Beatles Album Turns Crosswalk Into A Protected Site

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Dec 22nd 2010 at 8:03PM

The Beatles made the a crosswalk near the Abbey Road music studios in London famous back in 1969 when a photo of the Fab Four striding across the zebra crossing was on the cover of the "Abbey Road" album. The image, which features John Lennon leading the group in a white suit, has been imitated by many who have visited the site. Now the crosswalk is the first street crossing to ever be declared a historic landmark by the British government. The Abbey Road music studios declared a historic landmark back in February. The crossing was given Grade II status, an honor generally reserved for buildings of historic significance.

This year has seen a resurgence of interest in the iconic band with the release of Beatles music on iTunes and celebrations of John Lennon's life in honor of the 30th anniversary of his death and what would have been his 70th birthday. Paul McCartney, who appeared on the cover as the only barefoot Beatle, said that it was a"a great year for me and a great year for the Beatles and hearing that the Abbey Road crossing is to be preserved is the icing on the cake."

Tags: Abbey Road, abbey road studios, beatles, john lennon, paul mccartney