Back to Central Park

Here’s an abrupt gear-shift from yesterday’s post on the mighty Agnostic Front.


I realize I’m possibly courting the ire of regular readers who are more inclined to more aggressive fare, but after spotting this photo below, I felt compelled to add it to the mix.


By this point, I’ve penned quite a few posts regarding John Lennon’s fabled tenure in New York City (check out the most recent one here), but I spotted the photo below on the Facebook group NYC 1950 to Present (posted by one Louis Sessa) and it totally stuck a chord.

Here we see, of course, John and Paul of the Beatles hanging out at the Hans Christian Andersen statue on the western side of the Central Park Boat Pond. Here’s what Mr. Sessa had to say about the photo.

Paul McCartney, “Magic” Alex Mardas, John Lennon, Neil Aspinall - in Central Park, in front of Hans Christian Andersen statue, May 1968 (photographer unknown). John and Paul were in NYC to announce the formation of Apple and to appear on the Johnny Carson Show.

As New Yorkers, how many of us have taken similar pictures to this one? Having been raised on the Upper East Side, I practically grew up in Central Park. Like millions of others, I have vivid memories of climbing all over this beloved statue, as well as its larger sibling to the north, that being the iconic “Alice in Wonderland.”


I just love the idea that John and Paul also felt inclined to capture a moment there. Only last weekend, I was in that very same spot with my kids, and we also succumbed.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find any more shots from John and Paul's day in the Park (if there are any to be found), although I did find this crummy version of their appearance on the Tonight Show that evening.

 It's also just strange to see these seemingly larger-than-life figures hanging around such a familiar locale. That said, the Fabs aren't the first band to have been photographed around this spot. As I first spoke of in this post, here's Sonic Youth hanging out on the afore-cited "Alice in Wonderland"....

Taking a page from the Beatles (probably not by accident, given their aspirations), KISS were also photographed loitering manfully around this same area of Central Park.