Jimi Hendrix Post Office Set for Washington State

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A Jimi Hendrix “Forever Stamp” was issued by the USPS in 2014

Many classic rockers have been depicted on United States postage stamps, but how many have had an entire post office named after them? The city of Renton, Wash., will remedy that oversight by christening the James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix Post Office. According to an article in the Seattle Times, the bill was sponsored by Rep. Adam Smith (D-Bellevue), and supported by both of Washington’s U.S. senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell.

Said Smith in a statement, “I am honored to join in paying tribute to rock and roll icon and Seattle native Jimi Hendrix with the renaming of the Renton Highlands Post Office as the James Marshall ‘Jimi’ Hendrix Post Office Building. This designation will further celebrate Hendrix’s deep connection to the Puget Sound region and help ensure that his creative legacy will be remembered by our community and inspire future generations.”

Hendrix in his Army days

Hendrix was born in Seattle in 1942 and lived in the area until he joined the U.S. Army in 1961. By that time he had already been playing guitar for a few years. He was discharged after a year and began his professional career by playing guitar behind stars like the Isley Brothers and Little Richard. He moved to England in 1966 where he teamed up with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell as the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Hendrix died only four years later, but his legacy has only strengthened in his absence.

The Renton post office is not the first tribute to Hendrix in the area where he grew up. The Seattle Times article notes that there is a statue on Broadway in Seattle and a namesake park adjacent to the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM), as well as other memorials. The EMP Music Center, opened by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, includes many Hendrix-related items. The Renton post office is less than a mile from the Jimi Hendrix Memorial in the Greenwood Memorial Park cemetery, where he is buried.