Fans circled the "Imagine" mosaic graced with flowers, candles and flag.
Part of the huge crowd that gathered at Strawberry Fields to celebrate the life and music of John Lennon who lived in The Dakota (covered by the trees in the background) with his wife Yoko Ono. On December 8, 1980, Mr. Lennon was shot in the back at the entrance to The Dakota.
Video from sunemax
Thousands of fans gathered today at Central Park's Strawberry Fields to remember slain British superstar singer-songwriter-activist, JOHN LENNON who would have turned 70 today. A crush of fans, young and old alike circled the flower-covered "Imagine" mosaic and sang Lennon songs. Some fans brought flowers, photographs, notes and paintings to celebrate the artist who just wanted to give peace a chance.
Former Beatle JOHN LENNON continues to be mourned in Strawberry Fields, a memorial garden area in Central Park, across the street from the Dakota building where Lennon and Yoko Ono lived. Shortly after his death, Yoko Ono donated $1 million for its maintenance. Strawberry Fields has become a gathering place for tributes on Lennon's birthday and on the anniversary of his death. Captured above is the scene on the night of December 8. Young and old alike, fans and admirers of Lennon gathered around the IMAGINE mosaic which is filled with flowers, photos, candles, and offerings.
On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot four times in the back by Mark Chapman who had asked the former Beatle for his autograph only hours before he laid in wait and killed him.
Chapman pleaded guilty to gunning down Mr Lennon and is currently serving life in Attica prison near New York. In October 2004 he failed for the third time to secure his release.
He said he had heard voices in his head telling him to kill the world-famous musician. Twenty years after his death millions of fans paid tribute to Mr Lennon in his home town of Liverpool and in New York.
His widow launched a campaign against gun violence in the United States to mark the anniversary.
This is an image that I made recently of the mosaic at STRAWBERRY FIELDS, the section in Central Park dedicated to the memory of JOHN LENNON. Today is LENNON's birthday.
From Wikipedia.com:
Strawberry Fields is a 2.5 acre landscaped section in New York's Central Park that is dedicated to the memory of musician John Lennon, and named after his song, "Strawberry Fields Forever". It was designed by Bruce Kelly (1948-1993), the chief landscape architect for the Central Park Conservancy. Strawberry Fields was inaugurated on Lennon's birthday, 9 October 1985, by his widow Yoko Ono, who had underwritten the project.
The entrance to the memorial is located on Central Park West at West 72nd Street, directly across from the Dakota Apartments, where Lennon lived for the latter part of his life and where he was murdered. The memorial is a triangular piece of land falling away on the two Park sides, and its focal point is a circular pathway mosaic of inlaid stones, a reproduction of a mosaic from Pompeii, made by Italian craftsmen as a gift from the city of Naples. In the center of the mosaic is a single word, the title of Lennon's famous song: "Imagine". Along the borders of the triangular area surrounding the mosaic are benches which are endowed in memory of other individuals and maintained by the Central Park Conservancy. Along a path toward the southeast, a plaque lists the nations which contributed to building the memorial. Yoko Ono, who keeps apartments in The Dakota, contributed over a million dollars for the landscaping and for the upkeep endowment. It is not uncommon for the memorial to be covered with flowers, candles in glasses, and other belongings left behind by Lennon fans. On Lennon's birthday (October 9th) and on the anniversary of his death (December 8th), people gather to sing songs and pay tribute, staying late into what is often a cold night.
