Dario Granato
Mysterious and fascinating
Perhaps many remember the Dakota building by the episode of December 8, 1980, where opposite the main entrance, former Beatle John Lennon was murdered. Its history is long and dotted with other occurrences. After more than a century (it was completed in 1884 when the city center was still far away), the building carries a long list of strange facts and since its inception it was often linked to satanic cults and concentration of evil forces. One of the famous people of the Dakota was actor Boris Karloff, horror icon of the early 20th century. It is said that he was participating in spiritualism evenings which were held in the building.
At the same time also lived in the building Edward Alexander Crowley who reportedly practiced black magic there. He was best known as the magician occultist Aleister Crowley as he was nicknamed, among other things, as "the wickedest man in the world", "The Beast of the Apocalypse" and "the epitome of evil." Gerald Gardner, practicing neo-pagan religion Wicca, held witchcraft rituals when he stayed at the Dakota inspiring Roman Polanski to create a character in the film "Rosemary's Baby", where a group of people took advantage of a young wife using her to beget the son of Satan. The filming of scenes in the Dakota prompted protests outside the building by protesters of various sects among which was Charles Manson. Later Roman Polanski would see a real version of his movie, Manson's followers murdered his wife, actress Sharon Tate, eight months pregnant. Manson said that he was inspired by the song "Helter Skelter" by the Beatles to plan the murder, a harbinger again related to the Dakota. There is an abundance of similar stories that happened in the Dakota, yet despite this the building is a temporary home for many personalities: Bono and Ali Hewson, Ian McDonald, Jack Palance, Jennifer Lopez, Jose Ferrer, Judy Garland, Lauren Bacall, Leonard Bernstein, Marc Anthony, Paul Simon, Roberta Flack, Robert Ryan, Rudolf Nureyev, Sting, Zero Mostel, and the list goes on, including Yoko Ono, Lennon's widow, who still keeps her apartment. However, it is hard to buy property in the Dakota, money is not sufficient to gain the acceptance of fellow residents. Among the ranks of those rejected are Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith, Billy Joel, Gene Simmons, the politician and businessman Dennis Mehiel and even Madonna. The atmosphere is strange, both mysterious and fascinating. Although the public cannot enter, you can walk around outside. Walking around gives a flavour of the place. It is surrounded by a small pit and guarded by medieval fortifications including figurative metallic dragons, the input (always guarded) is flanked by a pair of flaming torches in memory of John Lennon. Central Park is just opposite which includes the walkway of Strawberry Fields, also constructed as a memorial to his memory. The Dakota Building is located in one of the street number 72, opposite the Central Park (West), on the island of Manhattan, New York, United States.
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