FISHERMAN'S WHARF, Monterey. The present wharf had its beginnings more than a half century ago when it was built by a shipping company. Its steamships plied the California coast, bringing in merchandise for the general stores of the city. Outward bound they would take cargo that included lumber and canned fish.
    When, following competition from road and rail companies, the steamship company folded the City of Monterey took over the site. The wharf then became the headquarters for wholesale fish exporters and the local sardine fishing fleet. Commercial fisherman brought in a daily catch that included salmon, albacore, cod, mackerel, rockfish and squid from the waters in and around Monterey Bay. On the wharf the catch was prepared for despatch to retail outlets and restaurants all along the west coast.
    Most of the commercial fishing activity has now moved to the Monterey's new municipal wharf. However, the old timber wharf has been given new life in order to accommodate the needs of tourists and visitors to the city. Amateurs continue to fish from the wharf which also has an art gallery, handicraft shops, bars, restaurants and cafes (which provide the superb clam chowder for which Monterey is famous) and the unique Wharf Theatre.

John Steinbeck, author of the world best-seller, 'The Grapes of Wrath', described Monterey as being 'a collection of sardine canneries and whorehouses ... groaning under silver rivers of fish'.
    Monterey is the setting for some of Steinbeck's best writing, including 'Tortilla Flat' (1935), 'Cannery Row' (1945), 'Sweet Thursday' (1954), and the city is mentioned in 'Travels with Charley' (1962), and 'The Log from the Sea of Cortez' (1951). 'Flight' (1938) is set along the Big Sur coast below Monterey (See the Big Sur pages by clicking here). It was here in the early 1920s that Steinbeck worked for the first surveying crew before the U.S. Highway 1 was built. (Steinbeck's mother also taught in the Big Sur area prior to marrying his father.)