Zach Bryan has officially added “church owner” to his résumé … but don’t expect sermons or Sunday morning choir practice anytime soon.
The singer-songwriter recently bought the historic Saint Jean Baptiste Church in Lowell, Massachusetts, a place with big-time literary history. It’s the church where author Jack Kerouac grew up attending mass and where his funeral was held. Instead of letting the building sit empty, Zach is helping give it a whole new purpose.
He’s partnering with the Kerouac Estate to turn the old church into The Jack Kerouac Center, a creative space dedicated to preserving Kerouac’s legacy and giving writers, musicians, and fans a place to gather. Plans include a museum, an archive, a performance space, and spots for artists to work and collaborate. Basically, it’ll be part cultural center, part music hub, part writer’s retreat.
The 20,439 square foot building reportedly cost Bryan approximately $3.4 million.
The idea for a Kerouac Center has been floating around for years but kept getting stalled by funding and pandemic delays. Zachg has called the purchase “one of my life’s greatest honors,” and even shared a favorite Kerouac quote when announcing the news:
“I looked up at the dark sky and prayed to God for a better break in life…The light of our tent burned on the frightful plain. The cowboy music twanged in the roadhouse and carried across the fields, all sadness. It was all right with me. I kissed my baby and we put out the lights.”
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