Strawberry Fields is a living memorial to the world-famous singer, songwriter, and social activist John Lennon (1940-1980). This area of Central Park was named in 1981, and the re-landscaped Strawberry Fields was dedicated in 1985. In 1984, Yoko Ono contributed $500,000 to redesign and renovate Strawberry Fields, and an equivalent amount for an ongoing maintenance endowment. Landscape architect Bruce Kelly designed a meditative Garden of Peace, rich in trees, shrubs and flowers, which was integrated with the historic landscape of Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) and Calvert Vaux (1824-1895). At the western apex of the garden, Neopolitan artisans crafted a circular black and white mosaic emblem into the pavement, containing a starburst pattern and the solitary word, "Imagine," the title of one of Lennon's most famous songs. 150 nations were enlisted to contribute plants to the garden, thus embodying the principle of world peace for which Lennon was such an influential advocate. On October 9, 1985, on the 45th anniversary of Lennon's birth, Strawberry Fields was dedicated, and has become a pilgrimage site for visitors to New York from around the world.

Perhaps more renowned for its resident John Lennon who was shot outside by Mark David Chapman in 1973, the Dakota was one of the first large apartments built on the West Side. In order to attract upscale residents to what was then an almost rural location, the building is loaded with amenities. Carriages would enter through a porte cochere. There are elevators as well as staircases. Each of the 65 apartments is unique, all of the rooms are very large; living rooms are 45' long and 14' high and have windows on several sides. The building also featured a large dining hall with dumbwaiters for food to be transported to the apartments. For exercise, children could play in a penthouse playroom and gymnasium. Outside there was a garden, croquet lawn, and tennis court. It generated its own electricity. There was central heating which was unusual for the 1880's. Famous residents included Judy Garland, Yoko Ono, Lauren Bacall, Rosemary Clooney, Boris Karloff, Rudolph Nureyev, Leonard Bernstein, and Connie Chung.