Hans-Martin Doelz

Abbey Road Zebra Crossing

At around 11:00 a.m. on August 8, 1969, Scottish photographer Iain Macmillan climbed a stepladder in the middle of Abbey Road and took six photos of the Beatles as they crossed the street. Three times from left to right, three times from right to left. A police officer was hired to control the traffic. The Beatles usually came to Abbey Road Studios between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., so the earlier hour was chosen to avoid the presence of fans. One of the six frames, taken with a Hasselblad 500 C, became world famous as cover of the Beatles album Abbey Road.

50 years later, the zebra crossing in front of Abbey Road Studios is still a place of worship for countless London tourists and Beatles fans who like to be photographed when they try, more or less successfully, to cross the street, in a similar way the Beatles did in 1969. Nowadays most pictures are taken with smartphone cameras, as can be seen on the first image. The second picture shows an extremely good-humored young woman and a somewhat grumpy-looking older man on their way, while the third picture shows that the zebra crossing is also suitable for people without particular ambitions to cross the street.