The Secret Gardens of Old Monterey Walking Tour

California's First Theatre, Cup of Gold  (Solandra maxima) 

Join CGLHS on a day-long tour of the gardens associated with the Spanish adobe and early American buildings of Monterey State Historic Park.

NOTE: THIS EVENT IS FREE TO MEMBERS, $10 FOR NON-MEMBERS

This is a field trip to view some of the places described in the May 11^th online Garden History of the Monterey Peninsula lecture.

The morning walk of just under one mile through downtown Monterey will cover many of the sites listed on the “Secret Gardens of Old Monterey” website of Monterey State Historic Park. It will include a rare opportunity to view the private David Adler Garden inspired by a courtyard at the Alhambra that he designed for noted interior decorator Frances Elkins at Casa Amesti.

After lunch on your own, the tour will continue at the Asilomar Hotel & Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove. State Park historian Annie McCausland will lead us on a tour of the landscape setting of the campus designed by Julia Morgan for the YWCA between 1913 and 1928. State Park staff are actively restoring the natural flora of the grounds and the dunes with an on-site nursery and planting program.

About our speakers

Mimi Sheridan, a graduate of UCSB, is an architectural and landscape historian with a master’s degree in urban planning and historic preservation from the University of Washington.  As a private consultant, she did extensive research on Olmsted properties in Seattle. She taught graduate studies in Historic Preservation Implementation at the College of Built Environments of the University of Washington for 13 years. She is currently a Monterey State Historic Park volunteer.

David A. Laws photographs and writes about Gardens, Nature, Travel, and the history of Silicon Valley from his home on the Monterey Peninsula. He has served as vice-president of CGLHS.  

Additional Information 

• The meeting place, a map, and suggestions of places for lunch will be emailed to registrants about one week before the event.
• Street parking is limited to two hours in much of downtown Monterey. At the north end of the tour route, paid parking is available near Fisherman’s Wharf and in the Portola Hotel garage. Another city lot is located near the middle of the tour route (between Jefferson and Franklin streets). Free parking is available in the Lower Presidio Historic Park a 10-minute walk from the Pacific House Museum.
• Registrants will be notified asap if the event must be canceled or rescheduled due to COVID restrictions or rain.