By Leslie Albrecht and Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — A frigid and windy winter day didn't stop John Lennon fans from flocking to The Dakota early Wednesday to mark the 30th anniversary of his death.
News trucks arrived before 6 a.m. and well-wishers showed up about 7 a.m. to visit the spot where Mark Chapman gunned down the former Beatle on the night of Dec. 8, 1980, said a Dakota employee keeping watch over the stream of mourners, tourists and fans stopping to snap photos.
Thousands of viewers streamed in and out of the Dakota and Strawberry Fields throughout the day, staying well into the afternoon, despite the dropping temperatures.
Among them were Roger Soler and Susan Farrell of Ottawa, Canada, who planned their first trip to New York City around the anniversary. Soler, who said he was a huge Beatles fan, said he felt sad to be standing at the spot where Lennon was murdered.
"You realize he died when he was [40]," Soler said. "You think about everything he did. He had just started recording again. You think, wow, what else could he have done?"
Soler and Farrell also visited the memorial to Lennon at Strawberry Fields, just a few steps inside Central Park across from The Dakota. They said that was a happier place to think about Lennon.
The couple pulled out their iPod and played the song "Imagine" out loud. People standing nearby leaned in close to hear the song, perhaps Lennon's best known work.
"It was a nice moment," Farrell said.
By afternoon, musicians had brought guitars, moroccas, tambourines and harmonicas to the spot to play old favorites such as "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Day Tripper" and "Come Together," as fans sang along.
"It's just a way to celebrate his legacy," Long Island fan Amanda Malizia, 19, said, adding that it was important for people to remember Lennon as both a philanthropist and musician.
"There's no one around who's an advocate for anything decent anymore. The symbol he stands for is still important. Plus, he's the last great musician — everyone's sick of Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus."
Long Island musician Mark Bardolf, 45, said that Lennon was a legend.
"It's important because John Lennon's the greatest songwriter that ever lived. In a nutshell," he said.
Other fans were there with their children because they felt it was important to pass the legacy along to newer generations.
"My baby's a Beatles fan," Queens resident and mom Gabe Schuford, 36, said as she strolled her son Niko, 2.
"It's important that we remember him. His death was a huge loss for the world, not just for music."
Rich Bozzett, who's lived at West 71st Street and Central Park West for 15 years and sees tourists visit The Dakota every day, said he's never grown cynical about the attention Lennon still receives, three decades after his death.
"It's great," said Bozzett, a former road manager for Bon Jovi. "John Lennon was a great musician and tried to make the world a better place. You would think by now we would have, but we didn't learn very much from it. He's probably flipping in his grave today."
