Surely if you hear the term "the big apple" you think of an impressive city: New York . Why is it so called? According to different investigations on the subject, the first appointment of New York as "the big apple" can be found in the book The Walker in New York, written in 1909 by Edward Martin, however, the reference seems rather metaphorical. Later, on February 18, 1924, a New York sportswriter wrote an article titled "Near the Big Apple."
He wrote an article on horse racing and used the term when he learned that African-American jockeys from New Orleans dreamed of racing at the New York racetracks, because the awards they would receive here would be far better than the typical apples that they used to receive. A few years later, in the 1930s, jazz musicians began calling New York " the big apple, " so the term began to become much more prevalent.
In show business , New York was the most coveted place and it was where all artists wanted to succeed. Thus appeared a popular nightclub in Harlem called "The Big Apple", in which jazz was played. The audience for these performances was very sophisticated. Playing "The Big Apple" meant you were going to make a name for yourself soon. In fact, the artists always said, "There are many apples on the tree, but only one Big Apple."
It was in 1971 when the name was officially accepted by New York in a tourism campaign. The city had begun to lose its splendor and was becoming very famous for high crime rates, blackouts and strikes. The campaign focused on the use of red apples to project the image of a bright and cheerful city.