Monterey State Historic Park Walk (Self Guided), Monterey

Monterey State Historic Park is a National Landmark and a part of the Monterey Old Town Historic District. Found on the grounds here are a group of significant old-time houses that once made up California's earliest capital and were the site of the state's first constitutional convention. Today these buildings retain their rich heritage, preserving an important part of Californian as well as Spanish, Mexican, and American history.

Among the buildings in question are California's First Theatre and Monterey's Old Customhouse – where the American flag was first raised over California, as a new part of the United States, in 1846.

Also noteworthy are: the Larkin House – California's first two-story brick house; Colton Hall – the City Hall of Monterey; Old Whaling Station, built in 1847; the Stevenson House – named so in honor of the Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson who stayed here whilst recovering his health en route across the United States in 1879; Casa del Oro (the "House of Gold"); Casa Soberanes, which received its nickname - “The House of the Blue Gate” - from the blue gate at its garden entrance on Pacific Street; and many others.

If you're keen to explore the historical facets of America's West and to appreciate the cultural diversity that guided California's transition from a remote Spanish outpost to U.S. Statehood, take your time and embark on this self-guided walking tour. A great way to complete your discovery of Monterey!