According to Pasadena Now, a memorial honoring legendary VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen in his former hometown of Pasadena, California appears to be moving forward.
Two Pasadena women who embarked on an effort to commemorate Eddie‘s life said earlier this week that they met with a city official and an official with the Pasadena Center Operating Co.
After raising $6,500 through donations from fans from around the world, Randa Schmalfeld and Julie Kimura were invited to design a plaque honoring the iconic axeman.
The proposed plaque, which — due to legal issues — cannot contain Van Halen‘s likeness or his famous “Frankenstrat” guitar — would be installed near the city Convention Center, which is next to the Civic Auditorium, where VAN HALEN played a number of times between 1975 and 1978.
“VAN HALEN‘s epic rise from local garage band to hometown heroes to international superstars is nothing short of incredible,” said Schmalfeld. “We are so delighted that VAN HALEN will be recognized with a plaque celebrating the band’s Pasadena roots, and the important role that the Pasadena Civic Auditorium played in the band’s early success. We are delighted to make this significant donation in celebration of Edward Van Halen‘s extraordinary talent and in honor of VAN HALEN‘s Pasadena roots.”
Pasadena public information officer Lisa Derderian confirmed that the city “is moving forward with a plaque in front of or adjacent to the Convention Center where the band performed on several occasions in their earlier years.”
No time frame has been set on when the memorial will be installed.
Last October, a City Council meeting was held in Pasadena where a memorial honoring Eddie was discussed.
City manager Steve Mermell was directed to come up with ideas for how to best honor the musician, who died earlier that same month at the age of 65.
In the first three weeks after Eddie‘s death, the city was bombarded with requests to pay tribute to the guitarist “to recognize both his local connection to Pasadena, as well as the impact that his artistry had on music,” Mermell wrote in a report.
“Recognizing Van Halen the band and/or individual members should be considered,” according to the report. “With his passing, Eddie Van Halen‘s international recognition as a musical artist is noted for the significant impact he had on the Rock & Roll genre and his legacy is a source of hometown pride for the city.”
Following Eddie‘s death after a long battle with cancer, fans left flowers at his childhood home on Las Lunas Street in Pasadena. Additional flowers, candles and fan mementos were placed on Allen Avenue where Eddie and Alex scratched their band’s name into the wet cement of a sidewalk when they were teenagers.
VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.
