John Lennon 1940-1980

John & Yoko outside the Dakota Nov. 1980

This Wednesday, December 8th, marks the 30th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon outside The Dakota in New York City where he lived with his wife Yoko Ono.

The Dakota

The Dakota is located at 1 West 72nd St. right across the street from Central Park.  At the edge of the park is Strawberry Field, a memorial to John.

Strawberry Field

This weekend, I watched a couple of fantastic programs regarding this sad anniversary.  One on PBS entitled  American Masters: Lennon NYC about his new life once he and Yoko moved to New York; how happy they were there and how much he loved the city.  The other program was a bit darker: Losing Lennon: A Countdown To Murder.  It's a detailed account of the minutes leading up to the murder.  It includes chilling interviews from the killer, the police who were first on the seen and physically carried John to the hospital, plus other eye witnesses accounts.  One of the saddest moments is an interview with Lennon's oldest son, Julian. Check your tv listings, as I'm sure both programs will be airing several times on PBS and CNN this week.

The site

I visited the site of his death in New York a few years ago.  It speaks to the bravery of Yoko that she still resides at the Dakota and walks by this every day.  I was never really a big fan of Lennon's but I still appreciate how many people around the world loved and admired him and how tragic his loss was.