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History of Cannery Row

hen John Steinbeck wrote about Monterey’s The canneries expanded rapidly, and, after the war,
Wgritty canning district, filling it with a band continued to grind away at processing fishmeal.
of genuine albeit imperfect fictional characters, he The industry slowed during the Great Depression,
did not know he was sending the district on its way but life on Cannery Row in the 1930s would in-
to becoming one of the most beloved travel desti- spire John Steinbeck to write about it and the
nation in the United States. Cannery Row—as it eople he met there. He based the character
was officially named in 1958— has evolved from “Doc” on a real-life marine biologist, Ed Ricketts.
the "tin and iron" of its canning days into a wel- World War II launched another boom for the
coming seaside destination with an array of activi- canning industry, but it was short lived. After the
ties, not the least of which is exploring the street's war, the over-fished sardines disappeared from
heritage. Monterey Bay and brought economic disaster to
Long before the area became famous for sar- Cannery Row. The area fell into ruin…almost.
dines, Cannery Row at China Point was settled by Steinbeck's Cannery Row had been published in
Chinese salmon fishermen in the 1850s, and Por- 1945, and its passionate readers came too see the
tuguese shore-whalers in the 1880s. The late Row for themselves. Two Monterey restaurant
1880s brought the railroad, which opened the managers with strong family ties to the fishing in-
door to tourism and immigration. Italian fishermen dustry were chiefly responsible for halting the de-
would surpass the Chinese as the dominant play- cay of Cannery Row and ensuring it would forever
ers in the Monterey Bay fishing industry. remain a place that paid tribute to fishermen, to
The first cannery in Monterey was built near Old Steinbeck and to Monterey.
Fisherman's Wharf by Frank Booth at the turn of Founding the Cannery Row Company in 1976,
the century. Those canneries that would later de- Ted Balestreri and Bert Cutino began a revival of
fine Cannery Row sprung up a bit farther down the Cannery Row that transformed it from a street of
coast, along Ocean View Avenue and canned the burned and decrepit canneries into a welcoming
abundant sardine. Over the next decade, fishing waterfront where visitors could vacation.
and canning methods improved and prepared
Monterey for the huge spike in demand for
History courtesy the Cannery Row Company
canned sardines brought about by World War I.

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