The Imagine mosaic is the round black-and-white roundel set into the path at Strawberry Fields, the corner of Central Park that New York dedicated to John Lennon. It lies just inside the West 72nd Street entrance, across the road from the Dakota, the apartment building where Lennon lived and where he was shot in December 1980. The mosaic was a gift from the city of Naples, and its pattern copies a Roman floor from Pompeii.
The Imagine mosaic at a glance
- Where: Strawberry Fields, on the west side of Central Park between West 71st and 74th Streets, near the West 72nd Street entrance on Central Park West.
- Created: 1985; Strawberry Fields was dedicated on 9 October 1985, which would have been Lennon's 45th birthday.
- By: craftsmen from Naples, as a gift from that city; the garden around it was designed by the landscape architect Bruce Kelly with the Central Park Conservancy.
- What it is today: the centrepiece of a memorial garden and a designated Quiet Zone of the park, where fans leave flowers and gather to sing.
- Time needed: 15–30 minutes, longer if you sit on one of the benches and listen to whoever is playing.
From a council vote to a garden of peace
Lennon and Yoko Ono moved into the Dakota in 1973, and he often walked in this part of the park. After his murder on 8 December 1980, the New York City Council voted in March 1981 to name the area Strawberry Fields, after the Beatles song Strawberry Fields Forever, itself named after a children's home near Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool. Yoko Ono paid for the renovation of this run-down corner of the park and for a fund to maintain it. She chose not to put up a statue. Instead she invited countries around the world to send plants and stones for an international garden of peace.
The landscape architect Bruce Kelly fitted the donations into the original park landscape of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, with two small meadows, a wooded path and a paved gathering place. The mosaic came from Naples: Neapolitan craftsmen made it in black and white marble, based on a floor in the House of the Citharist in Pompeii. Where the Roman original has a head of Medusa, the New York version has a single word. The garden was dedicated on 9 October 1985, Lennon's 45th birthday and the 10th birthday of his son Sean.
What to look for
- The word IMAGINE in the centre of the circle, the title of Lennon's 1971 song about a world without borders, wars or possessions.
- The starburst pattern: black and white marble rays radiating from the centre, the geometric design borrowed from Pompeii. The circle measures about 10 metres (34 feet) around.
- The plaque of nations: on a rock outcrop east of the mosaic, a bronze plaque lists the more than 100 countries that dedicated the trees and stones of the garden, with a line from Imagine.
- The offerings: flowers, petals, candles and handwritten notes are regularly laid on the mosaic, sometimes arranged in a peace sign. Leave them as they are.
- The Dakota: look back across Central Park West to the gabled 1880s building with its dormers and turrets, where Lennon and Ono lived.
8 December and 9 October
Two dates bring the biggest crowds. On 8 December, the anniversary of Lennon's death, fans gather around the mosaic with candles and guitars and sing his songs into the evening, as they have every year since the 1980s. His birthday on 9 October draws a smaller crowd. On many ordinary days, too, you will find someone with a guitar on a bench nearby, and the circle quietly turns into a sing-along.
Tips for your visit
- Come early in the morning for a photo of the mosaic without people standing on it. From late morning, especially in summer, there is a queue of visitors waiting for their shot.
- Strawberry Fields is a Quiet Zone: no amplified music, sports or loud groups. Keep your voice down; for many people this is a place of mourning.
- Photograph the mosaic from the edge of the circle so the whole starburst fits in the frame, and do not move the flowers others have left.
- There are no restrooms here; the nearest are elsewhere in the park, so plan accordingly.
Nearby
- The Dakota: the 1884 apartment building on the corner of West 72nd Street and Central Park West. It is private, so admire it from the pavement.
- Cherry Hill: a small plaza just east of Strawberry Fields with an open view over the Lake to the skyline.
- Bethesda Terrace and Fountain: the park's grand two-level terrace with the Angel of the Waters statue, a short walk east past the Lake.
- Bow Bridge: the cast-iron bridge across the Lake, one of the most photographed views in the park.
See Central Park with World City Trail
Our Central Park scavenger hunt turns the park into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 3 hours, with about 43 minutes of walking. It includes places such as Cleopatra's Needle, Belvedere Castle and the Delacorte Theater. You can play in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Central Park.
Play the Central Park scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Central Park →
Play the outdoor escape game in Central Park →
Facts checked in October 2026.