Why Are Bob Dylan Fans Flocking to This One NYC Street?
Jones Street in Manhattan’s West Village has become an unlikely attraction for music fans. Visitors often swing by there and stand in the middle of the block. All of them have only one goal in mind, which is to re-create a photograph that’s been part of music history for more than sixty years: the cover of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.
The Photo Behind the Hype
Photographer Don Hunstein shot the album cover in February 1963 and captured Dylan walking with Suze Rotolo on a slushy winter day. The two appear arm in arm, slightly hunched against the cold, framed by the narrow lane. The image later came to symbolize Dylan’s early years in Greenwich Village.
That album was Dylan’s second release and included songs that made his reputation as a rising voice in the folk scene.
The Link to Dylan’s Life
This particular location was chosen partly because of its connection to Dylan’s life at the time. He lived close by with Rotolo at 161 West 4th Street, a short walk away. The building still stands, though its interior has changed since the early 1960s.
Other nearby landmarks tie into Dylan’s story as well. Café Wha? on MacDougal Street was where he played his first New York set in 1961. The bar Kettle of Fish, later absorbed into Fat Black Pussycat, was a popular hangout for both poets and musicians. The White Horse Tavern, where Dylan Thomas once drank, also became Dylan’s favorite during his Village years.
A Small Street with a Big Following
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Jim.henderson
Jones Street only runs a single block, but it sees a steady flow of people. Writer John Ortved, who moved there in the early 2000s, noticed tourists stopping beneath his window with albums or phones in hand. Many double-check the snapshot against the buildings and then circle slowly until they find the right perspective.
The nearby Record Runner shop often participates in the photo recreations on Jones Street. Its owner sometimes steps outside to help tourists frame the shot, even pulling out the original album cover as a guide.
Locals describe these visits as polite and unobtrusive, especially compared with the large, noisy groups that gather on Perry Street to take pictures outside Carrie Bradshaw’s fictional apartment in the long-running HBO series about four friends in Manhattan.
Film Attention Brought New Fans
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Searchlight Pictures
Interest in the location has grown since the release of A Complete Unknown, the Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet. The film drew in younger fans eager to stand where Dylan once stood. Some even dressed in period-inspired clothes. One fan reportedly spent nearly an hour staging his own music video on the block.
Ortved, who sometimes documents the reenactments on social media, has admitted he understands the impulse. He says watching fans pose on Jones Street reminds him of people recording concerts on their phones or singing along as they leave a venue.