Monterey Bay Aquarium - A Cannery Reborn
Photo: Rhinopias, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
A stop on Monterey Cannery Row and Waterfront, a free self-guided tour.
Your walk ends where Cannery Row's last cannery stood. The Hovden cannery closed in 1973, and on its site the Monterey Bay Aquarium opened on October 20, 1984, backed by David and Lucile Packard. Look for the old boiler house, kept as a reminder of the building's past.
Inside, the star is a living kelp forest 28 feet tall, the first time anyone had kept one growing in an aquarium. The Open Sea galleries hold tuna, sharks and drifting jellies, and rescued sea otters play in their own exhibit. The aquarium has also nursed hundreds of stranded otters back to health and created Seafood Watch to help people choose sustainable fish.
It is a fitting finish. The bay that was stripped of sardines is now part of a national marine sanctuary, and otters, whales and sea lions have returned. Admission is charged; check the website for hours and tickets.
Getting here: Return to Cannery Row and walk to its far end; the aquarium entrance is on the water side.
Did you know?: About 2 million people visit the aquarium each year, and more than 50 million had come through its doors by 2016.
Photo op: From the outdoor decks, look out over the bay for otters in the kelp, or frame the aquarium's industrial facade from Cannery Row.
More on Wikipedia: Monterey Bay Aquarium · Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary · Sea otter · David Packard
Stops on this tour
- Old Fisherman's Wharf - Where Monterey Meets the Bay
- Custom House - Where California Became American
- Coastal Recreation Trail - Riding the Old Rails
- Coast Guard Pier - Sea Lion Central
- San Carlos Beach - From Cannery to Kelp Forest
- Cannery Row - The Sardine Capital
- McAbee Beach - Monterey's Chinese Fishermen
- Steinbeck Plaza - Cannery Row in Bronze
- Pacific Biological Laboratories - Doc's Lab
- Workers' Shacks - Homes of the Cannery Crews
- Monterey Bay Aquarium - A Cannery Reborn