Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Salinas (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, National Steinbeck Center, and Salinas Sports Complex. Also, be sure to include Jose Eusebio Boronda Adobe in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Salinas (California).
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Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Car racing track in Monterey County, California. Laguna Seca Raceway is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and Monterey, California, United States.
The racetrack is 2.238 mi (3.602 km) long, with a 180 ft (55 m) elevation change. Its eleven turns are highlighted by the circuit's signature turn, the downhill-plunging "Corkscrew" at Turns 8 and 8A. A variety of racing, exhibition, and entertainment events are held at the raceway, ranging from superkarts to sports car racing to music festivals. Laguna Seca is classified as an FIA Grade Two circuit.
The name Laguna Seca is Spanish for dry lagoon: the area where the track now lies was once a lake, and the course was built around the dry lake bed. After the course was reconfigured, two artificial ponds were added.[1]
Address: 1021 Monterey Salinas Hwy, 93908-8937 Salinas
National Steinbeck Center
Museum in Salinas, California. The National Steinbeck Center is a museum and memorial dedicated to the author John Steinbeck, located at the California State University, Monterey Bay at Salinas City Center building at One Main Street in Salinas, California, the town where Steinbeck grew up.
The Steinbeck Center Foundation was founded in 1983; the center itself was finished and opened to the public on June 27, 1998. The center houses the largest collection of Steinbeck archives in the United States, with various exhibits on his body of work and philosophy. The Center recently renovated a small exhibit for rotating exhibits within the main exhibit hall.
The Steinbeck Center is a focal point for activities which encourage learning about literature, human nature, history, agriculture, and the arts. Many educational programs are provided for the public, students and teachers, a multimedia experience for regional and national audiences.
The John Steinbeck House, Steinbeck's childhood home, is located near the museum.[2]
Address: 1 Main St, 93901-3436 Salinas
Salinas Sports Complex
Sports complex in Salinas, California. The Salinas Sports Complex is a sporting complex located in Salinas, California on the Central Coast. The main feature of the complex is a 17,000-seat stadium for California Rodeo Salinas. Soccer, football, and rugby was also played at the main stadium before the opening of Rabobank Stadium next door.
The grounds have been home to the California Rodeo Salinas since 1911. The original wood stadium structure was built in 1924 and replaced in 1996 with a stadium design by Kasavan Architects. The stadium's field is wide enough to host soccer matches along with football games, and indeed it hosted the California Jaguars of the United Soccer Leagues (then USISL) from 1995 to 1999.
For several years, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) has hosted events from its "minor league" system, such as the Touring Pro Division (formerly the Challenger Tour) and BlueDEF Tour, at the complex.
The complex is also home to baseball and softball fields.
The stadium not only hosts rodeo and sports events; it can be converted into a race track for auto racing, monster truck shows, and motorcycle racing.
Concerts have been held at the venue, such as the Eagles in 2005, RBD in 2006, the Scorpions in 2006, Mary J. Blige in 2007, Luis Miguel in 2007, Creedence Clearwater Revisited in 2009, Alan Jackson in 2012, Aerosmith in 2015, Kid Rock in 2017, and Blake Shelton in 2018.[3]
Address: 1034 N Main St, 93906-3815 Salinas (North Salinas)
Jose Eusebio Boronda Adobe
Building. The Jose Eusebio Boronda Adobe is a Monterey Colonial style building from 1846, located in Salinas, Monterey County, California.
This was the in-town Spanish Colonial adobe and wood home of José Eusebio Boronda, who was the grantee of Rancho Rincon de Sanjon that was located to the northwest of Salinas.[4]
Address: 333 Boronda Rd, 93907 Salinas
John Steinbeck House
Restaurant in Salinas, California. The John Steinbeck House is a historic house restaurant and house museum in Salinas, California. The house was the boyhood home of author John Steinbeck.
Steinbeck's boyhood home is a turreted Victorian building in downtown Salinas, which has been preserved and restored by the Valley Guild, a nonprofit organization. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The house is open for tours during the summer on Sunday afternoons. The National Steinbeck Center is located two blocks away at 1 Main Street.[5]
Address: 132 Central Ave, 93901-2651 Salinas
ARIEL Theatrical
Concerts and shows, Theater
Address: 320 Main St, 93901 Salinas
California Welcome Center Salinas
Museum, Visitor center
Address: 1213 N Davis Rd, 93907-1996 Salinas
Old Hilltown
Town in California. Old Hilltown, formerly Hill Town, is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located on the north side of the Salinas River 3 miles south-southwest of Salinas on California State Route 68, at an elevation of 46 feet, approximately two miles from Spreckels, California The name is from James Bryant Hill, one of the first settler in the area. The first European land exploration of Alta California, the Spanish Portolá expedition, camped on the Salinas River in this vicinity on September 30, 1769, having followed the river from the south for several days. From this camp, the scouts went out to survey the route ahead and saw Monterey Bay for the first time. Unsure whether the point they could see at the southern end of the bay was the "Point of Pines" described by Sebastian Vizcaino in 1602, Portola decided that the party should investigate.
Hill Town was established at a ford of the Salinas River called Paso del Quinto. Hill Town was the site of one of the first ferries on the Salinas River. The ferry operated until 1889 when a bridge was built across the river. The site is now registered as California Historical Landmark #560.[6]
Monterey County Jail
The Monterey County Jail is a jail in Salinas, California, United States. Built in 1931, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
Cesar Chavez was imprisoned at the jail, raising national attention for the Salinas Valley lettuce boycott and affirming the legal use of boycotts as an organizing model.[7]
Monterey County Court House
Courthouse. The Monterey County Court House is the court house for Monterey County in Salinas, California, United States. It was designed by local architect Robert Stanton in the Art Moderne or WPA Moderne style, and was built in 1937 using funds provided by the Works Progress Administration. The courthouse features extensive sculpture by Joseph Jacinto Mora. It is currently used by the Monterey County Superior Court.
Stanton designed the courthouse to be built around a previous courthouse, which was demolished, leaving a landscaped courtyard space surrounded by an arcade. The two and three story concrete structure cost $450,000, with two stories in concrete and a glass-and-steel third floor the rear of the complex. It is extensively embellished by Mora's sculpture and reliefs, with comparatively sober detailing around the perimeter and more extensive decoration on the courtyard elevations, with customized relief friezes at the tops of the fluted rectangular arcade columns. Small bronze castings decorate the doors and a large freestanding Mora sculpture in travertine forms the centerpiece of the courtyard. Subjects were drawn from the history of California. There are a total of 62 busts of individuals from California history in the window spandrels, and five travertine reliefs of scenes from Monterey County history.
The courthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 8, 2009.[8]
Samuel M. Black House
The Samuel M. Black House, located at 418 Pajaro St. in Salinas, California, is a historic Queen Anne style house that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It was designed by architect William Henry Weeks and was built in 1900. The house is significant for its association with Samuel M. Black, a civic leader in the development of Monterey County, and architecturally for its serving as an early prototype of the "Modified Colonial" architecture style in development by Weeks. At the time of its NRHP nomination, the house was unique in being intact architecturally plus having the only known set of architect Weeks' plans and elevations for a house of this period; it was expected to yield further architectural history development. The house is termed a conservative one of Weeks' residential designs.
The property includes an eight-bedroom, one-story farmworkers quarters that was designed and built by a local contractor in 1936 for $6,000.
The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The listing included two contributing buildings.[9]