Cafe La Fortuna
closes
(posted March
2008)
Cafe La
Fortuna closed its doors in February 2008, more than 30
years after it began attracting customers in the heart of
New York City's Upper West Side. A rent increase factored
into the decision to close the cafe.
This was
a discreet and inexpensive cafe located only a block from
the Dakota at 69 West 71st street. John Lennon
visited the cafe almost every day from 1976 to 1980 where
he could go to relax, read the paper and drink
cappuccino. There is a famous picture of John and Yoko
sitting outside on the patio here. Record producer, Jack
Douglas, recalls that in the fall of 1980, during the
recording sessions of Double Fantasy, he and John would
have breakfast here every morning. Around 11 am, John
would return to the Dakota for a nap, and would meet up
with Jack at either the Hit Factory or the Record Plant
studios in the afternoon. Also, part of John's 1980
Playboy interview was conducted here.
John and Yoko had a
favorite table they sat at inside which used to be in the
left corner as soon as you enter the cafe. Autographed
photos from John and Yoko were displayed on the wall in
that spot. In 2006, the owner of the cafe decided to
offer the table to Yoko Ono, after bringing in new tables
with a renovation. Yoko accepted the small wooden table
and chairs and wrote a thank you letter to the owner. She
said, "The afternoons we spent in Cafe La Fortuna are
something I will remember forever."
http://www.cafelafortuna.net/
The Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland
October 9, 2007 - Unveiling of Yoko Ono's Imagine Peace Tower on Videy Island off Reykjavík, Iceland
The Imagine Peace Tower is a powerful beacon of light representing people's wishes for peace, set to shine every year between October 9, Lennon's birthday, and December 8, the anniversary of his death.
Yoko Ono told NYPost.com: "I wanted the tower to stay forever, but 24 hours a day, 365 days a year is heavy maintenance and electricity. With 24-hour daylight in summer, keeping it visible becomes an expensive undertaking, which scared the administration. So for now, it starts from John's birthday until his death - Oct. 9 to Dec. 8. Creating it wasn't that expensive. The government helped since this becomes a tourist attraction. I realized that, with contrasting the two symbolic dates, it gives an understanding of the shortness of life, and eternity of the spirit. It reminds one how brief life can be and is significant even for those not into John Lennon's life.
"Actually, this is answered prayer because my first time in John's house he talked about building a lighthouse. I never knew how to conceptualize that. I never believed this could be reality. Someday this tower will be lit 365 days for 24 hours, but for now I'm not pushing it. Forever is a long time."
http://www.imaginepeace.com/tower.html
Go inside
the John Lennon Educational Tour
Bus
with exclusive photos
by Daytrippin' Rock and Roll Tours
On March 14, 2005, the
John Lennon Educational Tour Bus made a stop in New York
City down at the Apple store in Soho.
A battle of the bands had
been held in NYC that weekend and the winner spent all
day recording one of their own songs in the
state-of-the-art recording studio inside the
bus.
The winner also filmed
their own music video which is edited right on the bus.
This photo shows staff engineer, Doug Lubowitz, operating
the high-tech video editing system.
Three staff engineers
live on the bus and travel around the country sponsoring
local music contests. The goal is to encourage up and
coming artists by making a free recording and music video
for them. This organizations also sponsors the John
Lennon Songwriting Contest (http://www.jlsc.com) held each year.
For more information,
visit http://www.lennonbus.org/
