Founded in 1948 by Henri Lenoir, the Vesuvio Cafe became a popular hangout for Beat writers like Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassidy.

From the Vesuvio website:

"On October 17, 1955, Neal Cassady, the real life Dean Moriarty of the quintessential Beat classic On the Road, stopped at Vesuvio on the way to the now legendary Six Gallery for a poetry reading, and the place has never been the same. It became a regular hangout of Jack Kerouac and other famous Beat poets and has become ground zero for pilgrims on the Beat trail ever since."

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In 2003, the Ciminios transformed their bookstore into the Beat Museum. Three years later, they moved to this two-story location in North Beach.

The Beat Museum now features several donated artifacts of the Beat era and its characters: Jack Kerouac's jacket, Neal Cassidy's referee shirt from his Ken Kesey bus-driving days, the 1949 Hudson- the same make and model that was driven in On the Road- used in the film version of that book and donated by creators of the film.

In addition, the museum features more than 1,000 photos, rare books, paintings, records, and posters to show the Beats rejection of conformity, resistance to cold war mentality, and love of personal freedom.

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