Strawberry Fields forever…

At the mosaic’s dedication, Ono said, "It is our way of taking a sad song and making it better…Since we have a Lenin square in the world…I would like to have a Lennon circle.”

In the surrounding gardens, the architect did manage to include plant species native to all 161 participating nations: "…dogwoods from Princess Grace of Monaco…river birches from the Soviet Union, maples from Canada…an oak from Great Britain…daffodils from the Netherlands…”

Strawberry plants, of course, and, to Ono’s delight, cedars from Israel coexists peacefully with fothergilla from Jordon. Only the United States is unrepresented, as the Reagan White House never responded.

The area is named Strawberry Fields, after the Beatles song that Lennon once called his best work, an impressionistic attempt to capture his childhood memories of playing in the wooded gardens behind the Strawberry Field children’s home in Liverpool.

At the mosaic, you will almost always find a busker taking requests and singing Lennon’s songs for tips. The circle is often decorated with flowers and has become perhaps the Central Park’s most visited spot. 

And should you visit on December 8th, the anniversary of his death, you can join the chorus as fans sing his hits late into the night.

From the TellBetter Tour of Central Park on the VoiceMap app.