Landing Place of Sebastián Viscaíno and Fray Junípero Serra

Monterey County · Pacific Street near Presidio Gate, Monterey · location approximate

It was here that Sebastián Viscaíno landed on December 17, 1602, having entered the harbor the previous evening with his three small vessels. Mass was sung by three Carmelite friars and the country taken in the name of the King of Spain. On the same spot, June 3, 1770, Fray Junípero Serra landed from the San Antonio to join Captain Gaspar de Portolá and Fray Juan Crespí, who had arrived from San Diego overland a week before for the purpose of founding the Mission of San Carlos de Borromeo de Monterey and the Presidio of Monterey.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

More markers nearby

Custom Houseunder 1 mi
Royal Presidio Chapel of San Carlos Borromeounder 1 mi
Larkin Houseunder 1 mi
Colton Hallunder 1 mi

See your own family's places through time.

Start with your family tree