Big Apple (disco in Berlin, Germany. 1962-1979)
“Big Apple” was the name of a disco at Bundesallee 13 in Berlin, Germany. It operated from about 1962 until 1979.
“Big Apple” was also the name of a rock club in Munich.
Wikipedia: Bundesallee/Federal Avenue (Berlin)
The Bundesallee (until 1950: Kaiserallee ) is an approximately 3.7-kilometer-long street in the Berlin districts of Wilmersdorf and Friedenau, which, as the main traffic axis, connects western Berlin city center with the southwestern parts of the city.
Berliner Rockwiki: Big Apple
The Big Apple was a nightclub on the corner of Bundesallee 13 and Hohenzollerndamm in Wilmersdorf. Stronghold of American “soul” in Berlin from the very beginning. And it was defended, also against some serious attacks from the “underground”-oriented followers of the “Closed Eye”, disco, which was 200 meters further in the Bundesallee.
Named after the island of Manhattan, the Big Apple had 2 levels: the entrance with a bar at the top, with a kind of surrounding gallery from which you could look down on the dance floor below. Below, the main bar and amphitheater-like seating around the square dance floor, in the center of which was a hydraulically operated circular column that was raised at peaks in the music or when there were great women on it. A highlight back then! They played James Brown, Arthur Conley, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, the whole range.
In 1978 a fire broke out in the Big Apple and destroyed the premises to the foundations. The disco was not rebuilt. The building, where the company health insurance fund of the city of Berlin-West was located, was demolished in autumn 2019 for a new building.
Google Books
Fodor’s Guide to Europe
New York, NY: David McKayCompany
1967
Pg. 384:
Here’s a list of beat-caves and discotheques for the young: Big Apple, Bundesallee at Hohenzollerndamm; ...
Google Books
Fielding’s Travel Guide to Europe
By Temple Fielding
New York, NY: Fielding Publications
1968
Pg. 253:
The Big Apple (this time not from the same Paradise) is a center for the Teenie Bopper Set; hot music, Cokes, beer—plus enough long hair for a complete camouflage job on the Brandenburg Gate.
Google Books
Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to Europe:
How to See Europe by the Skin of Your Teeth
By Ken Welsh
London, UK: PanBooks
1979
Pg. 134:
Try also the Big Apple at Bundesallee 13 (disco, not too expensive).
Newspapers.com
21 May 1979, Burton Daily Mail (Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, UK), “Berlin—cities that cater for all tastes” pg. 4, col. 3:
Berlin has many discos. The “Riverboat” on the Hohenzollerndamm, “Big Apple” on the Bundesallee and “Cheetah” on the Hasenheide are a few.
X/Twitter
UweT
@UweT_bln
Da gab es mehrere in Berlin:
Sugar Shack (Nürnberger Str.)
Riverboat (Fehrbelliner Platz)
Big Apple (Bundesallee)
Pal Joe (Lehniner Platz)
4:22 AM · May 29, 2023 from Berlin, Germany