Plaça de John Lennon, Barcelona

Plaça de John Lennon is a public square in Barcelona's Gràcia district, between Carrer de Puigmartí and Carrer de Quevedo. It opened on 30 April 1993 and was named for Lennon's commitment to peace. The tribute is a 1.1 m record-shaped disc of bronze and stainless steel on the square's west building.

A square built on warehouse land in 1993

The square covers about 1,500 m² where abandoned industrial warehouses used to stand. It was inaugurated on the evening of 30 April 1993 with performances of Lennon songs, and Barcelona's mayor at the time, Pasqual Maragall, attended. One Spanish blog dates the opening to May 1993; the Catalan Wikipedia article cites La Vanguardia of 1 May 1993 for the April evening.

According to the Catalan article, the city chose the name in recognition of Lennon's commitment to peace. The Vestigios de BCN blog adds that an exhibition of Lennon's personal objects was shown in the neighbourhood before the opening. The same blog says the choice was not universally welcome: some residents objected to naming the square after a foreigner and asked for a Catalan or local figure, but the council kept Lennon at a time when the city was selling a cosmopolitan image after the 1992 Olympics.

The record on the wall

The memorial element is fixed to the building on the west side of the square. It is a disc shaped like a vinyl record, made of bronze and stainless steel, with an outer ring 1.1 m across. Barcelona's public art catalogue lists it as number 6729-1. The Catalan article credits municipal architect Jaume Graells i Ferrández; the Vestigios blog names Graells together with Pere Casanovas.

The central label carries a Catalan phrase that translates the title of Give Peace a Chance. Above the disc, a marble street sign gives Lennon's name with "Liverpool, 1940" and "Nova York, 1980" and describes him as a musician and composer. A 2013 photograph shows graffiti tags sprayed across the steel.

FemGràcia calls it the only space in Barcelona dedicated to Lennon and the Beatles. The rest of the square is an ordinary neighbourhood space, with benches under trees, a children's play area and a fountain, plus a cafe named Bar Lennon with tables outside.

For other Lennon tributes in Spain, see the A Coruña sculpture or the Almería statue.