Built in 1936. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. 11 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1916.
From the record
“The John Steinbeck House at 16250 Greenwood Lane in Monte Sereno, California, was the home of author John Steinbeck from 1936 to 1938. The house was built in 1936, in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in what was then part of the town of Los Gatos, California, for Steinbeck and his wife, Carol.”
Wikipedia article John Steinbeck House (Monte Sereno, California), CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 117 National Register listings published here for Santa Clara County · listed in 1989 · category: District · built in 1936.
National Register reference number.89002117- 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
1916 to 1978
The ground this property stands on, surveyed
62 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are
United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
19161978
Fires near this property
241 since 1992
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The
federal wildfire occurrence database
lists 241 fires within 5 miles of John Steinbeck House
between 1992 and 2020, burning about 74 acres in total. None started naturally. 25 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/undetermined
122
Equipment and vehicle use
50
Arson/incendiarism
25
Smoking
15
Misuse of fire by a minor
11
Power generation/transmission/distribution
11
Debris and open burning
5
Recreation and ceremony
1
Other causes
1
The most recent of
them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service
that recorded it.
Date
Cause
Size
Reported by
Name on the report
9 September 2019
Power generation/transmission/distribution
under an acre
Santa Clara Unit
not named
9 September 2018
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
under an acre
California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection
not named
9 September 2014
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
1.0 acres
San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit
LOST
6 September 2008
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
under an acre
California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection
not named
6 September 1996
Equipment and vehicle use
under an acre
San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit
PG&E #22
29 September 2019
Equipment and vehicle use
under an acre
Santa Clara Unit
not named
28 September 2017
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
under an acre
California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists
19 workings within 5 miles of John Steinbeck House: 9 past producers, 4 prospects, 4 producers, 2 occurrences.
4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Calcium. Distance is straight-line from the
map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring
settlement's page as well.
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.
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.
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.
Block
