It was 28 years ago today that singer/songwriter John Lennon was fatally shot outside his Upper West Side apartment building by a deranged fan.
Every year since the tragic event on Dec. 8, 1980, fans have gathered to pay tribute to the gifted musician near the site of the shooting.
Despite the bitter temperatures, hundreds of people are expected to gather later today at Strawberry Fields - the memorial garden in Central Park that was created as a tribute to the ex-Beatle in 1985.
It is located across from the Dakota, where Lennon lived with Yoko Ono when he was killed.
“We tend to treat today like everyday at Strawberry Fields, which is a place to honor [Lennon’s] message of love and peace,” said a spokesperson for the Central Park Conservancy.
But not the fans. Though there is no official ceremony, they simply come in great numbers each year to lay flowers, light candles, and remember.
Strawberry Fields has attracted millions of people from across the world since it opened. Ono donated $1 million for maintenance of the memorial, which is marked by a ground mosaic that spells out the word "Imagine."
Lennon and Ono had just arrived home to their building the Dakota on Central Park West when the singer was shot four times by Mark David Chapman, who is serving a life sentence for the murder and was denied parole earlier this year.
Lennon would have turned 68 this past October.
