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Almost 100 PopSpots in Central Park, New York City (and more to come). I've divided Central Park divided into 5 sections each about 10 blocks long, to make them easier to visit. 
(Map by CentralPark.com) (Additional locations research for this collection of Central Park PopSpots by Marie Fotini.) 
THE FIRST 1/5 OF THE PARK 
THE GRAND ARMY PLAZA AREA The Ramones under the General Sherman Statue, 59th and 5th Ave. (Q: What do the Central Park horses eat? A: Gabba-gabba-hay!) 
(photo by David Gahr) Dexter Gordon - Doin' Allright - 59th/Fifth 
(cover photo by Francis Wolfe; cover design by Reid Miles) SIXTH AVENUE AND 59th STREET Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - 6th Avenue/59th Street Entrance 
(photo by David Gahr) Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - 6th Avenue/59th Street Entrance 
(photo by Joel Bernstein) KISS (Paul Stanley on railing) descending to The Pond from 6th Ave /59th St. Entrance 
(photo by Waring Abbott) KISS (Paul Stanley on railing) descending to The Pond from 6th Ave /59th St. Entrance 
(photo by Waring Abbott) THE GRATEFUL DEAD on the steps descending to The Pond from 6th Ave /59th St. Entrance. (1976) 
(photo by Henry Grossman) SEVENTH AVENUE and COP COT AREA Tom Rush on a rock with carved-out steps near Cop Cot - "Take a Little Walk With Me" - (59th and Sixth Entrance) The photo was reversed on the album cover, so I reversed the album cover so the steps would match up. 
(cover photo and design by William S. Harvey) Cashmen & West "Moondog Serenade" near Cop Cot 
Genesis, on a solitary boulder just in from 7th Avenue and Central Park south. (1973) 
(photo by Barrie Wentzel) COLUMBUS CIRCLE Genesis at Greyshot Arch. (1973) 
HECKSTER PLAYGROUND The Lovin' Spoonful - Heckscher Playground area Spur Rock 
(photo by Don Paulsen) The Lovin' Spoonful - Heckscher Playground area - Spur Rock 
(cover photo by Don Paulsen) The Lovin' Spoonful - Heckscher Playground area - Umpire Rock 
(photo via Michael Ochs Archive) THE POND Harry Nillson - 1969 - at The Pond which runs along the south end of the park at 59th Street. 
Eric Burdon and Barry Jenkins at The Pond. The St. Moritz Hotel on Fifth Avenue is the tall, pointed building in the background over Eric's head.. 
(photo by Linda McCartney) Dylan with Gloria Stavers, Editor of Teen Magazine, The Pond (1963). 
Dylan while being interviewed by Gloria Stavers, Editor of 16 Magazine, The Pond (1963). 
(photo by Gloria Stavers) Dylan while being interviewed by Gloria Stavers, Editor of 16 Magazine, (1963) - possibly at the Zoo cafeteria. 
GAPSTOW BRIDGE
Dion and the Belmonts - Gapstow Bridge. (From a "PopSpot Single" - from the PopSpotsNYC Facebook page.) 
(cover photo by Arthur Halpern) Heart on the Gapstow Bridge 
Chad Mitchell (folksinger, formerly of the Chad Mitchell Trio) on Gapstow Bridge - "Chad Mitchell Himself" 
(album cover photo by Sherman Weisburd) President Barack Obama, age 20, while attending Columbia University in 1981; Gapstow Bridge. 
Nina Simone - Gapstow Bridge. (note: The location of the bench she was on was actually about 30 yards down the hill, but the concrete walkway and benches that were there were were taken up when the skating rink was added. I will be substituting a new photo with an old photo of the bench that I recently found. In either case, the Gapstow Bridge is in the background.) 
(cover by Bethlehem Records) INSCOPE ARCH Emmylou Harris at Inscope Arch 
(photo by David Gahr) The Ramones at Inscope Arch. (cover to a 45-single) 
(photo by David Gahr) The Doors at Inscope Arch 
(photo by Linda Eastman) The Doors at Inscope Arch 
(photo by Linda Eastman) The Doors next to Inscope Arch with Central Park South in the background by Linda Eastman. 
(photo by Linda Eastman) THE ZOO Kiss, chatting up some senior citizens, next to the Arsenal, which is the tall brick building next to the the Central Park Zoo. 
(photo by Waring Abbott) The Lovin' Spoonful. Central Park Zoo. 
(cover photo by Alan Brooks) Tommy James and the Shondells next to the Arsenal. 
John Lennon next to one of the eagles sculptures near the Seal Pool in the The Central Park Zoo, from the video "Mind Games." 
John Lennon walking out of the Seal Pool area in the The Central Park Zoo, from the video "Mind Games." 
KISS walks from the ZOO toward the 59th Street entrance. 
(photo by Waring Abbott) WOLLMAN RINK KISS in front of a green-roofed, concrete pavilion near Wollman Rink. The pavilion has been taken down. 
Local brewers Schafer Beer sponsored the Schaefer Music Festival in Wollman Rink from 1968 to 1976. This shot was from a King Crimson concert. (via Flaming Pablum) 
James Last next to the Pond. (This is the back cover of "Goodtimes," one of his 65 albums, which have sold millions. He is an orchestra leader based in Germany.) (via Greg Caz, thanks.). 
(photo by Joel Brodsky) PLAYMATES ARCH / THE CAROUSEL The Ramones at Playmates Arch near the Carousel. 
(photo by George Dubose) The Lovin' Spoonful at the entrance to Playmates Arch near the Carousel 
(photo by Don Paulsen) CHESS & CHECKERS HOUSE The Lovin' Spoonful at the bottom of the Chess & Checkers House stairs. 
(photo by Don Paulsen) ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE PARK Bob Dylan - cover for the album MODERN TIMES (2006). The shot is from the street next to the large silver globe on the north side of Columbus Circle where Central Park West hits the roundabout at 59th Street. The cover uses a Ted Kroner photo from 1947 entitled, "Taxi, New York, Night." 
(photo by Ted Kroner) Kiss - Central Park South and 59th Street (in front of 100 Central Park South, just west of Sixth Avenue). 
(photo by Waring Abbott) Billy Joel - Southeast corner of 59th Street and Central Park South. (In front of what was then the St. Moritz Hotel.) 
(photo by Ted Kroner)
The SECOND 1/5 OF THE PARK 
CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 72ND STREET John Lennon and Yoko Ono walking out of the Dakota (72nd and Central Park West) from the cover of the single, "Watching the Wheels." 
(photo by Paul Goresh) John Lennon looks out onto the roof of the Dakota (72nd and Central Park West). 
(photo by Brian Hamill) John Lennon on the roof of the Dakota (72nd and Central Park West). 
(photo by Brian Hamill) Where Lennon would have been as you look up toward the roof today. 
(insert photo by Brian Hamill) The cover of Yoko Ono's album SEASON OF GLASS (1981), photographed by Yoko, was taken in a Dakota window. The front cover features Lennon's bloodstained glasses positioned next to a half-filled glass of water, with a view of Central Park in the background (Wikipedia). John and Yoko originally bought the actor Robert Ryan's apartment on the 7th floor in 1973, but by 1979 owned over 29 rooms as per Life at the Dakota by Steven Birmingham. This is probably from a 7th or 8th floor window. 
(photo by Yoko Ono) Bob Gruen photographed Yoko taking the cover photo in 1981. 
(photo by Bob Gruen) John Lennon and Yoko Ono outside the Dakota (72nd and Central Park West) about to walk across Central Park West to Central Park. 
(photo by Allen Tannenbaum) John Lennon and Yoko Ono walking up Central Park West (bet. 73-74th) one block north of the Dakota which is at 72nd Street and Central Park West). 
(photo by Bob Gruen) John Lennon and Yoko Ono across Central Park West from the Dakota at the 72nd Street entrance to Central Park. 
(photo by Allen Tannenbaum) John Lennon and Yoko Ono outside the Dakota - Vertical Edit (72nd Street entrance to Central Park at Central Park West) by Allen Tannenbaum. 
(photo by Allen Tannenbaum) The "Imagine" memorial just inside Central Park at Central Park West and 72nd Street. 
A close-up of the "Imagine" mosaic inside Central Park at Central Park West and 72nd Street. The lawn and woods surrounding the mosaic are called Strawberry Fields in honor of John Lennon. 
Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon at the Imagine mosaic. 
(photo by Harry Benson) Edward Hopper - "Bridal Path" (1939) - Location: under the entrance road to the park at 72nd Street. Notice the Dakota in the background. 
The real life bridal path from a photo circa 1910-1915. 
John Lennon and Yoko being filmed for a promotional video for Double Fantasy album, next to The Lake, near the Daniel Webster statue. 
(photo by Allen Tannenbaum) John Lennon and Yoko being filmed for the video to "Starting Over" south of The Lake along Terrace Drive at approximately 70th Street. The Daniel Webster statue is behind in the blue square. The Falconer Statue, seen at right in the green square, was under repair at the time of the video. They are photographed at right, where the small black square is. 
The Dave Clark 5 on a rock above The Lake. 
The Dave Clark 5 Jumping above The Lake. 
John Lennon and Yoko Ono from the back cover of the album "Milk and Honey" next to The Lake. 
(photo by Kishin Shinoyama) John Lennon and Yoko Ono - "Milk and Honey" - by The Lake. 
(photo by Kishin Shinoyama) John Lennon and Yoko Ono in front of Bow Bridge, next to the Lake in a promotional photo for Double Fantasy. 
(photo by Allen Tannenbaum.) Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels next to The Lake, just south of Bow Bridge. 
(photo: Archive; thanks John DeAngelis) Billy Joel's early band, The Hassles, also in front of Bow Bridge. 
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels next to The Lake, just west and north of Bow Bridge. (note: the big boulder is hard to see in summer through the vegetation.) 
BETHESDA FOUNTAIN, BETHESDA TERRACE, BETHESDA STEPS, THE ARCADE ANGEL OF THE WATERS STATUE - ABOVE BETHESDA FOUNTAIN Description of the statue from the Central Park website: "Rising from Bethesda Terrace is Bethesda Fountain, with the famous Angel of the Waters statue atop. The statue references the Gospel of John, which describes an angel blessing the Pool of Bethesda and giving it healing powers. The fountain commemorates the Croton water system, which first brought fresh water to New York City in 1842. The angel carries a lily in her left hand - - a symbol of the water's purity, very important to a city that had previously suffered from a devastating cholera epidemic before the system was established. The piece is the only statue that was commissioned for the Park. Created by Emma Stebbins, it also marked the first time a woman received a public art commission in New York City. The statue
The fountain has been featured in many movies, including: Godspell, Home Alone 2, Ransom, One Fine Day, Elf, John Wick, and The Producers. It also played a part in the play and movie of Angels in America. The Rascals (initially known as The Young Rascals) in Bethesda Fountain. 
The Rascals on the Bethesda Arcade Steps. 
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul (debut album 1982) on the the Bethesda Steps. Little Steven (aka Miami Steve Van Zandt) has been a longtime guitarist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band but left for a solo career from 1984-1999. He also played Silvio Dante in The Sopranos. Location sent in after first posting by Peter Kuchenbrod and also by Alex Smith. Thank you, gentlemen. 
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul (debut album 1982) on the the Bethesda Steps. Little Steven (aka Miami Steve Van Zandt) has been a longtime guitarist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band but left for a solo career from 1984-1999. He also played Silvio Dante in The Sopranos. Location sent in after first posting by Peter Kuchenbrod and also by Alex Smith. Thank you, gentlemen.
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul on the the Bethesda Steps. (1982) 
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul in front of the Arcade (1982). 
Little Steven (aka Miami Steve Van Zandt) and the Disciples of Soul (1982) - The album cover. 
Randy Ingram, jazz pianist & composer and his album, The Wandering (2017, Sunnyside Records), in front of the Arcade near Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. 
The Rascals on top of the Bethesda Arcade steps. 
Tommy James on the western arm of the Bethesda Terrace Steps. 
The Trade Winds ("New York's a Lonely Town") on the Bethesda Fountain steps. 
Donald Byrd's album Byrd in Flight - Bethesda Fountain Steps 
(photo by Francis Wolff) David Peel - Bethesda Fountain Steps. (David Peel played in a group known as "David Peel & The Lower East Side." John Lennon met Peel, who was playing with his band in Washington Square Park in 1971, and later produced Peel's album The Pope Smokes Dope in 1972. 
(photographer unknown) Harry Belafonte at Bethesda Terrace. 
The Beau Brummels in the Arcade next to Bethesda Terrace 
THE MALL John Lennon walking along the Mall - from the video for his 1973 song "Mind Games." 
THE BANDSHELL (NAUMBURG BANDSHELL) Herman Hermits next to the Naumberg Bandshell. 
(cover by Rama) The Jefferson Airplane in the Naumberg Bandshell, August 1969 (but possibly 5/5/68). 
The Jefferson Airplane in the Naumberg Bandshell - #2, August 1969 (possibly 5/5/68). 
The Grateful Dead in Naumberg Bandshell #1 - 1969 (possibly 5/5/68) 
The Grateful Dead in Naumberg Bandshell #2 - 1969 (possibly 5/5/68) 
Joan Baez performing at a draft resistance rally at the Naumberg Band Shell in 1969. 
(photo by Ken Regan) John Lennon in the Naumberg Bandshell - A composite from the video "Mind Games." 
John Lennon "applauding his own performance" in front of the Naumberg Bandshell - from the video "Mind Games." 
THE SHEEP MEADOW THE LAKE / THE BOATHOUSE / BOW BRIDGE Cream - The Lake - 1968. (from a PopSpots single on Facebook) CREAM (left to right: Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce) rowing in THE LAKE in CENTRAL PARK, NYC (November, 1968). . . .The band had released WHEELS OF FIRE in July of 1968. . . .Photo via the Michael Ochs Archives. . .Location: The Lake is just north of Bethesda Fountain. They are east of about 73rd-74th Street. The Dakota Building (home of John Lennon + Yoko Ono), at 72nd Street and Central Park West, is the building with the three triangular-shaped roofs between Clapton and Baker. . .The building on the right with the two towers, The San Remo, has been home to Steve Spielberg, Steve Jobs, Demi Moore/Bruce Willis, and Bono. 
The Beatles at Loeb Boathouse (1964). (note: George was ill that day.) 
The Beatles at Loeb Boathouse, #2. 
The Beatles outside the Loeb Boathouse, #3. 
(photo by the Daily News) (Below) Caption: "Paul McCartney, "Magic" Alex Mardas, John Lennon, Neil Aspinall in Central Park in front of the Hans Christian Andersen statue, May 1968 (photographer unknown). John and Paul were in NYC to announce the formation of Apple and to appear on the Johnny Carson Show." ( vis Sessa) The Hans Christian Andersen statue is on the western side of the Central Park Boat Pond (aka Conservatory Water.) The bronze duck by Paul's feet is "The Ugly Duckling" that Andersen wrote about. The Danish author also wrote "Thumbelina," "The Emperor's New Clothes," "The Little Mermaid," "The Nightingale," and "The Snow Queen" among other works for children. 
ALICE IN WONDERLAND STATUE / CONSERVATORY POND Jimi Hendrix and the Jimi Hendrix Experience on The Alice in Wonderland Statue near the Conservancy Water (Pond). 
Jimi Hendrix and the Jimi Hendrix Experience on The Alice in Wonderland Statue near the Conservancy Water (Pond) in 1967. 
(photo by Linda Eastman The Free Spirits (1965-1968), one of the first jazz-rock groups, featuring Larry Coryell and Jim Pepper on the Alice in Wonderland Statue. 
LEVIN PLAYGROUND (JAMES MICHAEL LEVIN PLAYGOUND) The Lovin' Spoonful at the Alice in Wonderland Statue in Levin Playground. The statue is actually called The Sophie Irene Loeb (Drinking) Fountain. It features Alice, The Duchess, the Cheshire Cat, The Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, Griffon, Kneeling Page, Queen, and the King. 
(photo by Don Paulsen) LEVIN PLAYGROUND (JAMES MICHAEL LEVIN PLAYGOUND) The Doors on the Alice in Wonderland Statue in Levin Playground. 
(photo by Linda Eastman) ALONG CENTRAL PARK EAST (5th AVENUE) Bob Dylan by Richard Avedon (1964) - 69th Street and Fifth Avenue, just below the 69th Street entrance to the park, seen at left behind the second tree. 
(photo by Richard Avedon) Pretzel Logic by Steely Dan (72nd Street and Fifth Avenue). 
(cover photo by Raeanne Rubinstein)
THE THIRD (and middle) 1/5 OF THE PARK 
Mimi and Richard Fariña at the Ladies Pavilion on the Lake. 
(photo by Kenneth van Sickle) Richard and Mini Fariña under Eaglevale Arch (77th Street entrance - West Side). The album cover for "Celebrations for a Grey Day." 
(photo by Kenneth van Sickle) ALONG CENTRAL PARK WEST The Horace Silver Quintet - album cover of the album: 6 Pieces of Silver - 77th and Central Park West. 
(cover photo by Francis Wolff) THE GREAT LAWN The Great Lawn has been the site of many large summertime concerts, including:
- Elton John - Sept. 13, 1980 Here's what the Great Lawn looks like: 
Elton John was one of the earliest contemporary musicians to have an outdoor concert here, on September, 13, 1980. 
Elton John's concert as seen from Belvedere Castle. 
Simon and Garfunkel had a reunion concert here in 1981. 
(photo by Waring Abbott) It was said to have attracted a half a million people. 
Here's an aerial shot of Diana Ross's Concert from 1983. The view is looking south. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is at left. 
(photo by New York Daily News) Here's the album cover of Paul Simon's concert from 1991. . . 
. . .Barbra Streisand's Great Lawn concert from. . . 
. . .and Garth Brook's concert from 1991. 
New Dimensions in Banjo & Bluegrass (1963) by Eric Weissberg ("Deliverance"), Marshall Brickman (co-wrote Sleeper, Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Manhattan Murder Mystery with Woody Allen), and Various Musicians. That's Judy Collins' son in the picture with them, as she wrote in one of her books..) 
(photo by George Pickow /3 Lions) THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART The Boomtown Rats "Ratrospective" (1983 EP) on the MET Steps. 
(design by John Berg / Peter A. Alfieri) The Diana Ross Playground (Central Park West and West 81st Street). (Diana Ross provided the funding for this playground after her Central Park concert in 1983.) 
The FOURTH 1/5 of the PARK 
Simon and Garfunkel on the east side of The Reservoir, from the back of "Greatest Hits" 
(photo by Bill Silano)
The FIFTH 1/5 of the PARK 
The Duke Ellington Memorial at 110th Street and Fifth Avenue 
(sculpture by Robert Graham; photo Wikipedia)
OTHER MUSIC East Meadow, 1999 - A Concert: Sheryl Crow and Friends with Eric Clapton - sponsored by American Express. 
SOME NON-MUSICAL POPSPOTS FROM CENTRAL PARK The creators of Central Park on Willowdale Bridge. 
Jacob Wrey Mould, sculptor of the "Bird's Nest" relief and many others on the Bethesda Fountain steps, stands by his work in 1862. Photo by Victor Provost. 
Later-to-be-President Richard Nixon in Central Park in 1964. 
Fidel Castro crossed The Sheep Meadow while visiting the city in 1955 four years before the Cuban Revolution. 
A scene from Woody Allen's Café Society with Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart on Bow Bridge. 
Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in a scene from Annie Hall (1977) in The Lake with The Boathouse in the background. 
Cilla Black talks to the Central Park police in their cruiser on August 4 1965. Cilla Black was friend of the Beatles and was managed by their manger, Brian Epstein. She had eleven top ten hits in Britain at the height of Beatlemania, between 1963 and 1971. Her song, "Anyone Who Ever Had A Heart" was the biggest single by a British female artist in the 60's. 
(photo by Harry Benson) Robin Williams, right, performs as a mime in Central Park in 1974. 
(photo by Daniel Sorine) The poster for the movie When Harry Met Sally with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. Location: Where the Mall meets the road above Bethesda Fountain. 
Moving the Obelisk from the Hudson River to Central Park in July, 1880. It look thirty-two horses hitched in sixteen pairs to pull the obelisk to the park.(click to ENLARGE) 
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