A Minneapolis Street Has Been Proposed To Be Named After Prince

Six years after Prince suddenly passed away the city of Minneapolis is stepping up to honor him in a way that in my opinion is long overdue. On the corner of 7th Street and First Avenue is the famous music club, First Avenue and Seventh Street Entry. Prince made the club famous worldwide through the movie Purple Rain but music fans not only in the Twin Cities but all over the midwest knew what an amazing venue this is to this day.

The building used to be the old greyhound bus station and was converted into a music venue back in 1970 and has been the host site for artists from all over the world as you can see by the silver stars that adorn the entire sides of the building. Except for the one gold one which is saved for Prince.

Of course, after Purple Rain First Avenue was on the map as the place that Prince would play, but actually he did surprise performances for years before the success of that movie and of course the soundtrack. Being a huge Prince fan living in Minneapolis in the late 80s and early 90s I can't even count how many times we would run down to First Avenue hoping to catch a glimpse of Prince and him doing an impromptu show. It never happened.

Prince built Paisley Park and that was his haven for many years, he was a very private person but what was awesome is in the past few years before he died he would invite fans to Paisley Park for an impromptu show. It was still shrouded in secrecy, but it was all about who you knew for you to find out when it was happening which was always at the last minute.

And now, according to KARE11 last week The Minneapolis Planning Commission unanimously approved the idea of adding the commemorative street sign "Prince Rogers Nelson Way" in front of First Avenue.  Even with the hundreds of artists who have played at that club over the decades, too many Prince is the one and only artist that deserves his name right outside. The final approval of the street name change is up to the Minneapolis City Council, but it is expected to pass unanimously.