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Photograph of Monterey State Historic Park
Photograph by Kristen (Krimp) Fuentes, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

First Theater of California

A National Historic Landmark. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. 13 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1913.

From the record

“Monterey State Historic Park is a historic state park in Monterey, California. It includes part of the Monterey Old Town Historic District, a historic district that includes 17 contributing buildings and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970.”

Wikipedia article Monterey State Historic Park, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 64 National Register listings published here for Monterey County · listed in 1970 · category: Building · a National Historic Landmark.

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

The listing

  • National Historic Landmark. The highest federal designation, held by about 2,600 places in the country against roughly 100,000 Register listings.
  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 17 buildingss as contributing to the listing.
  • Still standing. The Park Service records this property as extant.
  • Address. Boundary undetermined at this time, Monterey, 93940
  • When was it listed? April 1970
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Seaside-Monterey
  • National Register reference number. 70000137 - 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 First Theater of California, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet covering First Theater of California, surveyed 1913

Fires near this property

364 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 364 fires within 5 miles of First Theater of California between 1992 and 2020, burning about 514 acres in total. 4 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/undetermined192
Equipment and vehicle use52
Smoking35
Misuse of fire by a minor24
Arson/incendiarism22
Recreation and ceremony16
Power generation/transmission/distribution10
Debris and open burning9
Natural4

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 32 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 32 workings within 5 miles of First Theater of California: 16 past producers, 11 producers, 5 prospects. 11 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, 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
Carmel Stone Quarry-AnthonyStone, DimensionPast Producer
Del Monte Prop. Co-Fan Shell BeachSilicaPast Producer
Del Monte Prop. Co. - Fanshell BeahSand and Gravel, Construction, FeldsparPast Producer
Sawmill GulchClayPast Producer
MachadoSlate, DimensionPast Producer
Stewart QuarrySlate, DimensionPast Producer
Work Ranch DepositDiatomiteProducerSedimentary
Work Ranch DepositDiatomitePast Producer
Del Monte Properties CoStoneProducer
Jefferson Street QuarryStoneProducer

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 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
U.S. Customhouse0.1 miles1966
Josiah Merritt Adobe0.1 miles1977
James W. Finch House0.3 miles1982
Larkin House0.4 miles1966
Stevenson House0.4 miles1972
Gosby House Inn0.4 miles1980

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 70000137 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.