Doud House

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.

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.

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 El Castillo de Monterey, also known as El Castillo, was a Spanish Fort founded in 1792 in what is now Monterey, California. The fort was constructed to protect the Monterey port and the Presidio of Monterey from invaders. The site was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 23, 1971.

The Josiah Merritt Adobe, located at 386 Pacific St. in Monterey, California and also known as Merritt House, is a historic house that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1830 and is architecturally significant as perhaps the only example of Greek Revival temple form architecture applied to an adobe building in Mexican California. The Benicia State Capitol Building (California State Landmark #153) included the Greek temple format but is made of stone or masonry. The building was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1936.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. In 1979 the house was developed into a small hotel.

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 Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), formerly the Monterey Institute of International Studies, is a graduate institute of Middlebury College, a private college in Middlebury, Vermont. Established in 1955, the school provides instruction on a campus in Monterey, California. The institute offers master's programs and certificates in environmental policy, international policy, language teaching, and translation and interpretation. MIIS has two graduate professional schools, the Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education (GSTILE) and the Graduate School of International Policy and Management (GSIPM), and several related centers.

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 James W. Finch House, known also as the Finch-Fleischer House, is a historic house in Monterey, California that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Located at 410 Monroe Street in Monterey, it was built in 1870. The house is significant as one of few surviving examples of early American architecture in Monterey, as opposed to the Spanish/Mexican adobe style of other Monterey buildings of the same era. The house includes Classical Revival stylings with other, eclectic stylistic features.The house was built by rancher and stovemaker James William Finch and by Charles Finch for their mother, who lived in the house until 1881, after which James and his wife lived there and extended the house. James' daughter Alma and her husband Charles Fleischer lived there later. A notable later renter was artist Charles Rollo Peters.The house was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1964. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

The Battle of Monterey, at Monterey, California, occurred on 7 July 1846, during the Mexican–American War. The United States captured the town unopposed.