Inside the Dakota

I decided to mix it up a little here and give all you guys a little treat. Just so you know, these apartments ARE NOT THE APARTMENTS THAT JOHN AND YOKO LIVED IN. These are merely apartments that have gone up for sale. So you can't say I was being misleading. The point in uploading this video is to show you guys a glimpse of the interior of The Dakota and get a mental image of what John's apartment probably looks like. The Dakota doesn't allow filming inside, but this is the next best thing.

The Dakota was constructed in 1880 and it was designed by Henry J. Hardenbergh. It is on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States for its significance. According to legend, the building was named after the Dakota territory in the Midwestern United States. The Dakota territory was remote and rural and at the time The Dakota was built, the Upper West Side was very rural and considered to be "outside" of New York City. Thus, people said that it was "as remote as the Dakota territory" and the name stuck. But this story is most likely apocryphal. The building is constructed in a Gothic/Renaissance style with ornate features and buttresses. The building is also considered one of, if not, the most exclusive buildings in New York. The building is a cooperative, meaning the residents have a board and they must approve you before you can live there. So even if you have money to buy an apartment, it does not guarantee you a place in the building. Originally, The Dakota contained 65 apartments with each one being unique. No floor plan is the same. It has been home to many famous celebrities including: Lauren Bacall, Judy Garland, Maury Povich, Gilda Radner, Neil Sedaka, Paul Simon, Jose Ferrer, Steve Guttenberg, Boris Karloff, John Madden, Leonard Bernstein, Jason Robards, Neil Sedaka, Roberta Flack, and most famously, John Lennon and Yoko Ono (who bought their apartment from the actor Robert Ryan who was in films such as The Wild Bunch, The Dirty Dozen, The Longest Day, and others). John (and Yoko continues to) lived in apartment 72 on the 7th floor. His bedroom window overlooked Central Park and it was in the corner of the building facing West 72nd Street and Central Park West. John also owned 4 additional apartments in The Dakota. One was used as an office (Studio One, a four room studio apartment on the second floor), another medium sized apartment was used for storage, and the others were used by the Lennon's themselves with at least one being a guest apartment for visitors and apartment 71, down the hall from apartment 72, was essential an extension of their residence in apartment 72. When Sean turned 15, Yoko gave him apartment 71 to live in on his own. I don't know if Sean still lives at The Dakota, but if he does then it is probably in apartment 71 and if he doesn't then Yoko probably retained possession of it.

Prices for apartments in The Dakota range from a minimum of $500,000 for a studio apartment, $7.5 million for a 1 bedroom apartment, $14.5 million for a 3 bedroom apartment, and $14.5 to $25.5 million for a 4 bedroom apartment.

If you want any additional information on The Dakota, I would recommend reading Life at the Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address by Stephen Birmingham. This book is still in print and currently sells for around 14 dollars on Amazon.com.

Since I forgot to include it in this video, here is John and Yoko's apartment at The Dakota. It is highlighted in pink and, as you can see, is very large. This is apartment 72. If you look at my "Last photographs of John Lennon" series, you will see a photo of John sitting on the window sill. That picture was taken by the window facing Central Park West (the one facing you in the picture). The green outline is the living room of John's apartment at The Dakota. The famous white piano from the music video for Imagine is located just behind those curtains and that is where John recorded many of the home demos located in my 1975-1980 home demo project, but he also recorded a vast majority of them in Studio One and apartment 71.

This is an approximate outline of where John's main apartment (#72) is located in The Dakota. It's on the 7th floor:

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/6136/69535584.png

I am sure that this is probably unnecessary to mention, but The Dakota is also the site of John Lennon's murder on December 8th, 1980. He was shot as he was walking under the archway at the 72nd Street entrance and he later staggered up the steps to the lobby before collapsing in front of the superintendent's office. The archway where John was shot can be seen to the lower left.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• john
• lennon
• yoko
• ono
• sean
• the
• beatles
• julian
• cynthia
• dakota
• new
• york
• city
• west
• 72nd
• street
• central
• park
• apartments

[TheLusianPopa]

what are the ceiling heights?various sources give 12 and 14 feet.Ift its 14 ft they are incredible high

[NeilFraudstrong]

@TheLusianPopa

They average 14 feet high.

[tobyMacAttack]

Hi, umm i have a question. Which Dakota apratments did John actualy live in? i mean i know they had more then 1, but what were there room numbers? also is Johns room visible from most pics of the Dakota? if so which one?

Also do you like Yoko? i keep swithiching from liking her one day to hating her the next. i mean...she made John happy, but she was cheating on him in 1980, with that guy...and made Julian buy back all that stuff... and i dont know...she seemed like she was using him.

[NeilFraudstrong]

@tobyMacAttack

I do not care for her. The description answers the rest of your questions.

[tobyMacAttack]

@NeilFraudstrong Oh ok thanks :)

If John was still alive do you think he wouldve still been with Yoko?

[NeilFraudstrong]

@tobyMacAttack

Not a chance. Not even the smallest bit of a chance.

Also, thanks for taking my comment with gentle good humor. After I wrote it, I felt bad because I felt like it appeared I was going off on you like I do on the people on my last interview series who don't read the descriptions. But I'm glad you didn't take it as me being snarky or rude or anything because it was not my intention.

[Goodwith2005]

@tobyMacAttack

What do you think John was doing for almost a year in L.A. with May Pang playing shuffleboard?

She was JOHN'S choice not for anyone else to like or dislike...

[ResidueInThePant]

@tobyMacAttack 7+2=...John's lucky number...

[stomp919]

Who wants to live in an apartment? Not me.

[NeilFraudstrong]

@tobyMacAttack

I guess they assume that if he had stayed with Cynthia in England then Mark David Chapman would have never been able to assassinate him which I don't think is entirely true.