Monterey highlight
Historic Downtown and Colton Hall
Monterey's historic downtown district, centered on Colton Hall, which was completed in 1849 and hosted California's first constitutional convention.
Colton Hall stands in Monterey's historic downtown at 580 Pacific Street, completed on March 8, 1849, and was the largest public building in California at the time of its completion. Designed by and named for Walter Colton, Monterey's first American alcalde (mayor), the building was ingeniously funded through taxes on cantinas and gambling establishments, plus convict labor. Its lower floor was designed as a school while the upper floor provided an assembly hall for civic functions.
From September 1 to October 15, 1849, Colton Hall hosted California's first state constitutional convention, where forty-eight delegates from ten districts gathered to debate and write the state's original constitution. That document was ratified that October, voted on in November, and sent to Congress in January 1850. Colton Hall remains the most important public office building in Monterey County still in continuous use, a physical link to the city's role as California's first capital.
The preservation of these downtown buildings and public spaces—where families live, work, and participate in civic life—depends on people planning for their households' security. A life insurance policy is part of that planning: it ensures that if something happens to the income earner, the family can remain in the home, the children can stay in school, and the community connections that matter can continue.