Monterey station

Monterey State Historic Park is a historic state park in Monterey, California. It includes part or all of the Monterey Old Town Historic District, a historic district that includes 17 contributing buildings and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970. The grounds include California's first theatre, and the Monterey Custom House, where the American flag was first raised over California. The park is a group of restored historic buildings: the Custom House, the Larkin House, California's First Brick House, Colton Hall (City Hall of Monterey), Old Whaling Company, the Stevenson House, the First Theater, the Pacific House Museum, the Interpretive House, Casa del Oro, and Casa Soberanes. These houses display the cultural diversity that guided California's transition from a remote Spanish outpost in Las Californias province, to an agricultural Mexican Alta California territory, to U.S. statehood. These influential adobe houses made up California's earliest capital and were the site of the state's first constitutional convention. Today the historic buildings retain their rich heritage, preserving an important part of Californian as well as Spanish, Mexican, and American history. Added to the adobe houses is the park's Interpretive Center and the Pacific House Museum. The park provides tours of the historic houses and museums for the general public. The 'Secret Gardens of Old Monterey' are part of the open-air museum for visitors. The Monterey State Historic Park Association (MSHPA) is the non-profit association that works to support the park.

Monterey ( ; Spanish: Monterrey) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both Spain (1804–1821) and Mexico (1822–1846). During this period, Monterey hosted California's first theater, public building, public library, publicly funded school, printing-press, and newspaper. It was originally the only port of entry for all taxable goods in California. In 1846, during the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848, the United States Flag was raised over the Customs House. After Mexico ceded California to the U.S. at the end of the war, Monterey hosted California's first constitutional convention in 1849. The city occupies a land area of 8.466 sq mi (21.93 km2) and the city hall is at 26 feet (8 m) above sea level. The 2020 census recorded a population of 30,218. Monterey and the surrounding area have attracted artists since the late 19th-century, and many celebrated painters and writers have lived in the area. Until the 1950s there was an abundant fishery. Monterey's present-day attractions include the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Fisherman's Wharf, California Roots Music and Arts Festival, and the annual Monterey Jazz Festival.

The Old Custom House (Spanish: Antigua Aduana) is the oldest surviving government building in California, built in 1827 by Mexican authorities in Monterey, then the capital of Alta California. The former custom house is the first designated California Historical Landmark, marking the site where U.S. Commodore John Drake Sloat raised the American flag and declared California part of the United States in 1846 during the American Conquest of California.

The Golden State Theatre (also known as the State Theatre) in Monterey, California, opened on August 6, 1926.

Fisherman's Wharf is a historic wharf in Monterey, California, United States. Used as an active wholesale fish market into the 1960s, the wharf eventually became a tourist attraction as commercial fishing tapered off in the area. Fisherman's Wharf is technically known as The Old Fisherman's Wharf, to distinguish it from the current commercial wharf (known as Municipal Wharf #2).

Achasta (also, Achiesta) is a former Ohlone settlement in Monterey County, California. It was located at the site of modern-day Monterey.

The Bruce Ariss Wharf Theater is a musical theater located in Monterey, California. It began its history after World War II when Bruce Ariss, an artist and friend of John Steinbeck, returned to the city of Monterey after working with his father's construction company.

The Mary C. W. Black Studio House, located at 556 Abrego St. in Monterey, California, is a historic house and artist's studio that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was purchased in 1925 by Monterey artist Mary Corning Winslow Black (1873–1943), who completed her redesign of the old adobe in 1930, including the addition of "sumptuous gardens." It is an example of eclectic architecture including Mission/Spanish Revival architecture and its substyle of Monterey architecture.The house is significant as one of surprisingly "few good residential examples of the Monterey substyle of the Spanish Colonial Revival on the Monterey peninsula, where the form was originated", and in particular one of only three examples known in 1993 to have a "full width cantilevered second-story balcony, covered by the principal roof."According to its NRHP nomination, "Mrs. Black's 'old-new' studio house was praised in the September 27, 1930 Monterey Peninsula Herald for its 'impression of permanancy...' and 'appearance of age'. The article noted that the 'modern structures with the appearance of antiquity blend with the ancient adobe (Casa Abrego) that retains still its original charm... and that the work had resulted in one of the peninsula's outstanding beauty spots'." And that the house had been very well preserved since then.: 12 The property was listed on the National Register in 1994. The listing included two contributing buildings and two contributing objects, plus a non-contributing building (a gardener's shed used as an office that had lost its historic integrity).

The First Theater also known as the First theater in California, is a historic adobe and wood building in Monterey, California, United States. It was built in 1846-1847 as a lodging house and tavern for sailors, by English seaman and pioneer Jack Swan. Swan's Saloon staged the inaugural theatrical presentations in California. On January 31, 1934, the building was officially designated a California Historical Landmark #136.

The Stevenson House, is a historic two-story Spanish Colonial style building located at 530 Houston Street in Monterey, California. It was a boarding house called the French Hotel, built circa 1836. The Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson lived there in 1879, writing and courting his future wife. It is now a museum and property of the Monterey State Historic Park. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 7, 1972. The building is also listed as a California historical landmark #352.

Monterey College of Law (MCL) is a private, non-profit law school founded in 1972 in Monterey, California. The school is approved by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California but is not accredited by the American Bar Association. As a result, while graduates of MCL can sit for the California Bar Exam, and upon passing, be licensed to practice law in California, they are generally not able to sit for the bar exam or practice in other states without at least passing the California bar exam first. MCL has part-time evening J.D., Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.), and LL.M. degree programs.

Casa Soberanes is a historic adobe residence located in downtown Monterey, California. Designated California Historical Landmark No. 712, it is also included along Monterey's "Path of History," a walking route highlighting the city's significant historic sites. The property is currently operated as a historic house museum by Monterey State Historic Park. Built in 1842 by Custom House official Rafael Estrada, the two-story structure is an example of a Monterey Colonial style adobe. The building is noted for its symmetrical façade and a roof made of both clay tiles and shingles—an adaptation required because the second-floor balcony lacks posts to support heavy tiles beyond the thick adobe walls. Estrada sold the property in 1860 to his cousin Esequiel Soberanes, who used it as a town residence away from his Big Sur rancho. The Soberanes family lived in the home until 1922, hosting business meetings, social gatherings, and raising most of their thirteen children within its walls. Jean Booth and Reuben Serrano later purchased and restored the building during the 1920s and 1930s. It is during their tenure that the house became known as "The House of the Blue Gate" due to the vivid color of the front garden gate. In 1952, writer and local historian Mayo Hayes O'Donnell purchased the house from Jean Booth after leasing it for 11 years. Booth furnished the home with Monterey antiques, some of which remained with the building when she sold it to O'Donnell. A prominent advocate for preserving Monterey's historic adobes, O'Donnell gifted the property to the State of California in 1954, although she continued to live there until her death in January of 1978. Its garden is distinguished by decorative elements such as whale bones, wine bottles, and abalone shells bordering its pathways. Today, the adobe stands as a key example of Monterey's preserved architectural heritage. Along with the building, O'Donnell's art collection, which included gifts from local artists, is still on display and includes pieces by notable artists including Chiura Obata, Charles Bradford Hudson, Xavier Martinez, Lionel Barrymore, and Donald Teague. The gardens are free and open during daylight hours. The house is open during special events and can also be viewed via private tour.