Happy Birthday, Neal Cassady! Take an Armchair Tour of His Denver...

The friendship of Kerouac (left) and Cassady is commemorated in a current show at the Denver Public Library, Neal Cassady's Denver. Evan Semón

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Jack Kerouac visited Denver for the first time in 1947. He’d been told by a friend at Columbia University that he should meet up with Neal Cassady, a legendary free spirit, raconteur and troublemaker. Kerouac was only in town for ten days that time, but the Mile High City made an enduring impression on him, and its sights and sounds — not to mention Cassady, transformed into Dean Moriarty — figure prominently in On the Road, his most enduring work.

The Beat will go on tonight, February 7, at the Mercury Cafe, which will host the eleventh annual Neal Cassady Birthday Bash.

In advance of that event (and before the current snow), we went out to capture some of the favorite haunts of Cassady and Keraouc around Denver. Here's a sampling of our stops; you can take an armchair tour on this snowy day.

click to enlarge

The friendship of Kerouac (left) and Cassady is commemorated in a current show at the Denver Public Library, Neal Cassady's Denver.

Evan Semón

click to enlarge

Neal Cassady grew up in and around Curtis Park.

Evan Semón

click to enlarge

Cassady liked to hang out at Denver's Central Library, today the McNichols Building.

Evan Semón

click to enlarge

Cassady went to Ebert Elementary.

Evan Semón

click to enlarge

Then East High School.

Evan Semón

click to enlarge

Cassady got caught joyriding in a stolen car at 16th and Court.

Evan Semón

click to enlarge

Before Cassady was sent to juvie, he hung out at Paul's Place, now My Brother's Bar.

Evan Semón

click to enlarge

In 1947, Jack Kerouac came to Denver to meet Cassady.

Evan Semón

click to enlarge

At the time, the D&F Clocktower was the tallest building in Denver.

Evan Semón

click to enlarge

Kerouac liked hanging out in Five Points, watching games at what's now Sonny Lawson Field.

Evan Semón

click to enlarge

And listening to jazz at the Rossonian.

Evan Semón

click to enlarge

After ten days, Kerouac was on the road again, but he wasn't done with Denver...

Evan Semón

Click here for the complete slideshow, "Go on the Road With Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady."