The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey
Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. First
established in 1770 by Father Junípero Serra and Gaspar de
Portolà, Monterey served as the capital of California from 1777
to 1849, under the flags of Spain and Mexico. Variants of the
city's name are recorded as Monte Rey and Montery. Monterey was
also the site of the July 7, 1846, Battle of Monterey during the
Mexican-American War. It was on this date that John D. Sloat,
Commodore in the United States Navy, raised the U.S. flag over
the Monterey Custom House and claimed California for the United
States. In addition, many California "firsts" occurred in
Monterey. These include California's first theatre, brick house,
publicly funded school, public building, public library, and
printing press, which printed The Californian, California's
first newspaper. Larkin House, one of Monterey State Historic
Park's National Historic Landmarks, built in the Mexican period
by Thomas Oliver Larkin, is an