Jack Kerouac Alley

Before this became a literary landmark, the space was known as Adler Alley and served primarily as a dumping ground for local businesses and a shortcut for delivery trucks. In 1988, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the poet and co-founder of the neighboring City Lights Bookstore, proposed a total transformation of the area to the city government. His vision was to reclaim the neglected passage and turn it into a dedicated pedestrian walkway that celebrated the neighborhood's deep roots in the Beat Generation movement.