Restore and Preserve Last House of Jack Kerouac
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Message from the Estate of Jack Kerouac
From approximately 1966 to 1969, Jack Kerouac lived with his mother, Gabrielle and his wife, Stella, in a small block house at 5169 10th Ave. N., in St. Petersburg, FL. A steady stream of visitors began arriving at the small house, knocking on the door in the hopes of spending time with the reluctant face of the Beat Movement.
Attempting to reconcile his Buddhist leanings with his overwhelming urge to drink and carouse, he spent many nights in the peaceful back yard, dragging a cot outside to sleep under the stars. Stella and Gabrielle acted as gatekeepers – shooing away the college students hoping to entice Kerouac out of the house for a night on the town. Locals itching for trouble threw stones at the windows, itching for a fight with the sudden celebrity in their midst. While residing in St. Petersburg, Kerouac was known for his frequent visits to Haslam’s Bookstore, bringing stacks of his books to tables near the front door in order to more prominently display them, and the hours he spent at the Flamingo Bar, drinking his infamous “shot and a wash” and playing pool with friends.
His time in St. Petersburg is mentioned frequently throughout his body of work and he remains a beloved icon to many in the Sunshine City. For years, his name remained listed in the St. Petersburg phone book, where young literature lovers would look it up and giddily call the out-of-service phone number. To this day, a steady stream of fans finds their way to the small brick house, sitting on the steps or leaving notes of remembrance in the mailbox. Jack Kerouac died on Oct. 21, 1969, of a stomach hemorrhage, at St. Petersburg’s St. Anthony’s Hospital. He was 47.
Over the years, all the other houses in which Jack lived have been sold and modified so that they all have lost the original characteristics when Jack was there. However, St. Peterburg's house still maintains its original form since the time when Jack lived there. But because no one has occupied the house after his wife Stella passed away in 1990, the house is dire shape and desperately needs restoration. Working with several non-profit organizations, the Estate is trying to raise money on many fronts including recent auctions.
The goal of this campaign is to restore and preserve this historic site for our future generations and to provide a shrine for this legendary author whose writings still resonate with all of us.
Also please find the article in the Tampa Bay Times here .
Thank you,
Estate of Jack Kerouac
Tampa Bay Times Full Article
ST. PETERSBURG — After years of back and forth and stalled negotiations, Jack Kerouac’s estate will sell the On The Road author’s St. Petersburg home a local nonprofit.The nonprofit intends to turn it into a writer’s retreat.
“We reached an agreement that I will sell the house to the organization for 300k in cash,” John Shen-Sampas told the Tampa Bay Times via email. Shen-Sampas is the son of Kerouac’s brother-in-law, John Sampas, who was deeded the home in 1990 when the writer’s widow died.
Sampas died in 2017 and left the house at 5169 10th Ave N. — near Fifth Avenue North and 49th Street North — to his son, Shen-Sampas. On the real estate website Zillow, the market value of the house is placed at $317,350.
Members of the Friends of the Kerouac House nonprofit that work to honor the author are seeking to raise $500,000 to complete the purchase and then restore the home. To do so, they will form a new nonprofit, Jack Kerouac’s House of St. Pete Inc.
“The roof needs a lot of work,” said Pat Barmore, president of Friends of the Kerouac House. “It has pest problems. We want to restore it to the period” of the 1960s. Kerouac moved to St. Petersburg in 1964 with his third wife and mother. He died from liver cirrhosis on Oct. 21, 1969, at St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. Kerouac might have authored the semi-autobiographical Vanity of Duluoz from the home, Barmore said, but he is not certain.
“He wrote sports for the Evening Independent,” then a sister publication of the St. Petersburg Times, Barmore said.
There had been discussions over the years of turning the house into a museum honoring the writer, but traffic could negatively impact the residential neighborhood, Barmore said.
For two years starting in 2013, the Friends of the Kerouac House served as caretaker of the house while taking steps to fully restore the aging structure and pursue status for it as a historic landmark. Then, Kerouac’s brother-in-law took away their keys and hired a property manager.
Through it all, the nonprofit continued to negotiate. They nearly finalized the deal on a few occasions but always came up short.
“John Shen-Sampas is a good guy,” Barmore said. “It’s been a long journey. But don’t congratulate us until we raise the money. But I don’t think it will take too long. We have a lot of support and interest."
From approximately 1966 to 1969, Jack Kerouac lived with his mother, Gabrielle and his wife, Stella, in a small block house at 5169 10th Ave. N., in St. Petersburg, FL. A steady stream of visitors began arriving at the small house, knocking on the door in the hopes of spending time with the reluctant face of the Beat Movement.
Attempting to reconcile his Buddhist leanings with his overwhelming urge to drink and carouse, he spent many nights in the peaceful back yard, dragging a cot outside to sleep under the stars. Stella and Gabrielle acted as gatekeepers – shooing away the college students hoping to entice Kerouac out of the house for a night on the town. Locals itching for trouble threw stones at the windows, itching for a fight with the sudden celebrity in their midst. While residing in St. Petersburg, Kerouac was known for his frequent visits to Haslam’s Bookstore, bringing stacks of his books to tables near the front door in order to more prominently display them, and the hours he spent at the Flamingo Bar, drinking his infamous “shot and a wash” and playing pool with friends.
His time in St. Petersburg is mentioned frequently throughout his body of work and he remains a beloved icon to many in the Sunshine City. For years, his name remained listed in the St. Petersburg phone book, where young literature lovers would look it up and giddily call the out-of-service phone number. To this day, a steady stream of fans finds their way to the small brick house, sitting on the steps or leaving notes of remembrance in the mailbox. Jack Kerouac died on Oct. 21, 1969, of a stomach hemorrhage, at St. Petersburg’s St. Anthony’s Hospital. He was 47.
Over the years, all the other houses in which Jack lived have been sold and modified so that they all have lost the original characteristics when Jack was there. However, St. Peterburg's house still maintains its original form since the time when Jack lived there. But because no one has occupied the house after his wife Stella passed away in 1990, the house is dire shape and desperately needs restoration. Working with several non-profit organizations, the Estate is trying to raise money on many fronts including recent auctions.
The goal of this campaign is to restore and preserve this historic site for our future generations and to provide a shrine for this legendary author whose writings still resonate with all of us.
Also please find the article in the Tampa Bay Times here .
Thank you,
Estate of Jack Kerouac
Tampa Bay Times Full Article
ST. PETERSBURG — After years of back and forth and stalled negotiations, Jack Kerouac’s estate will sell the On The Road author’s St. Petersburg home a local nonprofit.The nonprofit intends to turn it into a writer’s retreat.
“We reached an agreement that I will sell the house to the organization for 300k in cash,” John Shen-Sampas told the Tampa Bay Times via email. Shen-Sampas is the son of Kerouac’s brother-in-law, John Sampas, who was deeded the home in 1990 when the writer’s widow died.
Sampas died in 2017 and left the house at 5169 10th Ave N. — near Fifth Avenue North and 49th Street North — to his son, Shen-Sampas. On the real estate website Zillow, the market value of the house is placed at $317,350.
Members of the Friends of the Kerouac House nonprofit that work to honor the author are seeking to raise $500,000 to complete the purchase and then restore the home. To do so, they will form a new nonprofit, Jack Kerouac’s House of St. Pete Inc.
“The roof needs a lot of work,” said Pat Barmore, president of Friends of the Kerouac House. “It has pest problems. We want to restore it to the period” of the 1960s. Kerouac moved to St. Petersburg in 1964 with his third wife and mother. He died from liver cirrhosis on Oct. 21, 1969, at St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. Kerouac might have authored the semi-autobiographical Vanity of Duluoz from the home, Barmore said, but he is not certain.
“He wrote sports for the Evening Independent,” then a sister publication of the St. Petersburg Times, Barmore said.
There had been discussions over the years of turning the house into a museum honoring the writer, but traffic could negatively impact the residential neighborhood, Barmore said.
For two years starting in 2013, the Friends of the Kerouac House served as caretaker of the house while taking steps to fully restore the aging structure and pursue status for it as a historic landmark. Then, Kerouac’s brother-in-law took away their keys and hired a property manager.
Through it all, the nonprofit continued to negotiate. They nearly finalized the deal on a few occasions but always came up short.
“John Shen-Sampas is a good guy,” Barmore said. “It’s been a long journey. But don’t congratulate us until we raise the money. But I don’t think it will take too long. We have a lot of support and interest."
Organizer
John Shen-Sampas
Organizer
St. Petersburg, FL
