
Occupying a whole block, the park delimited by 17, 15, 6 and 8 Streets had been unofficially known as John Lennon for years and had been a popular meeting place for young people and sometimes impromptu concert venue. To mark the 20th anniversary of the Beatle’s assassination in New York, a life-size bronze statue of John Lennon, made by Cuban sculptor José Villa Soberón, was unveiled by Fidel Castro in December 2000.