Vesuvio Cafe and Jack Kerouac

Vesuvio Cafe at the edge of North Beach opened in 1948 and became a well-known gathering place for Beat Generation writers; Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, and other Bay Area Beats were regulars. The bar sits across from City Lights Bookstore and remains operated in the same general location, preserving its association with mid-20th-century literary history. Vesuvio's interior and exterior are frequently cited in histories of the Beat movement in San Francisco.