Exploring the Monterey State Historic Park

road trip

Some of my favorite places I’ve visited while traveling were spots that I just happened upon. Such is the case with the Monterey State Historic Park. We were leaving Monterey when this building caught our eye.

monterey state historic park

My sister and I agreed it deserved more investigation so we stopped the car and headed inside. Turns out this building dates to 1845 and is called Casa del Oro. It began life as a general store and is now part of the Monterey State Historic Park. Inside we met a lovely docent who told us all about the building and the park. Turns out we stumbled upon a historic site that included the oldest government building in California!

Before we headed there we stopped at the Pacific House which contained a museum devoted to the history of Monterey.

museum museum museum

As you can see it contains a lot of interesting information. The museum is interactive and it was a lot of fun walking around and learning about the area.

We then moved on to the Custom House – the oldest government building in the state. It’s also State Historic Landmark #1!

custom house

The interior of the Customs House is recreated to look just as it did the 1840’s when it served as the entryway for sailors arriving in the port of Monterey.

customs house customs house

customs house

It was such fun wandering around the area discovering the history of our state.

first theatre

And to think we may have just driven by.

Monterey State Historic Park

20 Custom House Plaza
Monterey, California 93940

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