Monterey, California: Steinbeck's Spirit of Monterey Wax Museum (Closed)

RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report

Address:: 700 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA
Status:: Closed

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Steinbeck's Spirit of Monterey Wax Museum.

Steinbeck's Spirit of Monterey Wax Museum

The history of Monterey unfolds in wax: prostitutes, Indians, a bull and a bear in a bloody death struggle, and John Steinbeck. Closed in 2023.

Roadsideamerica.com Report... [07/03/2016]

Visitor Tips and News About Steinbeck's Spirit of Monterey Wax Museum

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Wax Museum.

Steinbeck's Spirit of Monterey Wax Museum

Creepy and outdated and worth a trip!

[Nyeland N., 06/19/2011]

Wax John Steinbeck.

Steinbeck's Spirit of Monterey Wax Museum

Creepy and outdated. An odd combination of fixed and animatronic figures, narrated by "John Steinbeck." The animatronic figures overlap the audio tour, occasionally drowning out Steinbeck. Not worth a detour.

[Liz, 07/22/2010]

But... you had us at "creepy and outdated!"

Cannery Row scene in the wax museum.

Spirit of Monterey Wax Museum - Cannery Row

Cannery Row is tourist attraction made from a defunct group of sardine canneries in Monterey, CA, made famous by John Steinbeck's book Cannery Row. Now it's mostly shops and restaurants, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The jewel of this attraction is the Wax Museum. It's hidden in a basement in the main building, and probably passed up by most folks. It's an awful wonderful roadside treat. It's all dark inside, and only one section is dimly lit at a time so that you can focus on the story told slowly over the loud speaker, so don't think you can rush through it. It's creepy, even though it's not meant to be.

[Jody Day, 02/08/2010]

Cannery Row promo notes that on the way to Steinbeck's Spirit of Monterey Wax Museum, you'll see the bust of Ed "Doc" Ricketts, John Steinbeck's marine biologist friend, right where he was killed when his car was hit by a train in 1948.