Minetta Tavern, Greenwich Village
A popular hangout of Kerouac, Ginsberg, Lucien Carr and William S. Burroughs as early as the beginning of the 1940′s. 113 MacDougal Street, Greenwich Village, New York
Bklyn Bridge
‘… an all the wild adventures together on Bklyn Bridge, Columbia, Frisco, Mexico, etc. and elsewhere later, but all that bombed-out literature we started (bombed-out-of-mind)…’ Jack Kerouac in a letter to Allen Ginsberg June 19, 1963 (Jack Kerouac Selected Letters 1957-1969, ed. by Ann Charters)
Samuel S Cox Statue /Tompkins Square
The statue of Samuel S Cox can be seen in the background of the photo Allen Ginsberg took of Jack Kerouac that graces the cover of Allen Ginsberg’s highly recommended photography book ‘Beat Memories – The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg’ (DelMonico Books/Prestel). Tompkins Square is featured in Kerouac’s ‘The Subterraneans’ (disguised as a park in … Read more
206 E 7th Street, New York
206 E 7th Street, East Village, New York Allen Ginsberg lived in this house in 1952/’53. I included it in my project as my favourite Kerouac photo of him standing on the fire escape with his Southern Pacific handbook sticking out of the pocket of his jacket was taken here.
307 W 11th Street
Kerouac’s girlfriend in 1956/1957 Helen Weaver, author of ‘The Awakener’ lived here when he returned from Mexico with Allen Ginsberg and the Orlovsky brothers Peter and Lafcadio and all of them yelled at the 3rd floor window where she lived with a friend (see ‘Desolation Angels’). (Facts by Bill Morgan’s book ‘The Beat Generation in … Read more
Washington Square, New York
“It gets more and more joyous all the time…” – spoken in the reddening sun of Washington Square.’ Jack Kerouac in a letter to Allen Ginsberg, September 1948
346 W 15th Street, New York
346 W 15th Street, Chelsea, New York Allen Ginsberg lived in the attic from late 1951 to late 1952 and wrote about it in a couple of poems. It’s safe to assume that Kerouac was a frequent visitor here during that time. On one of these occasions he was introduced to Gregory Corso. (Facts provided … Read more
The Donac
402 W 20th Street, Chelsea, New York LeRoi and Hettie Jones lived in this building and ran Totem Press books while living in here from 1958 to 1960. According to Bill Morgan’s ‘The Beat Generation in New York’ they hosted one or two notable parties where Kerouac was present. Totem Press published Kerouac’s ‘The Scripture … Read more
National Maritime Union Building
None of the buildings in these photographs did yet exist when Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lucien Carr (all members of the NMU) and various others of their NMU member friends were trying to get papers for ships in the then headquarters of the National Maritime Union that the occupied this block, but the hotel is called … Read more
The West End (Bar)
2911 Broadway, Morningside Heights, New York A regular hangout for Kerouac and the other Beats in the mid- to end 1940′s, and quite a few stories to be told taking place in here. Kerouac getting into fights, being rolled down Broadway in a barrel by Lucien Carr (presumably after having one too many drinks in … Read more
