If successful, an unassuming mail center amid a cluster of strip malls, fast food joints and apartments not far from the graveyard where Jimi Hendrix is buried will become the hippest post office in the United States.

“Renaming the Renton Highlands Post Office the ‘Jimi Hendrix Post Office Building’ is one more way we can celebrate the legacy of one of the greatest musicians of our time and the importance of the south Seattle and Renton areas in his enduring legacy” said Representative Adam Smith. Smith introduced a bill that proposes the post office at 4301 NE 4th Street in Renton be named “James Marshall ‘Jimi’ Hendrix Post Office Building.”

The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for review. All eight Washington representatives in Congress are supporting the legislation.

“The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame calls Hendrix ‘the most gifted instrumentalist of all time, a self-taught electric guitarist whose fluid, immersive style was perfectly suited to embrace – and then revolutionize – the late ’60s psychedelic rock movement.’ The Puget Sound Region is home to a museum that showcases Hendrix’s life and work, a park dedicated to his memory and several memorials visited by thousands every year. This designation will further honor this iconic artist and his Seattle roots” said Smith.

Smith’s office notes that in order to rename a federal facility support from the entire Washington delegation is required. The congressman's office did look at post office locations in Seattle closer to Hendrix’s childhood neighborhood but those locations are leased and not owned by the United States Postal Service. USPS recommends against naming leased offices.

Source: MyNorthwest.com

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