"This is about bringing Jack home. Zach understood the importance of this auction and how special these items were. It was never about collecting items, but about preserving something important, celebrating Jack Kerouac's work and legacy. Zach is the right steward for this, and we're incredibly grateful."
"The Jack Kerouac Center, currently under construction, will be housed in the Saint Jean Baptiste Church building in the author's hometown of Lowell. The church, where Kerouac once served as an altar boy and where mourners gathered for his 1969 funeral mass, was purchased by Bryan in 2025 to be converted into a museum."
Zach Bryan acquired the scroll manuscript for On the Road, The Dharma Bums, and personal letters from Jack Kerouac to Ed White at a Christie's auction for $12.1 million. The Kerouac Estate confirmed these items will be publicly displayed at the Jack Kerouac Center in Lowell, Massachusetts, Bryan's hometown. The center, housed in the Saint Jean Baptiste Church where Kerouac served as an altar boy and held his 1969 funeral mass, is currently under construction. Upon completion, the facility will feature a 1,500-capacity performance space for music and storytelling, a recording studio, classrooms, and additional amenities. Bryan, an admirer of Kerouac whose song "Burn Burn Burn" references On the Road, purchased the church building in 2025 to convert it into a museum dedicated to preserving Kerouac's literary legacy.
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