Hello, and welcome to this Monterey California Historic Cannery Row and John Steinbeck Walking Tour. I am Lynn Momboisse and I have been visiting the Monterey Peninsula since 1964 and lived in the ...

When you reach the corner ahead of you which is Cannery Row and Prescott Avenue, stop for a moment.

Take a look ahead of you across the street. Do you see the tall rock sculpture with a number...

Have a seat for a moment on the bench that faces the Cannery Row Monument and Monterey Bay and I will fill you in on the background of this monument.

This pays tribute to the many people who pl...

Stop here for a moment in front of the railing and look out to the Monterey Bay.

To your right you are viewing the area along Highway 1 from Marina to Monterey. The beach below you is McAbee B...

Steinbeck Plaza is the ending point for our walking tour. At the end of your tour you might consider checking out some of the businesses that surround this plaza. There are a number of fine restaur...

2 SECONDS SILENCE

Stop here for a moment by the bronze bust of John Steinbeck by sculptress C. W. Brown. There's also a photo on your screen now of him if you'd like to see.

John was born in 1902 in Salinas, Cali...

Stop here for a moment and take a look across the street to your left. Do you see the red painted corrugated steel structure with the words Monterey Canning Company painted on the front? This is t...

At the end of the Monterey Canning Company building, turn right and keep walking alongside the building. Just ahead on your right is Bargetto Winery Tasting Room. Stop in front of it for a moment. ...

Have a seat for a moment on Forrest Gump’s bench. I’m sure he won’t mind sharing his box of chocolates.

The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant is the highest grossing restaurant on the Row. It is...

Just ahead is the exceptional C restaurant, where every seat offers a stunning view of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Before you get to the front door of the restaurant, turn right...

Walk over to the cut-out in the center deck and take a look over the railing. Underneath this deck is the remains of a holding tank. Stop here for a moment and have a seat on one of the benches whi...

In 1929, the purse seiner came on the scene. The net, when drawn closed at the bottom like a purse, captured entire schools of fish. At 80 feet in length the hold could accommodate 100 tons of sa...

After passing the C restaurant, turn right and enter the side door of the InterContinental Hotel.

Enjoy the lobby, pick up a brochure if you like and take a look out the back windows onto the wo...

At the entrance to the InterContinental Hotel, turn right and walk a few steps down, then stop in front of Z Folio Gallery, on your right, just past the grey corrugated bridge.

Z Folio Gallery h...

Up ahead, you'll see a ramshackle wooden one-story cabin. It looks kind of out of place as it sits wedged between two former sardine canneries. Stop for a moment and, just before you get to that bu...

Walk down this path a bit and stop so I can tell you about Ed.

He was born in Chicago in 1897. After serving in the Army Medical Corp in 1917, Ed studied zoology at the University of Chicago but...

The cement building to your right is the beginning of the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium. Stop here and I'll tell you about it.

This building was originally the location of the Sea Pride Pa...

Just past the newspaper racks to your right is another public coastal access path. The name over the top of the opening is Hovden Way. Turn right and enter this area. Walk down to the water’s edge...

After you pass the restroom there will be a wooden amphitheater. Continue walking and have a seat in this area or walk to the end of the pier and stop here to for a view out into the bay.

Monte...

This is the main entrance to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. As I record this, the current price for adults is $49.95. If you come back for a visit, plan on spending about 4 hours, as there is so much t...

Now, with the front doors of the main entrance to the aquarium behind you and the large Portola Sardine sign to your right, walk straight ahead to the cross walk. When it is safe, cross the street...

Stop for a moment and turn around to view the original smokestack from the Hovden Food Products Corporation cannery.

[3 SECOND PAUSE]

Ok, let's keep moving. You're going to be heading back a...

Up ahead on your right is a mustard colored stucco building with a Spanish tile roof over the front door. Stop here for a moment out in front.

This was once La Ida’s brothel. At the time of reco...

Have a seat on the stone bench in front of the Wing Chong Building and the Cannery Row Shell Company.

Won Yee emigrated from China to San Francisco in 1900 and moved with his family to Montere...

The colorful mural to your right is called “View from Doc’s Lab”. This is also Bruce Ariss Way. Turn in here, find a seat on a bench and I'll tell you a few stories.

Let’s start with Bruce Aris...

Stop here in front of the three cannery worker shacks.

During the heyday of the canneries, this area was a vacant lot where cannery workers would hangout, smoke cigarettes and converse with thei...

Turn left on to the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail. Do you see the mural on the back of Mackerel Jacks? Walk over to the mural for a closer look. This mural of Mack and the Boys is by local artist John...

Do you see the colorful mural on the side of the red corrugated building to your left? This one is of cannery workers passing the time by playing music. Walk over to the mural to get a closer look ...

Looking to your left you should see the Steinbeck Plaza where we began, we are now halfway through this tour. We have a lot more to share with you so continue walking and cross Prescott Street. The...

Up ahead to your left will be the entrance to the Steinbeck Plaza Shops. Inside, you will find a number of specialty shops, galleries and gift stores. Two of our favorites are Five and Dime Genera...

You can’t miss it, the historic red caboose. Stop here and I’ll catch you up on this landmark.

The original steel car with wood exterior siding was built in 1916 as a boxcar and converted into a...

Keep going.

On your left is the flat roofed peach colored building with green trim.

This is Cooper’s Pub and Restaurant. The back entrance, which is used by visitors walking along the Montere...

Just past Cooper’s do you see the sleek modern cement gray building with walls of glass? Stop next to it.

This $42 million, environmentally sustainable, 25,000 square foot center, is the Becht...

Stop here for a moment.

On your right is the Wave Street Café, a nice place to stop for a cup of coffee and pastry.

Now have a look directly to your left across the parking lot.

Those ar...

There should be a big rusty drum to your left at the edge of the parking lot. Stop for a moment next to it.

This is an old steel fish oil storage tank, a remnant of the San Xavier Fish Packing C...

At the crosswalk, which is decorated with a blue wave pattern, carefully cross the street. On the other side of the street, turn left and continue walking toward the bronze bust and railroad crossi...

Have a seat on the bench facing the Ed Ricketts Memorial Bust. This is the site of a devastating accident that occurred on the evening of May 8, 1948.

Beloved Cannery Row resident Ed Ricketts wa...

After crossing Drake, turn left and continue to the corner of Cannery Row then turn right. Keep walking straight.

Take a break for a minute and have a seat on the bench out in front of the Thomas Kinkade Gallery.

Across the street and to your right is the entrance to the Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa which ...

Do you see the crossover with the name Aeneas Sardine Products ahead? This was the conveyor crossing from the cannery which was on the left to the warehouse on the right. Stop for a moment when yo...

Turn right and walk through Cannery Row Park Plaza back to the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail.

Turn left back onto the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail and continue walking straight. I will catch up with you in a minute or so.

Stop here for a moment and look to your left.

I’m sure you recognize the artist who created this mural since it is the third and final Cerney mural on this walk. Another artistic interpretation ...

From the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail turn left on Reeside Ave and continue walking to the corner.

Stop here for a moment at the corner of Cannery Row and Reeside Avenue.

Take a look at the modern three-story cement and stucco building behind you on the corner.

Built in 2017, The Villas at...

After crossing the street, turn right on Cannery Row and continue walking straight along the sidewalk. The large lawn space as well as Monterey Bay will be to your left. I'll catch up with you furt...

Stop here for a moment and take a look out across the lawn area.

On the weekends this lawn area is packed with scuba divers getting ready for a dive. Monterey Bay Sanctuary, which is directly i...

When you get to the edge of the grass area, turn left and follow the sidewalk. It will veer to the left a little than back right. Just continue walking on the sidewalk.

While you walk, look to...

As you come to the end of the lawn area, which will be on your left, turn left toward the picnic tables and continue walking to the rock sculpture.

Continue walking straight along the beach overlook to the cement rock memorial just ahead. Stop when you get to the rock memorial.

This is the David Packard Memorial at San Carlos Beach. Packar...

Off to your right on the beach are some cement ruins of the Gross and San Carlos Canning companies.

And just ahead is a bronze memorial depicting a diver’s helmet is a memorial where we will st...

To your right is a bronze sculpture titled Sanctuary. This was created in 2001 by Michael Duffy, Tibor Hajagos and John Random.

Continue following the sidewalk as it curves to the left back ou...

Turn right back onto Cannery Row and keep walking toward the Monterey Bay Inn.

The Monterey Bay Inn was erected on the vacant site of the Enterprise Packers Cannery. Continue walking straight p...

Continue walking straight along Cannery Row. This short one-half block section was the original location of Enterprise Packers Cannery which burned to the ground mysteriously in 1967.

You'll p...

Turn right and walk out to the overlook of Aeneas Beach. From this location you get a better view of the original Aeneas cannery.

When you're done, turn around and walk back to the sidewalk, th...

Turn right under the overhang of the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa. Follow the circular sidewalk along the driveway until you get to the front entrance to the hotel. Then, turn right and enter the lob...

Off this back exit of the Plaza Hotel is a rather large cement fire pit with cozy chairs to enjoy the view and the warmth of the fire. Periodically, it is roped off for a private gathering. But if ...

Turn right here back on to Cannery Row. Keep walking straight as we approach the end of our walking tour.

Keep going.

Those two green shingled buildings across the street are the Monterey Peninsula Art Foundation and Gallery.

The Monterey Peninsula Art Foundation was founded to bring artists tog...

Stop here and take a look at the informational plaque which explains Hollywood’s connection to Cannery Row. Many feature film and television productions have been filmed here in Monterey and you ca...

To your right, through the chain linked fence you will see the ruins of a fish ladder which was used to convey the sardine catch from the fish storage area to the processing floor in the Xavier Can...

Stop here and look to your right through the chain link fence. This wooden western false front style building is what is left of the San Xavier Reduction Plant which was used to reduce fish scraps ...

Stop for a moment to take a look at the mural of two fishermen on the cement wall ahead of you. This is McAbee Beach. In the 1800’s, this area was popular with Portuguese whalers who launched thei...

To your right is a Monterey Colonial style building with a red tile roof. This is just one of Cannery Row Company’s shopping and dining plazas. It is a great place to shop and we suggest that you ...

Stop here for a moment by the bronze bust of John Steinbeck. We have come full circle, exploring Cannery Row through the eyes of John Steinbeck and recalling some of the real life characters from t...