My Visit Inside the Dakota, NYC.

Brian Of Nazareth

Well-known member
A visit to the Dakota.

I was asked a while ago about the time I went inside the Dakota building in NYC. Here's the short version of the story. I made my first visit to New York City from the Wales, UK in December 2000 for my 20th birthday. Having spent my impressionable teenage years obsessing about everything to do John Lennon and Beatles; visiting the Dakota was a must. I have had countless dreams of being inside the famous apartment, I’m always disappointed when I wake up and it was a dream! 😂 Maybe a lottery win and who knows!

My poor girlfriend (now wife) was taken to Dakota on most of the days. During the visits I began chatting to the doorman who worked there, he was such a great guy. He said that if I left a CD with him he would ask Yoko to sign it. On the last day of our trip, we left the Dakota visit to last. It was getting dark and we were staying with family outside of Manhattan, no yellow cab would take us so I asked the doorman what my options were he told me I would have to call a local taxi company from the area I was going to pick me up and I could do so at the nearest phone box that was across the street in the subway. Fortunately as it turned out the phone was broken, I went back to the doorman and explained the situation and to my amazement he said that I could "come in" and use the phone in the office. I couldn't believe it, my heart started to race as I followed him into the archway and up the narrow driveway to the reception door on the right, as I made my way up the steps into the Dakota it suddenly hit me like a thunderbolt that I had just made the same walk as John and Yoko had many times.

All those years of reading every little detail, obsessing as a teenager, the sadness I'd always felt, the feeling of wishing I could go back in time. It almost felt I had been there before.

As I waited in the reception I noticed all the security camera monitors and could actually see the hallways and doorways of the apartments. I'd had on me my dispensable camera.. the last thing on my mind was to take photos so just held it in my hands for the duration. I said my thanks and goodbyes and waited outside for our taxi.

I arrived home in the UK with my signed CD " To Paul NYC 2000 love Yoko Ono". Many weeks later I took my camera to the shops to be developed (this was before the smart phone!) I was astonished to find that my camera had randomly took photos during the whole trip...when I looked through them there had been ones taken during my Dakota visit. One of the moment I walked out of the Dakota and along the archway back to the street, a view John and Yoko would have had thousands of times...It was so random and strange. I’ve added the image below.

I've never forgotten the kindness of the doorman and sent him a gift from the UK when I arrived home.
 

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A visit to the Dakota.

I was asked a while ago about the time I went inside the Dakota building in NYC. Here's the short version of the story. I made my first visit to New York City from the Wales, UK in December 2000 for my 20th birthday. Having spent my impressionable teenage years obsessing about everything to do John Lennon and Beatles; visiting the Dakota was a must. I have had countless dreams of being inside the famous apartment, I’m always disappointed when I wake up and it was a dream! 😂 Maybe a lottery win and who knows!

My poor girlfriend (now wife) was taken to Dakota on most of the days. During the visits I began chatting to the doorman who worked there, he was such a great guy. He said that if I left a CD with him he would ask Yoko to sign it. On the last day of our trip, we left the Dakota visit to last. It was getting dark and we were staying with family outside of Manhattan, no yellow cab would take us so I asked the doorman what my options were he told me I would have to call a local taxi company from the area I was going to pick me up and I could do so at the nearest phone box that was across the street in the subway. Fortunately as it turned out the phone was broken, I went back to the doorman and explained the situation and to my amazement he said that I could "come in" and use the phone in the office. I couldn't believe it, my heart started to race as I followed him into the archway and up the narrow driveway to the reception door on the right, as I made my way up the steps into the Dakota it suddenly hit me like a thunderbolt that I had just made the same walk as John and Yoko had many times.

All those years of reading every little detail, obsessing as a teenager, the sadness I'd always felt, the feeling of wishing I could go back in time. It almost felt I had been there before.

As I waited in the reception I noticed all the security camera monitors and could actually see the hallways and doorways of the apartments. I'd had on me my dispensable camera.. the last thing on my mind was to take photos so just held it in my hands for the duration. I said my thanks and goodbyes and waited outside for our taxi.

I arrived home in the UK with my signed CD " To Paul NYC 2000 love Yoko Ono". Many weeks later I took my camera to the shops to be developed (this was before the smart phone!) I was astonished to find that my camera had randomly took photos during the whole trip...when I looked through them there had been ones taken during my Dakota visit. One of the moment I walked out of the Dakota and along the archway back to the street, a view John and Yoko would have had thousands of times...It was so random and strange. I’ve added the image below.

I've never forgotten the kindness of the doorman and sent him a gift from the UK when I arrived home.
Absolutely love this. What a read!!!
 
A visit to the Dakota.

I was asked a while ago about the time I went inside the Dakota building in NYC. Here's the short version of the story. I made my first visit to New York City from the Wales, UK in December 2000 for my 20th birthday. Having spent my impressionable teenage years obsessing about everything to do John Lennon and Beatles; visiting the Dakota was a must. I have had countless dreams of being inside the famous apartment, I’m always disappointed when I wake up and it was a dream! 😂 Maybe a lottery win and who knows!

My poor girlfriend (now wife) was taken to Dakota on most of the days. During the visits I began chatting to the doorman who worked there, he was such a great guy. He said that if I left a CD with him he would ask Yoko to sign it. On the last day of our trip, we left the Dakota visit to last. It was getting dark and we were staying with family outside of Manhattan, no yellow cab would take us so I asked the doorman what my options were he told me I would have to call a local taxi company from the area I was going to pick me up and I could do so at the nearest phone box that was across the street in the subway. Fortunately as it turned out the phone was broken, I went back to the doorman and explained the situation and to my amazement he said that I could "come in" and use the phone in the office. I couldn't believe it, my heart started to race as I followed him into the archway and up the narrow driveway to the reception door on the right, as I made my way up the steps into the Dakota it suddenly hit me like a thunderbolt that I had just made the same walk as John and Yoko had many times.

All those years of reading every little detail, obsessing as a teenager, the sadness I'd always felt, the feeling of wishing I could go back in time. It almost felt I had been there before.

As I waited in the reception I noticed all the security camera monitors and could actually see the hallways and doorways of the apartments. I'd had on me my dispensable camera.. the last thing on my mind was to take photos so just held it in my hands for the duration. I said my thanks and goodbyes and waited outside for our taxi.

I arrived home in the UK with my signed CD " To Paul NYC 2000 love Yoko Ono". Many weeks later I took my camera to the shops to be developed (this was before the smart phone!) I was astonished to find that my camera had randomly took photos during the whole trip...when I looked through them there had been ones taken during my Dakota visit. One of the moment I walked out of the Dakota and along the archway back to the street, a view John and Yoko would have had thousands of times...It was so random and strange. I’ve added the image below.

I've never forgotten the kindness of the doorman and sent him a gift from the UK when I arrived home.
Love that,thanks for sharing!
 
This is a great story, thank you for sharing it with us! What a great trip and a memory to have and cherish. May I kindly ask, which CD did you get for Yoko to sign for you? I would imagine that the then-recent-ish Ryko reissues made finding her albums on CD much easier at the time!
 
This is a great story, thank you for sharing it with us! What a great trip and a memory to have and cherish. May I kindly ask, which CD did you get for Yoko to sign for you? I would imagine that the then-recent-ish Ryko reissues made finding her albums on CD much easier at the time!
Sorry, forgot to mention that! I tried with the Two Virgins album first but Yoko (understandably) doesn’t sign that album so had to get another. Went with Unfinished Music No 2: Life with the Lions.

Here we go:
 

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WOW! What a great story! You really lucked out that the pay phone wasn't working. My first trip to NYC was in 2000 as well and I also visited the Dakota. I was 22 at the time, so we are in the same age range.

Thanks for the story!
 
Una visita al Dakota.

Hace un tiempo me preguntaron sobre la vez que entré al edificio Dakota en Nueva York. Aquí está la versión corta de la historia. Hice mi primera visita a la ciudad de Nueva York desde Gales, Reino Unido, en diciembre de 2000 para mi cumpleaños número 20. Habiendo pasado mis impresionables años de adolescencia obsesionada con todo lo que tenía que ver con John Lennon y los Beatles, visitar el Dakota era una obligación. He tenido innumerables sueños de estar dentro del famoso apartamento, ¡siempre me decepciono cuando me despierto y era un sueño! 😂 ¡Quizás un premio de lotería y quién sabe!

Mi pobre novia (ahora esposa) fue llevada a Dakota la mayoría de los días. Durante las visitas comencé a charlar con el portero que trabajaba allí, era un tipo genial. Dijo que si le dejaba un CD le pediría a Yoko que lo firmara. El último día de nuestro viaje, dejamos la visita a Dakota para el final. Estaba anocheciendo y nos estábamos quedando con familiares fuera de Manhattan, ningún taxi amarillo nos llevaría, así que le pregunté al portero cuáles eran mis opciones. Me dijo que tendría que llamar a una compañía de taxis local de la zona donde iba a recogerme y que podría hacerlo en la cabina telefónica más cercana que estaba al otro lado de la calle en el metro. Afortunadamente, como resultó que el teléfono estaba roto, volví a hablar con el portero y le expliqué la situación y, para mi sorpresa, dijo que podía "entrar" y usar el teléfono de la oficina. No lo podía creer, mi corazón empezó a acelerarse mientras lo seguía hacia el arco y por el angosto camino de entrada hacia la puerta de recepción a la derecha, mientras subía los escalones hacia el Dakota, de repente me golpeó como un rayo que acababa de hacer la misma caminata que John y Yoko habían hecho muchas veces.

Todos esos años de leer cada pequeño detalle, de obsesionarme cuando era adolescente, la tristeza que siempre sentí, la sensación de desear poder volver atrás en el tiempo. Casi sentía que ya había estado allí antes.

Mientras esperaba en la recepción, me fijé en todos los monitores de las cámaras de seguridad y pude ver los pasillos y las puertas de los apartamentos. Llevaba conmigo mi cámara prescindible... lo último que tenía en mente era sacar fotos, así que la sostuve en mis manos durante todo el tiempo que duró la espera. Di las gracias y me despedí y esperé afuera a que llegara nuestro taxi.

Llegué a casa, al Reino Unido, con mi CD autografiado "To Paul NYC 2000 love Yoko Ono". Muchas semanas después llevé mi cámara a la tienda para que la revelaran (¡esto fue antes de que existieran los teléfonos inteligentes!). Me quedé atónito al descubrir que mi cámara había tomado fotos al azar durante todo el viaje... cuando las miré, había algunas tomadas durante mi visita al Dakota. Una de ellas era del momento en que salí del Dakota y caminé por el arco de regreso a la calle, una vista que John y Yoko habrían tenido miles de veces... Fue tan aleatoria y extraña. He agregado la imagen a continuación.

Nunca he olvidado la amabilidad del portero y le envié un regalo desde el Reino Unido cuando llegué a casa.
DIt must have been a dream to visit that place that saw one of the most wonderful men in the world!
 
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