New York's Central Park Has A Little Spot Where Music Lovers Come To Pay Tribute

In New York City, December 8 is a day of infamy. On that day in 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed outside the Dakota apartment building at Central Park West and West 72nd Street. The city has never gotten over it, either, as witnessed daily across the street in a 2.5-acre garden called Strawberry Fields in Central Park, the best tourist attraction In America. At the heart is a circular black-and-white mosaic inscribed with the words "Imagine" — the title of his 1971 song calling for world peace. Here, mourners, musicians, and fans pay their respects, often in group sing-a-longs, particularly on Lennon's birthday on October 9 and the anniversary of his death. It's a powerful testament to the lives he continues to touch, even 44 years since that fateful day.

Strawberry Fields was born by Lennon's widow and conceptual artist, Yoko Ono. Working with the Central Park Conservancy, she conceived of a memorial that merged with the park rather than stuck onto it like an appendage, as a statue might. Strawberry Fields would also embody the park's purpose of providing peace and tranquility. To make it a global effort, Ono asked countries around the world to contribute shrubs, trees, flowers, and rocks to Strawberry Fields. In the end, 161 plants representing nearly every nation of the world at the time, along with the 34-foot mosaic — a gift from the city of Naples, Italy —  came to make this legendary memorial. Which is, by the way, not far from the best spots for fall foliage viewing In Central Park.

Strawberry Fields hearkens back to two songs by John Lennon. "Imagine" is captured in the mosaic, but the garden also refers to the 1967 Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever," inspired by a Salvation Army house named "Strawberry Field" near Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool — the beautiful, vibrant English city with fewer crowds than London. Here, the young boy played and found sanctuary, later channeling those memories into the song, especially the chorus: "Let me take you down / 'Cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields / Nothing is real / And nothing to get hung about / Strawberry Fields forever." In 2019, Strawberry Field opened to the public and includes an interactive exhibit that charts the story of the Salvation Army home, Lennon's experiences there, and the song.

Lennon's love affair with the United States began not long after his days at Strawberry Field. It came through the early rock-and-roll albums that arrived in Liverpool in the baggage of sailors working on cruise ships. Inspired by them, Lennon formed his first band, the Quarrymen, and covered many of rock's early hits. Less than 10 years later, he landed in New York City as a superstar and fell fully in love with it, moving there permanently in 1971 with Yoko Ono, who told PBS, "New York became a part of who John and I were..." Although tragedy ended the physical relationship, the Strawberry Fields memorial at Central Park transformed it into a spiritual one that will last as long as New York City does.