Chelsea
Chelsea is an area on the western part of Manhattan island, just north of the Village but below Times Square. It is an interesting neighbourhood that has gone through significant change throughout the last century. Today it consists of many quaint townhouses, but is also the locale for many art galleries and nightlife hotspots. I am particularly fond of the architecture in the area.
The Chelsea Hotel is located at 222 W 23rd Street. It is one of the most famous hotels in the world, serving as long-term, yet temporary home to actors, artists and musicians; more than a few have met their end while residing there. The Welsh poet Dylan Thomas was living here when he died.
Interesting fact: Uranium for the Manhattan Project was stored in a Warehouse on West 20th Street, and was not removed and decontaminated until the late 80’s. The warehouse was only a few buildings away from the building that Jack Kerouac wrote the most important draft of On the Road in 1951.
There are a couple of important beatfootprints in the area, so important in fact, that they were the first that I tracked down.
On the Road:
454 West 20th Street. This was the location that Kerouac wrote the most important draft of On the Road. Though the moment has been greatly mythologized - something Kerouac himself contributed to - he did in fact write a draft of the novel in a 20 day binge in front of the typewriter, between April 2nd and April 22nd, 1951. The draft that he wrote constituted the framework for the final draft which would not be published until six years later. Contrary to popular belief, On the Road went through several manifestations and Kerouac spent several years revising and making edits, though there are many long passages in the book that are precisely the same as he first typed them.
Kerouac moved to this location with his new wife, Joan Haverty (Kerouac). After living with Jack’s mother after they were married, Joan decided they needed a place to themselves. The marriage did not last long, but he did have a daughter with Joan named Jan, whom he never openly admitted was his despite DNA testing. His daughter wrote a couple of books, including an autobiography.
The building today appears to have been renovated extensively. I do not know if any of the buildings “guts” remain from Kerouac’s time. There is also no plaque or indication that the building is of any significance.
The Scroll Today:
The manuscript of On the Road was typed on long sheets of teletype paper taped together to form a scroll, something Kerouac did for several of his books. He believed the method helped facilitate his style of lyrical writing. The scroll has been “on tour” throughout the United States for the last few years. I had the opportunity to see it in Iowa City a couple of years ago on a Kerouac-ean influenced road trip. I was not disappointed.
The Kerouac Estate, to much protest, auctioned off the manuscript of On the Road in 2002 a few years ago for nearly two and a half million dollars. It is believed to be the highest selling manuscript ever sold at auction. Considering how much it’s now worth, it’s crazy to think that Kerouac carried the manuscript with him everywhere he went for about 6 years. It got banged up a bit along the way, in fact, the tail end of it was chewed to pieces by a dog...
Neal Cassady:
Before her death, Joan Haverty Kerouac completed a memoir called Nobody’s Wife. She devoted a chapter about meeting Neal Cassady, in which she also includes a moment that Kerouac later fictionalized in On the Road:
One evening Kerouac’s friend Henri Cru planned a special evening for them to see a Duke Ellington concert. He even went so far as to rent a limousine. As they were setting out, Neal showed approached the car. They apparently spoke for a bit and Kerouac introduced Neal to Henri, but Henri didn’t think much of him. When Neal asked for a lift uptown, Henri refused despite the fact that it was freezing outside. They left Neal on 20th Street by the corner of 7th Avenue.
Neal rounding the corner became a major scene in the final pages of On the Road. The corner of 7th Ave and 20th Street was the first of the beatfootprints that I tracked down, it’s also the most lonely and haunting of any that I have encountered.
Beat Facts:
Incriminating Evidence:
20th Street, by the building where Kerouac wrote the draft of On the Road, is very quaint and quiet. I have spent a long time standing in front of the building. I’m not exactly sure what I expect to find, but when I listen hard enough I’d like to think I can hear the echo of Kerouac’s typewriter hammering away.
