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Denver is renowned for having been the home, at one time or another, of legendary Beat writers Neal Cassady, Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac.
As March 12, which would be Kerouac’s 90th birthday, approaches, fans of the eccentric writer can plan to visit various landmarks notorious for having harbored his existence during his time on earth, from March 12, 1922 to Oct. 21, 1969.
The Beat Generation of the 1950s favored experimentation with drugs, spontaneous expression and many other “alternative” ways of living.
“At a time when poetry was being swallowed up by — some would say absorbed by, others might say strangled by — the university, Kerouac and his gang re-opened it to the public, testing the boundaries of what was acceptable,” said DU writing professor David Daniels.
The Beats are thought to have inspired the laid-back, anti-materialistic hippie mindset. They still remain a legendary aspect of American culture.
In his novel “On the Road,” Kerouac makes multiple references to places once frequented by the Beats, which still exist within both Denver and Lakewood.
The Roxy Theatre – located on 25th and Welton St. in Five Points – was a jazz club Kerouac and other beatniks often visited, which now functions as a concert venue.
Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom – situated a block east of the Roxy – is also a popular concert venue once attracting patrons as another Bebop joint characteristic of the Five Points region.
“Down at 23rd and Welton,” wrote Kerouac in On the Road, “a softball game was going on under the floodlights which also illuminated the gas tank. A great eager crowd roared at every play. The strange young heroes of all kinds were on the field, performing with heart-breaking seriousness.”
The field at Sonny Lawson Park described by Kerouac in On the Road – published in 1957 – remains to this day on that street corner and still provides the neighborhood with a popular recreational area.
While living roughly 15 minutes west of downtown Denver in the city of Lakewood, Kerouac would entertain a young neighbor boy by taking him on frequent trips to Lakeside Amusement Park – an ancient yet still-prominent amusement park located at I-70 and Sheridan Blvd.
The “red-brick rooming house near a church” also mentioned in On the Road housed Carolyn Robinson and Allen Ginsberg for some time – it is speculated the group would reconvene in this building, the Colburn Hotel (980 Grant St.), after creative Benzedrine binges.
“The myth of the Beats has probably had greater influence on younger writers today than the Beats themselves. I often read younger writers who feel passionately about the Beats, truly loving them, but when pressed for reasons why or to point to specific works [they] are often at a loss to explain,” said Daniels. “My asking for explanation, of course, likely violates a lot of that Beat spirit: feel first, ask questions only later, if at all.”
Kerouac and his gang of unconventional writers revolutionized American literature, leaving a significant mark on the art form encompassing the written word.
Kerouac has also left a visual mark on various places throughout the Denver metro area known to have been visited by him, due to the musings of a Kerouac enthusiast who has tagged a stenciled picture of the writer’s face on each of the places mentioned – and many more.
