Steinbeck Plaza - Cannery Row in Bronze
A stop on Monterey Cannery Row and Waterfront, a free self-guided tour.
This open plaza at the foot of Prescott Avenue celebrates the writer who made the street famous. John Steinbeck grew up in nearby Salinas, and his 1945 novel Cannery Row and its 1954 sequel Sweet Thursday turned this working waterfront into a place readers around the world wanted to see. He wrote about the street's drifters, dreamers and hard workers with affection and humor.
Look for the Cannery Row Monument, a 15-foot bronze by sculptor Steven Whyte unveiled in 2014. Steinbeck sits at the top, and at the base his friend Ed Ricketts studies a sea star, surrounded by figures inspired by characters from the book, including a Chinese fisherman. Nearby you will also find a bronze bust of Steinbeck.
Take a moment at the railing, too. The views of the bay from here are some of the best on the Row.
Getting here: Continue a short way along Cannery Row to the open plaza on the water side at Prescott Avenue.
Did you know?: Four of the monument's bronze figures were modeled on local businessmen who helped revive Cannery Row.
Photo op: Stand back from the monument to fit all nine figures, with Steinbeck at the top against the sky.
More on Wikipedia: John Steinbeck · Cannery Row
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