What’s In a (Street) Name?

This week Stevie Wonder was honored with “Stevie Wonder Avenue” in Detroit, Michigan. The new ave. is one block long located on Milwaukee Avenue where Wonder lived for some time growing up. During the ceremony, he was also presented with a key to the city by Mayor Mike Duggan.

With his street naming, Stevie Wonder joins a long list of musicians who have been honored with streets named after them.

In New York, Part of 2nd Street near the former CBGB in Manhattan was renamed “Joey Ramone Place”. The block between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue is now known as “Miles Davis Way”. If you head over to Queens and you can travel on “Run DMC JMJ (Jam Master Jay) Way”.

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​Across the river in New Jersey, “Frank Sinatra Drive” is located in his hometown of Hoboken. Ol’ Blue Eyes also has a drive named after him in Rancho Mirage, California.

​Sam Cooke and Buddy Guy each have a street named after them in Chicago.

Dave Grohl received his own Alley in Warren, Ohio along with the key to the city back in 2009. The alley located in Grohl’s hometown has since become covered with murals dedicated to the rocker.

Stevie Wonder and Dave Grohl being alive and well to celebrate their street naming is something Billy Joel most likely envies. For over a year now, the New York State Senate has been locked in a heated debate over naming part of Route 107 in Hicksville, Joel’s hometown in Long Island, after the “New York State of Mind” singer. While the disagreement isn’t if Joel is worthy of such an honor the disagreement is if someone who is alive is worthy of the honor. This topic even became banter for political campaings with canidates promosing to get the naming completed in their term.
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I imagine if New York is able to rename the street after Joel while he is still alive he would put on quite the performance for the state he so notably loves. Billy Joel closed the Nassau Coliseum on August 4, 2015 and is set to open the new one in April of 2017. You can also catch Joel performing once a month at the famed Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.  

Written by Kristen

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