The city of Chicago has declared that September 23 will now be known as "David Bowie Day." The decree came from Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

The announcement was delivered in a written proclamation in which Emanuel describes the art-rock legend as "an undisputed global icon boasting a catalog of 26 critically acclaimed studio albums," who has "bridged cultures and faiths while both transcending and fortifying the music, art, fashion & design and theatrical canons."

The honor comes in connection with "David Bowie Is," a retrospective exhibit opening the same day at the city's Museum of Contemporary Art.

According to the museum's website, "David Bowie Is" "features over 300 items from the musician's personal archives," including "never-before-seen storyboards, handwritten set lists and lyrics, and some of Bowie's own sketches, musical scores and diary entries.

"The items demonstrate his creative evolution - "from his years as a teenager in the 1950s to the early 2000s, when he retired from touring."