Jim Morrison to Get Public Square—In Paris

Share This:

Artist’s rendering of a possible design for the Paris square

The city where he died—on July 3, 1971—and is buried will honor Doors singer Jim Morrison by naming a public square after him. According to a new article on the website Paris Mojo, which itself quotes from the French newspaper Le Figaro, the American singer will be commemorated by the city in an official capacity when it unveils Place Morrison on an as-yet-unannounced date.

The exact location has yet to be determined, says the article, and the approval of Morrison’s surviving family must be obtained before the naming can proceed. According to Paris Mojo, “The proposal to name a public space after Jim Morrison was initiated as early as 2013 by Jérôme Dubus, city councilman for the 17th district of Paris and spokesman for the group Parisiens Progressistes, Constructifs et Indépendants (PPCI)… In 2013, the Council of Paris already voted favorably on naming a ‘public square, street or cultural institution’ after Morrison. Five years later, turns out Jim gets a public square.”

Jim Morrison’s grave in Paris

The article speculated on the design of the commemorative street sign (see accompanying graphic, above), which has yet to be unveiled. The article also noted that the city will need to take into consideration that such a street sign would be very desirable to fans, who would no doubt make efforts to steal it. The article noted that a sign in New York City devoted to Ramones singer Joey Ramone is reportedly the most-often stolen street sign in that city. Morrison’s grave, in Paris’ Père Lachaise Cemetery, is one of the city’s most visited tourist attractions and is often the target of vandals and thieves.

Morrison came to Paris in March 1971, where he stayed in an apartment with his wife Pamela Courson. On July 3, 1971, she found Morrison lying dead in the apartment’s bathtub. No autopsy was ever performed, and although heart failure was cited as the official cause of death, there has been speculation ever since that Morrison succumbed to an overdose (or some type of foul play). Jim Morrison was 27 at the time of his death.

Watch Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek discuss Jim Morrison’s death in a 1983 interview