends-meet by selling apples and the charade became know to many as the "Big Apple" scam of New York. Since apples have always been a big part of the New York economy the name simply stuck and was eventually promoted by local government. --Truth or fiction? The Mediabridge staff is unsure, but it makes a good story.
Shelly Warwick: "The story I've always heard as to how New York began to be called the Big Apple is that jazz musicians would refer to getting a job in New York as playing the Big Apple, and the term filtered into the general vocabulary."
Paul Bloess: "The term 'Big Apple' was originally used in the 1920s and
'30s by jazz musicians as a way of saying, 'There are many apples on the success
tree, but when you pick New York City, you pick the Big Apple.'"
Aubrey Starr: "'The Big Apple' was the name of a jazz club. Jazz musicians used the name as synonymous with New York City because of the club's popularity. Going to New York invariably meant playing a set at The Big Apple."
Christopher Harper: "The club in Harlem, once called "The Big Apple", is now a Pharmacy."
Scott Butler:
"Accoring to David Ellis's Lonely Planet 'New York City' guide (1st edition,
Sept. 1997, p. 11), NYC was named so not because of jazz musicians, but because
a writer covering horse races in 1920 (named John FitzGerald) repeated in the
'Morning Telegraph' what stable hands in New Orleans referred to a trip to a
NY racecourse as the 'Big Apple', or greatest reward for any thoroughbred. The
city government has agreed to this story, and all public tourist literature
has been ammended to reflect this."
New York was
briefly (1789-90) the U.S. capital and was state capital until 1797. By 1790
it was the largest U.S. city, and the opening (1825) of the ERIE CANAL, linking
New York with the GREAT LAKES, led to even greater expansion.
In 1898 a new charter was adopted, making the city Greater New York, a metropolis
of five boroughs. Massive IMMIGRATION, mainly from Europe, swelled the city's
population in the late 19th and early 20th cent. After World War II, many African
Americans from the South, Puerto Ricans, and Latin Americans migrated to the
city in search of jobs.
Manhattan
Giovanni da VERRAZANO may have been the first European to explore the region,
and Henry HUDSON visited it, but Dutch settlements truly began the city. In
1624 the town of New Amsterdam was established on lower Manhattan; Peter MINUIT
supposedly bought the island from its Native American inhabitants for about
$24 worth of trinkets. In 1664 the English seized the colony and renamed it;
during the AMERICAN REVOLUTION they held it from 1776 to 1781.
Brooklyn
Brooklyn was settled 1636, and chartered as part of New York City in 1898. The
largest of New York's five boroughs, it has diverse industries and a waterfront
handling foreign and domestic commerce. From Dutch and Walloon settlements it
became the village of Brooklyn Ferry (1816) and the city of Brooklyn (1834),
absorbing settlements like Flatbush and Gravesend as it grew; it became (1855)
the third largest U.S. city.
Queens
Queens was largely unsettled except for small farms and rural settlements. Most
of the settlement of this area has happened in the 19th and 20th centuries with
an influx of immigrants looking for the American dream.
Bronx
The Bronx was originally settled by Jonas Bronck in 1636. He claimed the area
for his farm. The population explosion that took place in the 19th and 20th
centuries was due to an influx of Italian and Irish immigrants.
Staten Island
The Island was originally discovered by 16th century Florentine explorer Giovanni Da Verrazano. In 1687 the Duke of York offered it as a prize to the winner of a sailing race. The region remained largely unsettled and rural because of its relative isolation from the rest of the city. Not until a ferry was started to the island and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was built has the island become accessible.
New York City
is located on the Eastern Atlantic coast of the United States, at the mouth
of the Hudson River. The city center resides at the exact location of 40 degrees,
42 minutes, 51 seconds N latitude, and 74 degrees, 0 minutes 23 seconds W longitude.
New York City is made of five boroughs separated by various waterways. Brooklyn
and Queens occupy the western portion of Long Island, while Staten Island and
Manhattan are compeletely on their own land mass. Bronx, to the north, remains
attached to the New York State mainland.
MANHATTAN
The island of Manhattan is largely a protrusion of granite, rising a few hundred
feet from sea-level. The southern tip and center of the island are virtually
solid granite, while areas in Greenwich Village and Chelsea are composed of
softer soil. As a result of this geologic arrangement, Manhattan's tallest buildings
are located in these two large "rocky" areas.
Manhattan is flanked on its west side by the Hudson River, and on the east side by the Harlem River (on the north) and the East River (on the south).
Manhattan's street layout consists primarily of avenues and streets. The space between avenues is typically much larger than the space between streets (roughly 3x).
Avenues run North-South,
starting with 1st Avenue on the East Side, and going westward to 12th Avenue.
Streets run East-West, starting with 1st Street in Greenwich Village, and increase
in value up to 220th Street at the north tip of Manhattan.
General areas in Manhattan
Below 1st Street is considered to be the Downtown area of Manhattan
1st to 14th Street contains the general "Village" area. The area west
of Broadway is Greenwich Village, and to the east is East Village.
14th to 34th Street west of Broadway is Chelsea, known for its large loft apartments
and studios.
34th to 59th Street is generally regarded as "Midtown"
59th to 110th Street contains the Upper West Side and Upper East Side, respectively.
Between the two lies the green oasis of Central Park.
110th to 145th Street lies the village of Harlem
145th to 220th Street has no special designation, but does contain the neighborhood
of Washington Heights and the Cloisters.