In Search Of Monterey: Hotels, History And More

No other city, San Francisco included, can claim to be the historic heart of the Golden State. Only Monterey can make that claim. It was the long-standing territorial capital for both the Spanish and Mexican Empires. It was the home of the state's first theater, first school, and first hotel. Though San Francisco lays claim to the first hotel, there are still a number of historic Monterey hotels you can patronize, like the Casa Munras and the eponymous Monterey Hotel, that have rightful claims.

Keep in mind the city was once home to Native Americans, Spanish explorers, Mexican landowners, and American settlers. When put into that kind of context, you can begin to appreciate its grand, historic sweep. Founded in 1770, the city proudly served as the capital of both the Spanish and Mexican territorial governments until 1849. When the Americans took California, the capital was moved to San Jose to avoid a possible Mexican naval attack.

Nestled on the central Californian coast, just north of Carmel-by-the-Sea, the city is ideally situated for further deep-sea explorations and recreational fishing trolleys. The early Native American Ohlone tribe once subsisted on the plentiful marine life in the Peninsula, something the later Europeans would also endeavor to do. Today the city and its surrounding suburbs are world-famous for its unfettered access to marine wildlife.

It used to be the center of the Californian fishing industry. Sadly, the entire industry died a slow death and by the mid-1950s all of the commercial fisheries had moved north to Seattle or Portland. This collapse could have been avoided had the industry leaders and the local government enacted more stringent fishing laws and worked to repair the now-collapsed reef.

Despite the economic downturn, the city became a famous haven for artists. Many national and international artists have called Monterey home, none quite as famously as John Steinbeck. The author's success brought Monterey to national attention when he published Cannery Row in 1945. The list of resident painters includes Percy Gray, Rowena Meeks, Xavier Martinez, and Arthur Frank Mathews. Other notable writers who took up residency in the area were Henry Miller and Robert Louis Stevenson of Robinson Crusoe fame.

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If you are in search of the best Monterey hotels, you need look no further than the Casa Munras.