BlockBefore
Photograph of Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo
Photograph by Unknown, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Royal Presidio Chapel

A National Historic Landmark. Built in 1791 (baroque architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. 13 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1913.

From the record

“The Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo, also known as the Royal Presidio Chapel, is a Catholic cathedral located in Monterey, California, United States. The cathedral is the oldest continuously operating parish and the oldest stone building in California.”

Wikipedia article Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo (Monterey, California), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 64 National Register listings published here for Monterey County · listed in 1966 · category: Building · built in 1791, baroque architecture · a National Historic Landmark.

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

The listing

  • Address. 550 Church St., Monterey, 93940
  • When was it listed? October 1966
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Seaside-Monterey
  • When was it built? 1791
  • Architectural style. baroque architecture
  • National Register reference number. 66000216 - 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

1913 to 1997

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 84 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Royal Presidio Chapel, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet covering Royal Presidio Chapel, surveyed 1913

Fires near this property

371 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 371 fires within 5 miles of Royal Presidio Chapel between 1992 and 2020, burning about 516 acres in total. 5 started naturally. 22 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/undetermined195
Equipment and vehicle use54
Smoking35
Misuse of fire by a minor24
Arson/incendiarism22
Recreation and ceremony16
Debris and open burning10
Power generation/transmission/distribution10
Natural5

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
9 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionMORSE
9 September 2012Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitMAJELLA RD / SLOAT RD
8 September 1999Naturalunder an acreCentral California DistrictEQUESTRIAN
7 September 2007Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 1835
7 September 1994Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitSAN CARLOS
6 September 2013Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey Unit17 MILE DR / BIRD ROCK RD
6 September 2012Power generation/transmission/distribution1.0 acresSan Benito-Monterey UnitMEADOWS
5 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitBIRD

Every fire recorded in Monterey County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 37 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 37 workings within 5 miles of Royal Presidio Chapel: 17 past producers, 14 producers, 6 prospects. 14 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Slate, Dimension. 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
Del Monte Prop. Co-Fan Shell BeachSilicaPast Producer
Del Monte Prop. Co. - Fanshell BeahSand and Gravel, Construction, FeldsparPast Producer
Sawmill GulchClayPast Producer
Carmel Stone Quarry-AnthonyStone, DimensionPast Producer
Carmel Stone Quarry-PassadoriStone, DimensionPast Producer
MachadoSlate, DimensionPast Producer
Stewart QuarrySlate, DimensionPast Producer
Work Ranch DepositDiatomiteProducerSedimentary
Work Ranch DepositDiatomitePast Producer
Atkinson QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Monterey County

Maps showing this location

13 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the middle of the area the National Park Service maps for this listing, 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
Marsh, G.T., and Sonsunder 500 feet2007
Mary C. W. Black Studio House0.2 miles1994
Stevenson House0.2 miles1972
Gosby House Inn0.3 miles1980
Cooper-Molera Adobe0.3 miles1970
Larkin House0.4 miles1966

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 66000216 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.