New York City is recognised by a variety of nicknames, including “The city that never sleeps” and “Gotham,” but “The Big Apple” is arguably one that is used the most often. How did this nickname get started in the first place?
Although there is evidence of the word being used as early as the early 1900s, the term did not enjoy widespread use until the 1920s, when a sports journalist named John J. Fitz Gerald began publishing a column titled “Around the Big Apple” that focused on horse racing. However, it wasn’t until a tourist effort in the 1970s that the moniker became commonly associated with New York City.
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Origins
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The name’s unusual origin remains a mystery. In the 1920s, New York Morning Telegraph columnist John J. Fitz Gerald started writing about the city’s various horse races and racetracks. He compared the cash awards up for grabs to “the huge apple,” a metaphor for reaching one’s full potential. The concept began to gain ground. The jazz artists of the 1930s were the next to use the term “big apple” to describe New York City in their music. At the time, the saying “There are many apples on a tree, but only one giant apple – New York” was often used in the entertainment industry.
‘60s and ‘70s
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New York had a reputation for being dangerous and unsavoury throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The city launched a successful advertising campaign in 1971 to boost its reputation and attract tourists; the campaign’s emblem, a large red apple, helped cement the city’s new name, The Big Apple. A street sign reading “Big Apple Corner” was installed at the intersection of 54th Street and Broadway. The apple became the symbol of numerous businesses in New York City as volunteers began giving out genuine apples to pedestrians.
The red apples were meant to represent an optimistic New York City, countering the stereotype that the city was corrupt and dangerous due to its economic troubles and high crime rates, as mentioned above.
New York City has been referred to as “The Big Apple” ever since.
FAQs
Which city is the big apple?
New York has been referred to as the Big Apple for a long time. In the 1920s, John J. Fitz Gerald, a journalist for the New York Morning Telegraph, helped spread the term. The New York City tourism board ran a campaign in the 1970s that helped boost the attraction's appeal.
How did the nickname originate?
In the 1920s, New York City was known as The Big Apple because of the large cash payouts (or big apples) awarded at the city's many horse racing tracks.
