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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
White Horse Tavern
Perhaps most famous as the bar in which Dylan Thomas drank the night he died, Kerouac hung out in the White Horse Tavern a lot while he was living with Helen Weaver nearby. Apparently it was here that Kerouac found a scribbled ‘Kerouac Go Home!’ on a toilet cubicle wall (see ‘Desolation Angels’ and ‘Jack … Continue reading
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
Cafe Bohemia
15 Barrow Street, Greenwich Village, New York The Barrow Street Ale House, as it is currently called, in the 1950’s housed the Cafe Bohemia which put up shows by progressive Jazz artists such as Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and John Coltrane. Kerouac loved to check out shows in here. (Facts once again provided by Bill … Continue reading
454 W 2oth Street
Chelsea, New York Joan Haverty and Jack Kerouac moved into this building in January of 1951, of course things between them couldn’t last so they split up in June when she became pregnant. Famously the scroll version of ‘On The Road’ was written in here during that time.
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
Retracing Jack Kerouac 