Coffee House Positano was a Malibu café and performance space (1957-1963) operated by Mike Dutton and Lorees Yerby off the Pacific Coast Highway. The café was known as a center of Bohemian life in Southern California. Collection was assembled by Jay Ruby and contains photographs, original and photocopies/printed scans of Positano bulletins and announcements, correspondence of waitress Joan Laine, and various ephemera related to the Positano and Malibu bohemian community.

Coffee House Positano was a Malibu café and performance space (1957-1963) operated by Mike Dutton and Lorees Yerby off the Pacific Coast Highway. The café was known as a center of Bohemian life in Southern California and was frequented by notable Los Angeles artists, writers, and entertainment industry types including Allen Ginsberg, Ray Bradbury, and Keith Finch. Jay Ruby was an undergraduate at UCLA and worked as a dishwasher at Positano while living on the property from 1957-1959, in addition to participating in the community. After the closing of the café, the property transformed into the Budwood artists colony until the 1993 Malibu fire consumed the property.

4.2 linear feet (1 half box, 1 oversize flat box, 1 painting, 1 table)

Property rights to the physical object belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

PORTIONS OF COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.