Built in 1897, The Steinbeck House was the birthplace and childhood home of John Steinbeck, that “giant of American letters.” This Victorian era home is at 132 Central Avenue in Salinas, California. Photo: Ken Lund CC BY SA 2.0

A 20th century Nobel- and Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, Steinbeck’s writing is infused with his experiences from growing up in a town full of productive agricultural fields and a culture made by the immigrants who worked them.

John Steinbeck, 1962. Photo: Nobel Foundation

Decades of American children have grown up with images of romance, humor, and hardships of working class Americans that they discovered through his most famous works, The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men.

Of Mice and Men is about the struggles of two western migrant workers during the Great Depression. Illustration: Artist Unknown

Eight Women, One Mission

More than a century has passed since the Steinbeck family moved into the house in Salinas. Today, the Steinbeck House is maintained by the Valley Guild, a volunteer group formed by eight enthusiastic women with a passion for preserving John Steinbeck’s history. Volunteers of the Valley Guild purchased and renovated the house and then created The Steinbeck House Restaurant, which opened on February 27, 1974, the 72nd anniversary of John Steinbeck’s birth.

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of the Downtown Salinas Architecture Tour and an excerpt from a tour published by the Salinas Historical Resources Board. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond at mobileranger.com.

The RaboBank-Office Building is located at 301 South Main Street (at Alisal). It was built circa 1930 by Architects, Ryland & Schwartz.

Art Deco and Art Moderne were popular architectural styles from 1920 to 1940. One of California’s most renowned icons, the Golden Gate Bridge, has design elements of Art Deco. Salinas, a city famous for agriculture, not architecture, in fact has one of the largest collection of Art Deco to Moderne buildings in all of California. Why is this? Because it was one of the few cities to prosper during the depression.

The Golden Gate Bridge, 2006. Photo courtesy of and © Cary Bass.

Salinas During the Great Depression

In 1924, Salinas had the highest per capita income of any city in the United States. Agriculture, Salinas’ major industry, expanded greatly during the Depression, fueled by ideal soils and climate, and sustained by innovations such as irrigation systems developed for sugar beets. Carload shipments of lettuce went from a few dozen in 1922 to 26,650 in 1940, and brought considerable wealth to the Salinas Valley.

Farm workers thinning lettuce in Salinas Valley, California, April 1939. Photo © Dorothea Lange.

During the produce seasons of the Great Depression, the volume of telephone and telegraph business origination in Salinas was greater than that of San Francisco. Money was available for the building and expansion, and Salinas benefited from the construction of many buildings by excellent architects.

The Monterey County Jail on 142 West Alisal Street, was built in 1931 and remodeled in 1955. It was built with an unknown style but now has Deco and Gothic Elements. Architects were Butner, Holm & Waterman.

The Monterey County Courthouse is often described as a perfect example of the Depression Moderne style—a sub-style of the Moderne architectural movement.

Monterey County Courthouse Building, 240 Church Street (at Alisal Street); 1937; Works Progress Administration (WPA) Moderne Style; Architects: Robert A. Stanton & Thomas B. Molvin.

One of two remaining theaters along Main Street, Cinema 1 is a simple Moderne design that concentrates on a skyward reaching facade.

Cinema 1 (formerly El Rey Theater), 363 South Main Street; 1935; Moderne Style; Architect: Mark T. Jorgenson.

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of a tour all about Downtown Salinas architecture by the Salinas Historical Resources Board. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond.