Street is named after Bob Dylan

The street where Bob Dylan grew up is being given the name “Dylan Drive” in his honor.

It’s the first time the city of Hibbing, where Dylan also attended high school, is doing something permanent to honor him.

“This street sign, and the support we’ve received from so many people here in town, show once and for all that this town is proud of Bob and what he’s accomplished,” said Aaron Brown, committee chairman of Dylan Days, a four-day festival that honors Dylan and the arts.

The city had issued a proclamation on May 24, 2001, Dylan’s 60th birthday, but that was just a one-day event, Brown said. The sign will be permanent.

The sign is honorary only, meaning 7th Avenue will remain the official name of the street, and residents won’t have to change their addresses, Brown said.

The street sign project came up after a group of Hibbing citizens approached the City Council and gathered signatures of support.

“Through the whole peak of his career in the ‘60s and ‘70s, the town did virtually nothing to honor him,” Brown said. “Now, people are coming around.”