Cleveland museum plans bronze plaques to honor inductees

CLEVELAND — The names of current and future inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be captured in bronze for a Walk of Fame to be set into downtown Cleveland sidewalks under a plan being considered by city officials.

The Plain Dealer newspaper reports that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum received Cleveland Planning Commission approval for the proposal on Friday.

The project also is subject to approval from city council, which plans to consider it Feb. 27.

The museum plans to unveil the first 17 plaques, to honor this year’s inductees, on April 4 in advance of the April 14 induction ceremony at Cleveland’s Public Hall. They are being funded by the Rock Hall board for $5,000 each.

Sponsorship of other tiles will be auctioned at a yet-to-be determined price that will pay for materials and installation and help defray costs of future Cleveland-sited induction ceremonies, which happen every three years, museum officials said.

A preliminary design for the rectangular plaques features a silhouette of the Rock Hall building designed by I.M. Pei and an artist’s name and induction year, as well as a place to recognize a donor.

The plaques are to be flush-mounted in sidewalks in slabs of colored concrete and will have a rough finish to aid traction.

Previously inducted artists would be honored with plaques between April, 2012, and May, 2014.

Terry Stewart, rock hall president and chief executive, told the planning commission that the 11-day induction week events cost $7 million, and that $500,000 of the cost is covered by the city. He said the Walk of Fame concept is part of the museum’s effort to eliminate the city’s costs.

He submitted a packet that says plans provide for a walk that will “connect downtown districts, highlight Cleveland as the rock capital, and fund-raise for future induction ceremonies.”

Mr. Stewart said the museum brings about $100 million a year to the city as a tourist destination. Induction events are expected to generate about $15 million in local revenues, he said.

This year’s inductees are the Beastie Boys, Donovan, Guns N’ Roses, Laura Nyro, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Small Faces/The Faces, Freddie King, Don Kirshner, Cosimo Matassa, Tom Dowd, Glyn Johns, the Blue Caps, the Comets, the Crickets, the Famous Flames, the Midnighters, and the Miracles.

The rock hall plans to unveil plaques honoring 2013 inductees in the first annual Walk of Fame Gala next year. The 2013 induction ceremonies are to be in New York, but Mr. Stewart said inductees would be invited to the gala in Cleveland.