About one quarter of a mile west of the intersection of 315th Street and Gull Avenue, five miles (8 km) north of Clear Lake, there is a monument depicting a steel guitar and a set of three records bearing the names of each of the three performers (Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper) and the pilot (Roger Peterson) that died when their plane crashed on February 3, 1959.

The entrance to the crash site is marked by a large plasma-cut steel copy of Holly's signature glasses.

A road originating near The Surf Ballroom and extending north past the west of the crash site is now known as Buddy Holly Place.

view full location details...

On February 2, 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper played their last performance here as part of the "Winter Dance Party Tour".

That night, they went to nearby Mason City to catch a plane to the Fargo airport to play a show in Moorhead. A 21-year-old pilot had agreed to fly them to Fargo for $36 a piece. Their plane crashed less than six miles from the airport.

This later became known as "The Day the Music Died," which is also a popular song by Don McLean, who drove his Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry.

On September 6, 2011, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

view full location details...