Syndicated newspaper columnist Walter Winchell (1897-1972) wrote in a column in March 1949:
“Sights You Never See on the New York Map: (...) ‘Tin Pan Handle Alley’ (50th Street near the bus terminals) where the mendicants ply their rackets more than any other Manhattan spot.”
“Tin Pan Handle Alley” is a blend of “Tin Pan Alley” and “panhandle” (to beg for money). Winchell wrote at a time before the December 1950 opening of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, when New York City had several bus terminals.
The name “Tin Pan Handle Alley” does not have any other known citations and is of historical interest today.
23 March 1949, Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger, “On Broadway” by Walter Winchell, pg. 25, col. 2:
Sights You Never See on the New York Map: (...) “Tin Pan Handle Alley” (50th Street near the bus terminals) where the mendicants ply their rackets more than any other Manhattan spot.
June 1949, Hearst’s International Combined with Cosmopolitan (New York, NY), “Winchell’s New York,” pg. 112, col. 2:
Sights You Never See on the New York Map: (...) “Tin Pan Handle Alley” (50th Street near the bus terminals) where the mendicants ply their rackets more than any other Manhattan spot.
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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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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