Chelsea Apple Orchard (1820s)
Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863) -- perhaps best known as the credited author of the yuletide poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" -- lived in what he called Chelsea, in Manhattan. He had an…
Damon Runyon (who never used “Big Apple”)
It's not difficult to see how this "Big Apple" attribution would occur. American writer Damon Runyon (1880-1946) was noted for his underworld slang. He had a character called…
Depression Apple Sellers (1930s)
It is sometimes claimed that "Big Apple" comes from New York City's street apple stands during the Great Depression in the 1930s. This is incorrect. New York (NY) Morning Telegraph…
Dracula Bites the Big Apple (short film, 1979)
Dracula Bites the Big Apple (1979) is a short film (22 minutes), explained on IMDb as "Dracula travels to New York for a change of scenery." There is a scene at Studio 54 with owner Steve…
Edward Martin metaphor (1909)
A 1909 citation by Harper's editor Edward Sandford Martin (1856-1939) is often given as the first citation of "the Big Apple" to mean New York City. It probably shouldn't be…
First “Big Apple” citation: May 3, 1921
Gerald Cohen found the first "Big Apple" in a John J. Fitz Gerald horseracing column. From the New York Morning Telegraph, May 3, 1921, page 9, column 3: J. P. Smith, with Tippity Witchet…
First “Big Apple” explanation: February 18, 1924
Above, the header from the 1924 newspaper column of John J. Fitz Gerald. Click to see a portion of the column which includes his use of "Big Apple." Part of a 1926 column is also…
Five Apple Seeds, Five Boroughs (1990s?)
Cut an apple horizontally, and one often sees a five-seed star pattern. The five seeds are said to represent the five boroughs of New York City. This was posted on Twitter on December 16, 2013:…
Fletcher Henderson popularization of “the Big Apple” in the 1930s
In 1990, Harlem Assemblywoman Geraldine Daniels published a letter in the New York Times that stated that musician Fletcher Henderson (1879-1952) popularized "the Big Apple" in the 1930s.…
Gala “Big Apple” mascot (Metro Ink, 2023)
Metro Ink describes itself on X/Twitter: "Hosting Splatoon LAN Events in New York City! Stay tuned for the next event! | Contact metroinkprod@gmail.com for Inquiries." Metro Ink is based…
Google censorship of BarryPopik.com, “The Big Apple”
[ORIGINAL ENTRY ON MAY 17, 2020. UPDATES FOLLOW.] Google is the most popular search engine in the United States. This website (BarryPopik.com, "The Big Apple") has been censored for over…
Harlem Big Apple Club Plaque Removed (2006)
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food…
Harlem’s jazz musicians (1930s)
Harlem's jazz musicans did undeniably help spread the "Big Apple" phrase in the 1930s, but did not originate it. The Big Apple night club, at Seventh Avenue and West 135th Street,…
Home Run Apple (Shea Stadium & Citi Field, 1980-present)
When a New York Mets baseball player hit a home run at Shea Stadium, a large "apple" located just beyond center field rose from inside a black hat. It was a gimmick that was started in…
Indianappleis & “Move over New York. Apple is our middle name” (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Indianapolis, Indiana, is sometimes spelled with an "apple" in the middle. "Indianappleis" was printed in the Indianapolis (IN) News on June 18, 1912. "And there's…
Infinity Apple (GreeNYC symbol, 2007)
In 2007, NYC & Co. (New York City's tourism bureau, formerly the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau that re-popularized "the Big Apple" in the 1970s) promoted…
Iso Omena (Finland’s “Big Apple” shopping center, 2001-present)
Iso Omena (Finnish for "Big Apple") is a shopping center in Matinkylä, Espoo, Finland, that opened on September 24, 2001. There are 200 businesses in an area of about 1,179,000 square…
La Gran Manzana (merengue band, 1982)
Henry Hierro and Victor Roque formed the merengue band "La Gran Manzana" ("The Big Apple") in 1982. The band members all lived in the New York City area. The band celebrated a…
La Gran Manzana (sculpture opposite Radio City Music Hall, 2022)
The sculpture "La Gran Manzana" (Spanish for "The Big Apple"), by Mexican artist Enrique Cabrera, was unveiled on December 7, 2022 at 1251 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan,…
La Grosse Pomme (Paris nightclub, 1937-1938)
American-born UK-based jazz singer and entertainer Adelaide Hall (1901-1993) and her husband, Bertram Hicks, opened a nightclub called La Grosse Pomme (French for "The Big Apple") in…