Monterey State Historic Park (Old Monterey)

Before California was California, Monterey was its capital — and the buildings that governed that transition still stand here. The Monterey State Historic Park preserves a collection of restored adobe structures that carried the territory from Spanish outpost through Mexican Alta California to American statehood, including the Custom House, where the first American flag over California was raised on July 7, 1846, and which stands as California's first designated historic landmark. The park's Interpretive Center and Pacific House Museum hold the rest of the story.