A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

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Entry from April 07, 2013
Uptowner

An “uptowner” is someone who inhabits the “uptown” section (often, but not always, located to the north) of a geographical area. “Up-towners” was cited in print in 1827, when it referred to Providence, Rhode Island. A May 1844 citation of “up towners” referred to Manhattan.
 
Similar Manhattan geographic nicknames include “downtowner,” “East Sider” and “West Sider.”
   
 
(Oxford English Dictionary)
‘uptowner n. a person from ‘uptown’.
1924 H. Crane Let. 24 Jan. (1965) 171   It’s become fashionable for the high-hatted uptowners now to buy Matisse’s paintings.
1981 P. Mallory Killing Matter xii. 129   The area had..its own rough charm, but it was as remote as Mozambique..to your educated Uptowner.
 
18 April 1827, Literary Cadet and Rhode-Island Statesman (Providence, RI), pg. 1, col. 3:
THE BLUE POINTERS.—At the south western extremity of this town, there used to reside a distinct race of beings, ‘yclept Blue Pointers; and isolated as they were, their habits, manners and customs, varied very materially from those of their neighbours, the up-streeters, the up-towners, the down-towners, Ship-streeters, and up-hillers.
 
29 June 1835, The Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser (Gettysburg, PA), pg. 3, col. 5:
If they were caught below Market-street, they were in danger, in the Border wars of that day, of being pelted with brick-backs as up towners, or if above Market-street, they ran the same risk as being down towners. In truth between the up towners and down towners of that day, we well recollect, it was no easy matter fo a boy to escape a broken pate.
Newburyport Herald.
   
16 May 1844, New-York (NY) Commercial Advertiser, pg. 2, col. 6 ad:
All ye Wall Streeters,
PEARL STREETERS, UP TOWNERS AND DOWN TOWNERS, would it not be well for you to buy your stationary at SHEPARD’S where you can buy letter paper at 5d, 7d, 10d, 14d, and 18d per quire.
 
Google Books
The Mysteries and Miseries of New York:
A Story of Real Life

By Ned Buntline
New-York, NY: Published by W. F. Burgess
1849
Pg. 15:
She is one of our real up-towners; rich and very aristocratic!”
 
Google Books
Fresh Leaves from the Diary of a Broadway Dandy
Edited by John Denison Vose
New York, NY: Bunnell & Price
1852
Pg. 22:
Soon I went into a fashionable saloon, where I met three up-towners, who, when they saw a heavy roll of bank-bills, did actually inquire, with much impertinence, how I could spend so much money.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Fancy free
Author: Donald Byrd
Publisher: Los Angeles, CA : Blue Note, [1969]
Edition/Format:   Music LP : Jazz : No Linguistic Content
Contents:
Fancy free—
I love the girl—
The uptowner—
Weasil.

Posted by Barry Popik
New York CityWorkers/People • Sunday, April 07, 2013 • Permalink


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