Mayor Tom Barrett signs legislation changing Old World Third Street to Dr Martin Luther King Jr Drive msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Council unanimously approves naming entire street to honor civil rights leader. By Jeramey Jannene - Feb 9th, 2021 12:10 pm //end headline wrapper ?>Part of Third Street became Old World 3rd Street. Photo by Carl Baehr.
Tuesday morning the Common Council unanimously approved renaming a downtown street to match its north side name.
N. Old World Third Street will become N. Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, eliminating a 1984 political compromise that saw N. 3rd St. split into two different names instead of being entirely named for the civil rights leader.
The compromise was brokered back then to appease merchants on the street, including Usinger’s Famous Sausage, who objected to the name change and said it would negatively impact tourism.
A portion of Old World Third Street in downtown Milwaukee will likely to become Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. It has full support of the Milwaukee Common Council and Mayor Tom Barrett.
Executive Director Historic King Drive Deshea Agee says the union of these two streets would coincide with Dr. King’s message of unity.
“We are going to be connecting people, I believe, with not just the history of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. but his life’s mission. It’s a way for us to continue his legacy of bringing people together,” said Agee.
He says over the past five years he’s had an opportunity to re-imagine M-L-K Dr. in the city.