Custom House - Where California Became American

A stop on Monterey Cannery Row and Waterfront, a free self-guided tour.

The low adobe building with the long balcony is the Custom House, the oldest surviving government building in California. Long before San Francisco or Sacramento mattered, Monterey was the capital of California under Spain and then Mexico. Mexican officials built this house in 1827 to collect duties from the foreign ships trading hides, tallow and goods along the coast.

On July 7, 1846, during the Mexican-American War, Commodore John Drake Sloat landed here and raised the American flag over this building, claiming California for the United States. When the state began naming historical landmarks in 1932, this was number one.

The Custom House is part of Monterey State Historic Park, a collection of old adobes and gardens scattered through downtown. Across the plaza, the two-story Pacific House museum tells the story of Monterey's Native, Spanish, Mexican and American eras. Check the park website for current hours.

Getting here: Walk back to the foot of the wharf; the adobe Custom House stands in the plaza on your left.

Did you know?: Monterey hosted California's first constitutional convention in 1849, at Colton Hall a few blocks inland.

Photo op: Stand in Custom House Plaza and frame the adobe with its balcony and flagpole against the sky.

More on Wikipedia: Old Custom House · Monterey State Historic Park · John D. Sloat

Custom House - Where California Became American

Stops on this tour