Austin high school student starts petition to keep 'David Bowie Street'

No one can argue with the greatness of David Bowie.

But what about Jim Bowie?  An important man in Texas History...

One intersection of his namesake street in Austin has been ch-ch-ch-changed up a little.  Shortly after David Bowie's death this week, someone replaced the street sign with "David Bowie Street."

"Temporarily I think it's terrific man.  This is great dude," said Bowie fan Chris Gibson.

Gibson says for a little while at least.  Permanently?  Not so sure.

"I'm really torn because being a native Texan, I mean it is Jim Bowie, right?  I don't want to negate that history right?  But I don't know, we are the 'Live Music Capital of the World' so why not?" he said.

High school student and Austin native Christiane Swenson is a big Bowie fan as well. 

"A lot of people haven't felt like this since I think like John Lennon died to be honest and so it resonated with a lot of people, I knew that it would," Swenson said.

Swenson, who is related to someone who works at the SXSW office on Bowie Street is responsible for starting a petition to keep David Bowie Street.

"Actually he was a big influence on Stevie Ray Vaughan who is an incredible local musician," she said.

She says she's gotten some backlash for wanting to erase Jim Bowie's name -- a man who supporters of the petition point out became a Mexican citizen before fighting in the Alamo.

"Because I'm disrespecting the legacy or something and they probably think that I'm some transplant but I am from Austin and I think that both are important.  I took Texas history in middle school," she said.

"Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, Sam Houston, Stephen Austin, I mean whatever they did or didn't do while they were alive, I'm not going to judge them a couple of hundred years later," Gibson said.

Patrick Cosgrove has an idea.  Just rename part of the street -- sort of like how Willie Nelson Blvd is part of 2nd street.

"I would love if they would keep it for one block!  One block," he said.

"That would probably be the most reasonable compromise that we could reach, I mean it's kind of a small street," Swenson said.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PETITION

 

 

Take our FOX 7 Poll...