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LOCATION 1
Sardine Factory
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 ...
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LOCATION 2
Cannery Row and Prescott Avenue
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...
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LOCATION 3
Steinbeck Plaza / Cannery Row Monument
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...
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LOCATION 4
View of Monterey Bay / Steinbeck Plaza / McAbee Beach
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...
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LOCATION 5
View of Monterey Bay 2
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...
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LOCATION 6
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LOCATION 7
Bust of John Steinbeck
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...
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LOCATION 8
Sly McFly's Refueling Station / Monterey Canning Company
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...
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LOCATION 9
Monterey Canning Company Cannery 700 Cannery Row
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. ...
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LOCATION 10
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Bench
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...
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LOCATION 11
InterContinental Clement Monterey Hotel / C Restaurant
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...
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LOCATION 12
Public Coastal access between InterContinental Hotel and Bubba Gump Restaurant / Advancements in Fishing Industry
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...
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LOCATION 13
Public Coastal Access 2
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...
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LOCATION 14
Enter InterContinental Clement Monterey Hotel
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...
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LOCATION 15
Entrance to InterContinental Hotel / Historic Photo of Area
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...
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LOCATION 16
Pacific Biological Laboratories Public Coastal Access
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...
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LOCATION 17
Pacific Biological Laboratories / Ed Rickett’s Backyard
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...
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LOCATION 18
Monterey Bay Aquarium / Sea Pride Packing Corporation
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...
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LOCATION 19
Monterey Bay Aquarium / Hovden Way/ Public Restroom
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...
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LOCATION 20
Monterey Bay Aquarium / Hovden Food Products Corporation
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...
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LOCATION 21
Main Entrance of Monterey Bay Aquarium
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...
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LOCATION 22
Main Entrance of Monterey Bay Aquarium 2
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...
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LOCATION 23
Smoke Stacks
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...
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LOCATION 24
Austino’s / La Ida’s Brothel
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...
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LOCATION 25
Wing Chong Market / Wing Chong Building
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...
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LOCATION 26
Bruce Ariss Way / View from Doc’s Lab Mural / Mackerel Jacks / Flora Woods
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...
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LOCATION 27
Vacant Lot/ Cannery Worker Shacks
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...
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LOCATION 28
Turn left onto the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail / John Cerney Mural Mack and the Boys
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...
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LOCATION 29
Monterey Canning Company / Second John Cerney Mural
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 ...
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LOCATION 30
Cross Prescott Street
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...
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LOCATION 31
Steinbeck Plaza Shops
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...
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LOCATION 32
The Red Caboose
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...
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LOCATION 33
Back Entrance to Cooper’s Pub and Restaurant
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...
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LOCATION 34
Bechtel Family Center for Ocean Education and Leadership
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...
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LOCATION 35
Wave Street Café Steinbeck Court / Canneries and the Railroad
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...
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LOCATION 36
Oil Storage Tank
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...
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LOCATION 37
Cross Wave Street
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...
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LOCATION 38
Ed Ricketts Memorial Bust and Railroad Crossing
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...
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LOCATION 39
Turn left on Drake then Right on Cannery Row
After crossing Drake, turn left and continue to the corner of Cannery Row then turn right. Keep walking straight.
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LOCATION 40
Thomas Kinkade Gallery / Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa Shops
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 ...
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LOCATION 41
Sardine Capital of the World 1940 to 1945 / Aeneas Sardine Products
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...
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LOCATION 42
Right on Dickman Ave
Turn right and walk through Cannery Row Park Plaza back to the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail.
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LOCATION 43
Turn Left On To 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.
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LOCATION 44
Third John Cerney Mural
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 ...
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LOCATION 45
Turn Left on Reeside Avenue
From the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail turn left on Reeside Ave and continue walking to the corner.
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LOCATION 46
The Villas At 201 Cannery Row / Urban Development
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...
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LOCATION 47
Turn right on Cannery Row
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...
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LOCATION 48
Scuba Diving Meeting Place / Gross Canning Company and San Carlos Canning Company
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...
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LOCATION 49
Turn Left/ U.S. Coast Guard Station Monterey
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...
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LOCATION 50
End of Lawn Area /San Carlos Beach
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.
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LOCATION 51
San Carlos Beach Overlook / David Packard Memorial
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...
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LOCATION 52
Ruins of Gross Canning Company and San Carlos Canning Company / Cannery Divers Memorial
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...
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LOCATION 53
Sanctuary Sculpture
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...
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LOCATION 54
Turn right back onto Cannery Row / Monterey Bay Inn
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... -
LOCATION 55
Original Location of Enterprise Packers Cannery / Aeneas Sardine Products
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...
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LOCATION 56
Overlook of Aeneas Beach
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...
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LOCATION 57
Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa
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...
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LOCATION 58
Exit Plaza Hotel to Overlook with Fire Pit
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 ...
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LOCATION 59
Right back onto Cannery Row
Turn right here back on to Cannery Row. Keep walking straight as we approach the end of our walking tour.
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LOCATION 60
Monterey Peninsula Art Foundation
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...
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LOCATION 61
Hooray for Hollywood / Marilyn Monroe Clash By Night
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...
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LOCATION 62
Ruin of San Xavier Cannery Fish Ladder
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...
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LOCATION 63
San Xavier Reduction Plant /Cannery Row Resurgence
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 ...
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LOCATION 64
McAbee Beach / Spindrift Hotel
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...
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LOCATION 65
Cannery Row Company’s Steinbeck Plaza
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 ...
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LOCATION 66
Bust of John Steinbeck / Cannery Row Quote
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...