There are a lot of fads when it comes to real estate in New York City. Buildings are demolished, cafes are turned into pharmacies, and rents rise. But for the last 50 years, there was one constant: Yoko Ono lived in the Dakota. She remained there even after that day in December 1980, when John Lennon was gunned down outside the building.
For years, tourists and New Yorkers alike flocked to the venue, hoping to see the artist, singer and icon. Ono’s presence maintained the mystique of the Dakota, already known as a coveted lodging for celebrities and entertainers by the time she and Lennon moved into the apartment complex in 1973.
To the chagrin of some other residents, the couple at one point owned five units at the Dakota, which — in addition to being their primary residence — were used as a guest house, storage space, and a studio for Ono. The living space and studio covered nearly 6,000 square feet, New York magazine reported in 1996.
After half a century of eccentricity, opulence and tragedy, Ono has moved from New York City to the sprawling farm in the Catskill Mountains she bought with Lennon in 1978, according to reports earlier this year. For many, he indicates that yet another link is missing from the old New York — the gritty, glamorous one, run by artists and musicians. City residents and artists alike feel a sense of loss knowing that the chances of a momentary sighting or fleeting encounter with Ono are now even less.
“I think Yoko provided a great romance for the Dakota,” said Emmy Awards trustee Julie Lucas.
In the early 2000s, Lucas briefly met Ono in the Dakota’s elevator. The interaction was shocking to Lucas, 71: “She had a wonderful calm and emanated a sense of welcome.”
Before Ono was associated with the Dakotas, she lived in Downtown, where she became a pioneer in conceptual art.
Ono, who turned 90 this year, no longer participates in interviews, said Elliot Mintz, her representative. She said that she “continues to own her apartment in the Dakota.”
The mid-rise Gothic-style building sits on West 72nd Street, overlooking Central Park, and was built by developer Edward Clark, who died before it was completed in 1884. The complex’s 65 units were already leased before it was completed. their doors open.
After the building was the setting for the 1968 horror film “Rosemary’s Baby,” his fascination grew. If “New York was considered the capital of American art, culture and fashion, the Dakota seemed to be the capital of the capital”Stephen Birmingham wrote in his 1979 book, “Life at the Dakota.”
Roberta Flack, Rosemary Clooney, Leonard Bernstein, and Judy Garland have all been on its long list of notable residents. It takes more than fame and wealth to get in—the cooperative’s notoriously strict board turned down Billy Joel, Madonna and Cher.
Today there is one unit for sale in the building: a 6,000-square-foot, five-bedroom, nine-bathroom apartment on the eighth floor. It has a separate studio unit and list price is $20 million.
Those who have not been inside the Dakota have been able to experience it vicariously through stories and photos. A homey image, taken by rock ‘n’ roll photographer Bob Gruen in 1975, shows Ono and Lennon sitting on a bed stacked with magazines. In it, Lennon holds his newborn son, Sean. In 1980, Annie Leibovitz photographed Lennon curled up naked, with his arms around Ono’s head as he kissed her cheek. He would later appear on the cover of Rolling Stone. Just hours after she was taken, Lennon was murdered by a deranged fan.
Ono has expressed his evolving relationship with New York through posts on Twitter. “John once said that he fell in love with New York on a street corner,” she said in January.
For many people, Ono will always be a part of New York. Writer and curator Phillip Ward — who organized a public celebration of Ono’s 90th birthday earlier this year — thinks of the artist every time she passes the Dakota. “I always look up, smile and say, ‘Thank you,’” he said.
Ono has also been thoughtful about her stay in the city. “New York is like an old friend. He has his moods,” she wrote to herself in 2017. “But I know them all.”
ANNA KODÉ. THE NEW YORK TIMES
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/6879761, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-09-05 20:30:09
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