Jack Kerouac Alley
{{Short description|Alleyway in California, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{coord|37.7975|-122.4067|region:US-CA_type:landmark|display=title}}
{{Infobox street
| name = Jack Kerouac Alley
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| namesake = Jack Kerouac
| image = 2017 Jack Kerouac Alley.jpg
| image_size = 300px
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| caption = The alley as seen from Columbus Avenue, 2017
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| location = San Francisco, California, U.S.
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| direction_a = West
| terminus_a = Grant Avenue in Chinatown
| direction_b = East
| terminus_b = Columbus Avenue in North Beach
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Jack Kerouac Alley, formerly Adler Alley or Adler Place, is a one-way alleyway in San Francisco, California, that connects Grant Avenue in Chinatown, and Columbus Avenue in North Beach.{{cite news | author=Nolte, Carl|author-link=Carl Nolte | title=Kerouac Alley has face-lift | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/30/BAG4NOUONC1.DTL | newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle | date=March 30, 2007 | access-date=24 September 2010}} The alley is named after Jack Kerouac, a Beat Generation writer who used to frequent the pub and bookstore adjacent to the alley.
History
The alley had commonly been used for garbage dumping and a shortcut for trucks before poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who was the co-founder of City Lights Bookstore, presented his idea in 1988 to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to transform the alleyway. The project involved repaving the alley, making it a pedestrian walkway, and installing new street lights. The new look alley was reopened to the public in March 2007 and a ceremony was held in April 2007 to celebrate the reopening. The alley is now known for its engraved Western and Chinese writing, by such writers as John Steinbeck, Maya Angelou, Ferlinghetti, and Kerouac himself.{{cite news | author=Nolte , Carl| title=Kerouac Alley is restored with cheer | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/01/BAGQAOVMGV1.DTL | newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle | date=April 1, 2007 | access-date=24 September 2010}}
File:2017 Jack Kerouac Alley street sign.jpg|Street sign in 2017
File:Ferlinghetti's plaque.JPG|Plaque with a quote from Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poem in Jack Kerouac Alley
File:The air was soft the stars so fine the promise of every cobbled alley so great by Jack Kerouac - Jack Kerouac Alley.jpg|Plaque with Jack Kerouac's quote
File:The free exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world by John Steinbeck - Jack Kerouac Alley.jpg|Plaque with John Steinbeck's quote
References
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External links
- {{commons category-inline|Jack Kerouac Alley (San Francisco)}}
{{Jack Kerouac}}
{{Chinatown, San Francisco}}
{{San Francisco Attractions}}
{{Streets in San Francisco}}
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Category:Chinatown, San Francisco
Category:Landmarks in San Francisco