Seeking Establishment recognition of Beat hangout’s importance

The former Venice West Cafe, headquarters of the L.A. beatnik scene and gathering place for the Doors’ Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek, could be designated a city historic-cultural monument.

From 1958 to 1966, the Venice West Cafe served as a gathering place for disciples of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and the other pioneers of the Beat Generation who planted the seeds of L.A.’s counterculture movement.

Ray Manzarek, keyboardist for the Doors, recalls the spot as a hangout for post-beatnik intellectuals in dark turtlenecks and jeans, where he and bandmate Jim Morrison, under the influence of LSD, drank espresso and ate croissants while reading Camus and Sartre.

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