John Lennon's House in Almería: the Casa del Cine

John Lennon's house in Almería is the Casa del Cine at Camino Romero 1, in the Villablanca district. Known as the Santa Isabel house or Cortijo Romero, it was his home in autumn 1966 while he acted in How I Won the War. He began writing Strawberry Fields Forever there. The city has since restored it as a cinema museum.

Lennon's autumn at Santa Isabel

Richard Lester shot How I Won the War in Almería province in 1966, and John Lennon, cast as Private Gripweed, rented this house for the shoot. Sources give different lengths for the stay, from just over a month to six weeks, somewhere between September and November. Cynthia Lennon was with him for three weeks of it.

Lennon started Strawberry Fields Forever in Almería and recorded the song's first demo there, a single verse with no chorus yet. He finished the melody and words back in England that November. While in Spain he was also reading Nikos Kazantzakis's Report to Greco, which the Beatles writer Steve Turner sees as an influence. For the film he cut his hair short and put on round glasses, the first time he wore them as a Beatle.

From a family estate to a film stars' rental

The house went up in 1866 on what was then the edge of the city. The Balmas family owned it and enlarged it over the years, which is why it goes by several names: Casa Balmas, Cortijo Romero, Finca Santa Isabel and Casa de la Torre. During the Civil War it was taken over as a military hospital.

From 1962 it was let to film people. The first tenant was Sam Spiegel, producer of Lawrence of Arabia, and later ones included the directors David Lean and Rainer Werner Fassbinder and the actor Peter O'Toole. By the 1980s it stood empty.

How it became a museum

In the late 1990s a group called Lennon Almería Forever began pushing to save the house, holding concerts to draw attention. Cynthia Lennon came back to see it in 2006, and the museum plan grew out of that visit. Almería city council bought and restored the house. Its opening date is reported differently: Spanish Wikipedia gives 15 January 2011, while the Andalusian regional culture listing gives 1 November 2014.

What to look for inside

The architect Ramón de Torres kept the original structure. The restoration also saved the staircase, the tiled floors, the main fireplace and a bathroom with its original tiles and bathtub. The provincial tourism office says the room linked to Lennon shows his bed and bathroom.

Upstairs, Room 5, titled "Santa Isabel: fuente de inspiración", covers Lennon's time in Almería, the film shoot and the local people who met him. Other rooms deal with the house's owners and with the province as a film location, including photographs of Clint Eastwood with Sergio Leone.

Before you go

The official listings do not agree. The city lists Friday to Sunday opening at €3 (€2 reduced, free under 6). The provincial site lists Tuesday to Sunday, and the regional listing says entry is free. Guided tours on Fridays at 17:30 need booking, and pets are not allowed. Check with the city on 950 21 00 30 before you travel.

Almería's John Lennon statue is a separate site, about 2.4 km away.