"Dean was the son of a wino, one of the most tottering bums of Larimer Street, and Dean had in fact been brought up generally on Larimer Street and thereabouts. He used to plead in court at the age of six to have his father set free. He used to beg in front of Larimer alleys and sneak the money back to his father, who waited among the broken bottles with an old buddy."

With the exception of the Larimer block between 20th and 22nd Streets, you'll see few traces of the Larimer that Cassady and Kerouac visited until you reach 15th Street, where a block of original buildings has been preserved and converted into a vibrant set of shops and restaurants by Denver entrepreneur Dana Crawford (they were slated for destruction in the 1960s when she stepped in to save them).

Nevertheless, Larimer was the center of everything for Cassady, the bona fide heart of his bona fide skid row. Cassady's activity was centered around his father's barbershop, the Zaza, right next to the Zaza Theater, formerly at 1727 Larimer Street (Kerouac went to the movies here, too), where Cassady would spend hours watching movies (King Kong and Tom Mix westerns) or reading voraciously in his father's shop.

At 16th and Larimer Streets, look to the northwestern corner to see the site of the no-longer standing Manhattan Restaurant (1635 Larimer Street), which thrived for at least five decades (it was called "Denver's Most Famous Restaurant" in period advertisements), and the place where Cassady's father and his roommate Shorty (he had no legs, thus the nickname) sat and solicited donations to the cause. In fact, Shorty used to lean against one remnant of this site that still survives, a beautiful water fountain sculpture with cherubs, now moved to Larimer Square. To the left, at 1617 Larimer, was the Citizen's Mission, where Neal got breakfasts and dinners as a boy.

Just a half block to your left, at 16th and Market Streets (227 16th Street), the dreaded Metropolitan Hotel, the fleabags to end all fleabags, once stood. This is where Cassady stayed most nights with his father, in small cubicles that rented for a dollar a week. Without endangering yourself by craning your neck and looking left as you drive, see if you can catch a glimpse of the Daniel's and Fisher clock tower, once the tallest structure in Denver, and once at the heart of the block-long Daniel's and Fisher department store. When he stayed with his father at the Metropolitan, Cassady woke at seven by the chimes of this clock, and as he hurried to get to school on time, he glanced at this clock to gauge his progress.

DIRECTIONS TO THE NEXT STOP
Take 15th Street west through LoDo and the railyards to Platte Street Take a left and another quick left to park in the parking lot for My Brother's Bar.