Jack Kerouac Center

10/14/2024

We have the chance to preserve history, culture, and community by saving the former St. Jean Baptiste building where Jack spent so much time from becoming condos. Let’s not allow it to be swallowed up by progress that erases our past. Instead, let’s make it a center where future generations can come to be inspired, learn, and create within the 1000 capacity performance space we have planned. The Jack Kerouac Center would serve as a reminder of the power of literature to change the world, starting with one person’s story. By preserving Jack’s memory here, we ensure that young people—born in Lowell or elsewhere—can learn from his journey and find their own voices.

We were there yesterday, and they are already starting to mark out the locations of the condo walls and construction will soon begin if we don’t intervene and buy this space. Please reach out with ideas and support. We have even formed a nonprofit so any contributions are tax deductible. Time is of essence.

For Jack. For all of us.
More info at jackkerouaccenter.com

09/27/2024

Please join us on Sunday October 13th at 11AM for this very special event.

Jack Kerouac Mural Dedication at St. Jean Baptiste Church, Proposed Future Home of Jack Kerouac Center
During Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Weekend
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13 11AM-1PM

A stunning new mural commemorating legendary Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac will be officially unveiled at St. Jean Baptiste Church on Sunday, October 13th, from 11AM to 1PM as part of Lowell Celebrates Kerouac !. The former church, where Kerouac once served as an altar boy, is the proposed future home of the Jack Kerouac Center, a cultural hub dedicated to celebrating the life and work of the acclaimed author.

The mural became reality with major support from State Senator Ed Kennedyand created by renowned artist Kori Thomas, professionally recognized as the artist Quest Nine. It is a vivid tribute to Kerouac’s life and work, capturing his restless spirit, creative brilliance, and his connection to the church. St. Jean Baptiste Church, which holds a special place in Kerouac’s early life, is the ideal backdrop for this celebration.

“I am truly honored to have been contacted by the Kerouac Estate to create the Jack’s Legacy Mural in Lowell, MA" says Kori Thomas/Quest Nine, "Jack Kerouac has been a constant companion in my lonesome ‘van life’ travels, guiding me through connections with fellow wanderers and in turn inspiring my passion for art. As I delved into his writings, I developed a profound appreciation for Jack—his words, madness, and unique perspective have taught me to embrace and love every aspect of myself. This mural represents not just a tribute to him, but a celebration of his message, ensuring that his legacy endures. With hopes of establishing the Jack Kerouac Center at this site, we aim to create a haven for fellow beat travelers, aspiring writers, and enthusiasts of his unseen works. I am immensely grateful to the Kerouac Estate for this opportunity to share and celebrate Jack’s impact.”

Event Details:
What: Jack Kerouac Mural Unveiling/Dedication
When: Sunday, October 13th, 11AM – 1PM
Where: St. Jean Baptiste Church, 741 Merrimack St. Lowell, MA 01854
Cost: Free and open to the public

Event Highlights:
Mural Unveiling: The mural by Kori Thomas, professionally recognized as the artist Quest Nine, will be officially revealed and dedicated, offering attendees a chance to see this unique interpretation of Kerouac’s legacy.

Live Music: The Rocking Horse Music Club will perform a few songs live inside the former St Jean Baptiste Church , bringing music inspired by Kerouac’s love for jazz and the road, enhancing the celebratory atmosphere.

Jack Kerouac Center Update: Jim Sampas, a key figure in preserving Kerouac’s legacy and nephew of the author, will provide latest information on the development of the Jack Kerouac Center, which aims to become a future cultural hub in Lowell dedicated to the author’s life and works.

Quotes from Key Voices:

Jim Sampas adds: "Kori (Quest Nine) is one of the most innovative and skillful muralists of our time and we are incredibly fortunate that her gifts graced these bricks and mortar in becoming an extraordinarily beautiful achievement that will stand as testament to all those who dare embrace their dreams and set to make them reality through dedication and devotion to their craft. That this magnificent tribute to Jack Kerouac is just a stone’s throw away from the gathering place of his family and friends after the typing ceased, seems to me to be an inspiring way to keep the words from fading and his legacy everlasting.”

The mural and the future Jack Kerouac Center hold great significance for the community. Dave Ouellette, a board member for the Jack Kerouac Center and a longtime Lowell resident and community advocate, shared his thoughts: "This mural and the proposed Jack Kerouac Center represent a deep connection with our city’s artistic and literary heritage. Kerouac’s spirit continues to inspire us here in Lowell, and it’s wonderful to see this tribute come to life in the place where it all began for him."

In addition, Mike Flynn, President of Lowell Celebrates Kerouac, emphasized the importance of this unveiling during the festival: "I am certain that attendees of the 2024 LCK! Fall Festival, who travel to Lowell from all over the US, Canada and Europe every October, will be elated for the opportunity to attend the official reveal of this brilliant work by Quest Nine, adorning the future site of the Jack Kerouac Center, and for the opportunity to actually enter the hallowed former St. Jean Baptiste cathedral where Jack once served as an altar boy and, of course, ultimately had his funeral mass in October 1969. Our motto at LCK! is "Everybody goes home in October", a quote from Jack. This is an event which will take that concept to the next level, I'm sure".

RSVP via our Facebook Event!

03/12/2024

Thanks for inspiring us, Jack. ♥️

Happy Birthday, Jack. Your writing changed so many lives. Forever on the road.
📷: Mario Jorrin - Westport Public Library in 1960

“It was in Centraville I was born, in Pawtucketville saw Doctor Sax. Across the wide basin to the hill – on Lupine Road, March 1922, at five o’clock in the afternoon of a red-all-over suppertime, as drowsily beers were tapped in Moody and Lakeview saloons and the river rushed with her cargoes of ice over reddened slick rocks, and on the shore the reeds swayed among mattresses and cast-off boots of Time, and lzily pieces of snow dropped plunk from bagging branches of black thorny oil pine in their thaw, and beneath the wet snows of the hillside receiving the sun’s lost rays the melts of winter mixed with roars of Merrimac – I was born. Bloody rooftop. Strange deed. All eyes I came hearing the river’s red; I remember that afternoon, I perceived it through beads hanging in a door and through lace curtains and glass of a universal sad lost redness of mortal damnation… the snow was melting. The snake was coiled in the hill not my heart.”
― Jack Kerouac, Dr. Sax

12/16/2023

Counting down to the Spring!

11/24/2023

Great offer from Rare Bird Lit and Sal Paradise Press.

Our publishing partner, Rare Bird Lit just let us know that you can pick up our two Sal Paradise Press releases at a discount with code Kerouac20. Please note that a portion of the proceeds goes to help establish the Jack Kerouac Center. Get your copies at rarebirdlit.com

Truth And Beautiful Meaningful Lies is a collection of Jack's quotes (so if you enjoy this page you can search for quotes by theme in this release).

Desolation Peak is a collection of unpublished material written while Jack was employed as a fire watcher atop Desolation Peak in the North Cascades.

11/06/2023

Amazing work by Quest Nine. ❤️

10/29/2023

And so it begins....thanks Quest Nine, State Senator Ed Kennedy, Like Lowell, and Jack Kerouac Foundation for pushing for this mural to happen. Also notice the big building just beyond this brick structure that we are hoping will be the Jack Kerouac Center. Read more about it at jackkerouaccenter.com

11/29/2022

It's . Please help us establish the Jack Kerouac Center. Your donation is tax-deductible. DONATE HERE: https://bit.ly/3u74YiW

As the year 2022 draws to a close, many of us in Lowell will remember it as The Year of Jack Kerouac—the 100th anniversary of his birth in March of 1922. The Kerouac Centennial events that kicked off in March and ran through the annual Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival in October attracted visitors from all over the world whose lives have been touched and blessed by the writings of Jack Kerouac.

The response to the Kerouac Centennial continues to validate the need for a Jack Kerouac Center in Lowell. The good news is that a wonderful opportunity now exists to create such a Center. An artistic rendition has been completed that illustrates the vision of converting the former St. Jean Baptiste Church into a Jack Kerouac Center for the Performing Arts, Museum as well as Education.

There could not be a more appropriate site in Lowell for such a Center. The St. Jean Baptiste Church was the spiritual home for much of Lowell’s Franco-American Catholic community from the late 19th to the late 20th century. It is where Jack Kerouac served as an altar boy, and where his Funeral Mass was held following his death in 1969.

A vision is a great thing; bringing it to fruition is an even greater thing. This is why a Jack Kerouac Foundation has been created to move the vision into a reality. And it is why we are now appealing to you for your support in making it happen. We appreciate any size donation.

The City of Tulsa, Oklahoma has a beautiful center to honor the life and legacy of Woody Guthrie. Salinas, California has done the same thing for its native son, John Steinbeck. Jack Kerouac deserves no less in his hometown of Lowell.

Please help us make it happen.

🎥: Marte Media

11/23/2022

Thank you, The Sun News

LOWELL — At St. Jean Baptiste Parish, in the heart of The Acre neighborhood, author Jack Kerouac served as an altar boy. The church was also the site of his funeral service when he died in 1969. As…

11/12/2022

Thank you, Boston.com

Check out the plans for a Jack Kerouac Museum and Performance Center in Lowell. Read more on Boston.com.

11/10/2022

THE JACK KEROUAC FOUNDATION is offering the public a glimpse of its vision for the former Catholic church it hopes to develop into The Jack Kerouac Center, a performance venue, museum, educational center, and bookstore/café.

In advance of its capital fundraising phase, the foundation has posted site plans, drone-shot images, renderings by Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) and other materials at jackkerouaccenter.com. The site also offers visitors a link to make donations and explains the history of the iconic, Lowell-born author and his connection to the former St. Jean Baptiste Parish, a cornerstone of the city’s French-Canadian community.

“We are very energized by the opportunity to work with the Jack Kerouac Foundation to create a home for the museum and performance center that expresses the importance the City of Lowell played in Jack’s life and serves as a catalyst for the city’s vibrant arts scene” said Bryan Irwin, Principal at SCB. “Jack Kerouac was formed by his experiences growing up in the neighborhoods of Lowell and his relationship to the Catholic Church was both complicated and critical to understanding his work. We sought to reflect this in a design that strengthens and enhances the existing edifice and neighborhood while creating a new dialogue—a new way of seeing and interpreting this fabric.”

The former church, built in 1896, was where a young Kerouac served as an altar boy, as well as the site of his funeral in 1969. The church remained consecrated when it was temporarily closed in 1993 with the termination of St. Jean Baptiste Parish but became part of Nuestra Senora del Carmen Parish in 1994 to serve the area’s Latino population before being closed and deconsecrated in 2004. It remained shuttered until TMI Property Management & Development purchased it.

The Kerouac Foundation invited the public to see the building while celebrating Kerouac’s centennial in March, and has met with TMI owner Brian McGowan, as well as SCB, Existing Conditions 3D Laser Scanning, Aberthaw Construction Company, and directors and developers of such centers as the Grammy Museum, the National Steinbeck Center, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Woody Guthrie Center.

"We have put many things into motion this year and feel it’s time to share our detailed vision for the Jack Kerouac Center as we delve into the major fundraising it will take to make it a reality,” said Sylvia Cunha, Executive Director of the Jack Kerouac Foundation. “Once the world of Kerouac fans and the local community see what we’d like to do, we can move down the road to creating a hometown destination for visitors from far and wide.”

“While there are monuments honoring Kerouac in Lowell and other places, “says Jim Sampas, literary executor of the Jack Kerouac Estate, “there is no museum or performance center offering popular access to artistic performances and a wide range of archival materials touching on his life, work, and history as a product of Lowell. Visitors from around the world who come to re-trace his steps here deserve a place where they can see and experience how he was shaped, what he produced, and how he has influenced artists everywhere. What better place than the building where his funeral Mass was conducted and where he served for a time as an altar boy?”

The Jack Kerouac Foundation hopes the center not only serves as a welcoming hub for Kerouac pilgrims, but as a connective thread to the community, where artists of all stripes can perform and exhibit, and young writers of all ages from area schools can learn and share their craft.