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Photograph of John Steinbeck House
Photograph by Original uploader was Googie man at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

John Steinbeck House

Built in 1897 (Queen Anne style architecture in the United States). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. 12 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1910.

From the record

“The John Steinbeck House is a historic house restaurant and house museum in Salinas, California. The house was the birthplace and family home of author John Steinbeck (1902-1968).”

Wikipedia article John Steinbeck House (Salinas, California), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 64 National Register listings published here for Monterey County · listed in 2000 · category: Building · built in 1897, Queen Anne style architecture in the United States.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Listed as. Steinbeck, John, House - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
  • Address. 132 Central Ave., Salinas, 93901
  • When was it listed? August 2000
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Salinas
  • When was it built? 1897
  • Architectural style. Queen Anne style architecture in the United States
  • National Register reference number. 00000856 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1910 to 1948

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 38 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering John Steinbeck House, surveyed 1948
Topographic sheet covering John Steinbeck House, surveyed 1910

Fires near this property

123 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 123 fires within 5 miles of John Steinbeck House between 1993 and 2020, burning about 146 acres in total. None started naturally. 10 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined83
Equipment and vehicle use12
Arson/incendiarism10
Misuse of fire by a minor9
Debris and open burning5
Smoking3
Railroad operations and maintenance1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
8 September 2004Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitCABEU004147
5 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSan Benito-Monterey Unitnot named
4 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
30 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
25 September 2019Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey Unitnot named
21 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
2 September 1993Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitOLD STAGE #3
19 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Every fire recorded in Monterey County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of John Steinbeck House: 4 producers, 3 past producers, 2 prospects, 2 occurrences. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
De Ameral-Carmel ValleyStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Spreckels Sugar CoLimestone, GeneralProspectSedimentary
Unnamed MineStonePast Producer
Heins LakeClayOccurrence
Salinas BrickyardClayProspectSedimentary
Salinas BrickyardClayPast Producer
Bardin EstateSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
Foothill Road PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Hilltop BarSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Pine Canyon PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Monterey County

Storms near this property

12 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Salinas, the town this property stands in, in 12 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 6 flood, 2 hail, 2 debris flow, 1 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
January 2021Debris FlowSalinas1 hurtMudslide from the River Fire burn scar. Crews worked to rescue residents and their animals (at least 50 large animals were in need of rescue). People were blocked into their homes with mild to moderate damage reported at at least 20 homes (exact amount unknown) with one homeowner injured and taken to the hospital https://www.ksbw.com/article/animals-being-rescued-people-trapped-in-their-homes-from-mudslide-near-river-fire-burn-scar/35337056 - https://abc7news.com/weather/homes-damaged-several-rescued-after-mudslide-in-monterey-co/10073282/ .
October 2025Funnel CloudSalinas$10Multiple videos on social media showed a funnel cloud over Salinas. Location Approximate.
January 2017HailSalinas$10Hail covered ground.
January 2017HailSalinas$10Time and location is approximate.
March 2024Flash FloodSalinas-Broadcast TV meteorologist reported 1 inch of rain in 25 minutes with picture showing filled rain gauge via social media.
March 2023FloodSalinas-Roadway flooding was reported at the intersection of Blanco Road and Davis Road in Salinas.
January 2021FloodSalinas-Roadway flooding at US-101 N and Main St. Flooding is causing vehicles to hydroplane.
January 2021Debris FlowSalinas-Mud flowing onto the road near 645 River Rd.
December 2019FloodSalinas-Hwy 101 northbound lanes standing water.
November 2019FloodSalinas-Standing water in number 2 lane at SR-183 and E Market St.
February 2017FloodSalinas-Roll-over accident. No injuries. North Davis NE of West Market Street in Salinas. Driver hit water and went off the road.
December 1996FloodSalinas-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Monterey County

Maps showing this location

12 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Krough Houseunder 500 feet1982
B. V. Sargent Houseunder 500 feet1980
Sheriff William Joseph Nesbitt House0.1 miles1982
Monterey County Court House0.2 miles2009
Monterey County Jail0.2 miles2004
Monterey County Jail0.2 miles2004

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 00000856 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Monterey CountyAll 64 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.