Monterey -
is home to the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium, a must-see attraction that delights and educates millions of visitors every year. Step outside the Aquarium and you're on Cannery row, where John Steinbeck drew inspiration for his novel about life in Monterey during the heyday of the sardine canning industry. Today "the Row" is lined with hotels, shops and restaurants and fun activities for the entire family.
From Cannery Row, you can walk or ride a rented surrey along the scenic Recreation Trail to Fishermans Wharf. Along the way, you'll see harbor seals, sea otters and pelicans in natural habitats on the dazzling waterfront of the Monterey Bay National Marine sanctuary.
Set along this spectacular coast, the Monterey Conference Center draws high attendance at conferences, meetings and trade shows and is the only waterfront conference center in northern California.
The Monterey County visitors Center provides the latest special offers on lodging, dining and entertainment. Hotels, inns, shops and restaurants are found in all the City's business districts. Monterey is known for its exceptional dining experiences and fresh local seafood.
In prehistoric times the Rumsen Ohlone tribe, one of seven linguistically distinct Ohlone groups in California, inhabited the area now known as Monterey. They lived a subsistence life of hunting, fishing and gathering in what has been deduced as a biologically rich Monterey Peninsula.
The most prominent archaeological resources extant here are shell middens, the garbage dumps of these early inhabitants.
We can infer from midden contents that mussels and abalone were consumed by the Rumsen Ohlone as their chief marine staples.
The principal archaeological sites that have been mapped are located between the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Naval Postgraduate School, within about 2000 feet (610 m) of the coastline.
Royal Presidio Chapel circa 1934. The existing building dates to 1794.
First established in 1770 by Father Junípero Serra and Gaspar de Portolà (governor of Baja and Alta California (1767–1770), explorer and founder of San Diego and Monterey), Monterey served as the capital of California from 1777 to 1849, under the flags of Spain and Mexico. Variants of the city's name are recorded as Monte Rey and Montery. Portola erected the Presidio of Monterey to defend the port against an expected Russian invasion. On June 3, 1770, Serra founded the Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo, also known as the Royal Presidio Chapel. When the mission was moved to Carmel the following year, the existing wood and adobe building became the San Jose Chapel for the Presidio of Monterey. Monterey became the capital of the Province of Both Californias in 1777 and the chapel was renamed the Royal Presidio Chapel. The original church was destroyed by fire in 1789 and replaced by the present sandstone structure. It was completed in 1794 by Indian labor. in the form of a Latin Cross. In 1840, the chapel was rededicated to the patronage of Saint Charles Borromeo. The cathedral is the oldest continuously operating Parish and the oldest stone building in California. It is the oldest (and smallest) serving cathedral along with St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only existing presidio chapel in California and the only existing building in the original Monterey Presidio.
The city was originally the only port of entry for taxable goods in California. All shipments into California by sea were required to go through the Custom House, the oldest governmental building in the state and California's Historic Landmark Number One. Built in 3 phases, construction on the Custom House began in 1814 under the Spanish, the center section under Mexican rule in 1827, with the lower end completed by the United States in 1846.
In addition, many California "firsts" occurred in Monterey. These include California's first theatre, brick house, publicly funded school, public building, public library, and printing press, which printed The Californian, the first newspaper. Larkin House, one of Monterey State Historic Park’s National Historic Landmarks, built in the Mexican period by Thomas Oliver Larkin, is an early example of Monterey Colonial architecture. The old Custom House, the historic district and the Royal Presidio Chapel are also National Historic Landmarks. The Cooper-Molera Adobe is a National Trust Historic Site. Colton Hall, built in 1849 by Walter Colton, was originally a public school and government meeting place. It also hosted California's first constitutional convention. Today it houses a museum, while adjacent buildings serve as the seat of local government. The Monterey post office opened in 1849. Monterey incorporated in 1889.
Monterey had long been famous for the abundant fishery in Monterey Bay. That changed in the 1950s, when the local fishery business collapsed due to overfishing. A few of the old fishermen's cabins from the early twentieth century have been preserved as they originally stood along Cannery Row.
The city has a noteworthy history as a center for California painters in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Such painters as Arthur Frank Mathews, Armin Hansen, Xavier Martinez, Rowena Meeks Abdy and Percy Gray lived or visited to pursue painting in the style of either En plein air or Tonalism.
In addition to painters, many noted authors have also lived in and around the Monterey area such as John Steinbeck, Robinson Jeffers, Robert A. Heinlein, Henry Miller, Ed Ricketts, and Robert Louis Stevenson.
More recently, Monterey has been recognized for its significant involvement in post-secondary learning of languages other than English and its major role in delivering translation and interpretation services around the world. In November 1995, California Governor Pete Wilson proclaimed Monterey as "The Language Capital of the World".
