John Lennon Lived Here

Took a few days away from work a few weeks ago in order to get a much needed break.  The past couple of months at work were hell for me in terms of workload.  I had to spend long hours at work just to be able to get rid of all the “pending” stuff on my desk.  Anyway, enough words said about work.

Some of you know by now that I’m a huge John Lennon fan.   So what I did one morning was to take a trip up to the Upper West Side of Manhattan, to visit the place where he once lived and where he, unfortunately, also died.   I’ve long thought about making the trip but except for a quick “drive by” or two to the place through the kindness of cousins, I have not had the chance to really visit the place in all the many years I’ve lived here.

For me, a “real” visit to a place involves getting off a vehicle in order to spend a few moments walking around a particular spot or monument, to get a chance to internalize and appreciate an area’s atmosphere and surroundings, and to reflect on the event(s) that took place there.  Thus, within an hour after I left my place, I was finally at the spot I’ve long wanted to be, standing in front of the building where a rock legend once lived, the Dakota.

Standing at the northwest corner of Central Park West and West 72nd Street, the Dakota opened its doors in 1884 as an apartment building that catered to New York’s wealthy.  It served as John Lennon’s residence from 1973 to 1980.  John Lennon moved to the United States from England in 1971.  He fell in love with  New York City because it was a place where people generally respected his privacy.   In fact, his widow, Yoko Ono, and son, Sean, still live in the Dakota.

The Lennons reportedly bought the entire 7th floor of the building.  In the photo above, the 7th floor is marked with the long metal balcony.

The photo above shows the infamous entrance to the driveway leading into the Dakota’s courtyard.  I say this entrance is “infamous” because it was by those gates where John Lennon was fatally shot by Marc David Chapman after he (Lennon) had gotten off his car to greet some fans that fateful night of December 8, 1980.

Across the street from the Dakota is Central Park.  And within a stone’s throw from the Dakota is a section of the park called Strawberry Fields.  The main attraction at Strawberry Fields is this mural shown above that’s lying on the ground.  In its very center is the word “Imagine”, named after a song John Lennon wrote and issued in 1971 that longed for a world where men live in peace and harmony.

It was said that Ms. Ono wanted the mural to be placed on the ground rather than on a raised monument so as to be in keeping with Mr. Lennon’s ideals that no man should be above any other, that we are all equal in this world.

(By the way, those painted nails weren’t mine.  Hehehe)

Above is a photo of the Dakota as it appears through the trees of Strawberry Fields in Central Park.  This photo was taken a few steps away from the “Imagine” mural.

The photo above was taken as I was about to leave the area.  It shows West 72nd Street with the Dakota on the left and all the other residential and commercial buildings on it.

Although my visit was brief, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.  There are still a lot of places around Manhattan that I’ve always wanted to visit but never really took the time to.  I’m starting to think that having spent decades of my life focused on work, that it’s about time that I get off the fast lane every now and then to admire and learn more about the world around me.

Photo credits:  M