Thursday, February 08, 2018

Central Park West And New York City's Landmark, The Dakota

After my visit to Top of the Rock, I decided to take a walk through Central Park and stop by the gorgeous New York City landmark apartment building, The Dakota, to get some photographs. It's funny though because when I lived in NYC back in the 70's-80's, I simply took this iconic marker for granted. I had several friends who lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, so I walked past it quite often; never giving it a second glance.

The Dakota was infamous for housing many celebrities. Past celebrities include:

Film actress, Lauren Bacall
Composer, Leonard Bernstein
Singer, Rosemary Clooney
Comedian, Gilda Radner
Singer/Actress, Judy Garland

The Dakota was also the film location for Roman Polanski's chilling movie, Rosemary's Baby

Here are a few photographs from my stroll through Central Park to its West Side...

Bow Bridge at Central Park's Lake

View walking over Bow Bridge

One of the many cool-looking tunnels throughout Central Park

Strawberry Fields John Lennon Memorial

And speaking of John Lennon, The Dakota was where he and Yoko Ono lived...

Now

Then

Yoko Ono and John Lennon standing by The Dakota (1980)

Their apartment is outlined in the photo above

The Dakota -  the corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West

Front view
I love how "Gothic" it looks!

The entrance to The Dakota (present)

This was the location where John Lennon was shot on that tragic December 8th evening...

1980

Fans outside the gates paying their respects to John Lennon

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Before I left, I turned around to get one last glimpse of The Dakota from the other side of the street. And as I stood there looking up at this magnificent building today, I couldn't help but get an incredible sense of how much the rich history of its past has influenced this building in the present. Because it is the past that continually gives The Dakota its striking presence...

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

X

For a fascinating commentary about The Dakota, please check out this short Vanity Fair video clip.