Ever wondered how New York became known as The Big Apple? As refugees from Europe escaped the dreaded guillotine, they began arriving in New York in the early nineteenth century. One such immigrant was Madomiselle Evelyn Claudine de Saint-Evremond, a courtier and favorite of Marie Antoinett. She was well-educated, vivacious, and beautiful and easily became a center of attention and society favorite. Several of her highly placed admirers helped establish her salon at 142 Bond Street, an exclusive residential district. The elegantly furnished bordello became known for witty conversation, elegant dinners, and the most discreet and entertaining salon in the city. Evelyn became “Eve” when New Yorkers anglicized her name, in reference to the biblical temptresses she employed. She called her girls “my irresistible apples” and men called their amorous adventures “a taste of Eve’s Apples.” And the rest, as they say, is history, and New York is known as “The Big Apple!”
