Big apple origins redux ("manzana principal")

[Gerald Cohen]

>At 1:32 PM +0000 3/28/03, Michael Quinion wrote:
>
>In the discussions on the subject that have appeared on this list,
>none that I can find in the archives have discussed the idea that the
>term Fitz Gerald picked up in New Orleans was a calque of Spanish
>"manzana principal" for the city centre or downtown area or - less
>directly - the place where the main action is. Would anyone care to
>comment?

****

    I don't find mention of this topic in my monograph or subsequent
articles on "The Big Apple," so I'll have to proceed from memory.  A
while back I asked a New Orleans historian about this etymology, and,
as I remember, he said the lasting Spanish influence on New Orleans
has been very limited. For example, I don't think there are many
street-names there of Spanish origin.  So the following questions
come to mind:

1) Was "manzana principal" a frequent term in New Orleans of the
early 20th century for that city's center/downtown area?

2) Was "the big apple" already being used in New Orleans of ca. 1920
to designate the city center/downtown area? (Answer: almost certainly
no, since there are thus far no attestations of this.)

3) If "the big apple" wasn't being used to refer to the New Orleans
city center/downtown area (Spanish: "manzana principal"), how could
the term's reference be extended from that meaning to "the big time
in horseracing (NYC racetracks)"?

    Meanwhile, there's a perfectly good explanation of "the big apple"
(1920ff.: NYC racetracks)  as the special treat for jockeys and
trainers active in "the bushes" (e.g. the county-fair races of Idaho
or South Dakota).  The big red delicious apple, developed in Iowa in
the 1870s was regarded as something extra special. Reaching the big
time in horseracing (NYC racetracks, with their big purses) was  the
big treat, the equivalent of three scoops  of ice-cream for a
youngster, in short, "the big apple."

Gerald Cohen