Jimi Hendrix’s name is now part of the New York City streetscape he helped transform.
A section of West Eighth Street in Greenwich Village was officially co-named Jimi Hendrix Way during a June 10 ceremony near Electric Lady Studios, the landmark recording space Hendrix commissioned in 1968.
The unveiling brought together members of Hendrix’s extended musical family, including his sister Janie Hendrix, recording engineer and producer Eddie Kramer, and musician and education advocate Steven Van Zandt.
The honor arrives after a decades-long campaign that began following Hendrix’s death in 1970. Supporters once collected petition signatures inside Electric Lady Studios, keeping the idea alive while the building grew into one of the most celebrated recording destinations in modern music.
Hendrix envisioned Electric Lady as a creative home where artists could experiment without the usual clock-watching pressures of commercial studios. It opened in August 1970, only weeks before his death at age 27. His time inside the finished space was brief, but its impact has stretched across generations.
Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Patti Smith, the Rolling Stones, D’Angelo, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift are among the artists associated with the studio’s history.
The ceremony also introduced a partnership between Electric Lady Studios and TeachRock, Van Zandt’s nonprofit educational initiative. The organization provides free music-centered classroom resources designed to connect students with history, culture and the arts.
More than half a century after the campaign began, Jimi Hendrix Way places the guitarist’s name exactly where it belongs: beside the studio that carried his creative vision into the future.
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