Entry No. 2 — the Monterey file — filed under: cabinet of curiosities
Pacific Biological Laboratories ("Doc's Lab")
The actual working lab of marine biologist Ed Ricketts — the real-life model for "Doc" in Steinbeck's Cannery Row — where he kept and preserved live specimens before crating them off to schools and museums, and where a men's club that bought the building in 1958 helped launch the Monterey Jazz Festival. Now city-owned and opened only for capped monthly tours.
The story
Long before Cannery Row was sanitized into t-shirt shops and sea-turtle souvenirs, Ed Ricketts co-founded Pacific Biological Laboratories in 1923 to run a cold-blooded mail-order supply house. He pickled starfish, packed octopuses in formaldehyde, and shipped tide-pool specimens in wooden crates to high school and college science labs across the country. After a 1936 fire gutted his original library, Ricketts rebuilt here at 800 Cannery Row—a working lab, living quarters, and informal salon where John Steinbeck drank beer, took notes, and immortalized Ricketts as 'Doc' in his novel Cannery Row.
When Ricketts died in 1948, the lab didn't immediately turn into a sterile tourist landmark. In 1958, a group of local men bought the building and established a private retreat called the Lab Club. They held informal jam sessions in the back rooms—a tradition of midnight music and sharp conversation that directly launched the Monterey Jazz Festival. The city of Monterey eventually acquired the site, keeping the structure intact as a hybrid tide-pool lab and beatnik-era sanctuary.
What it's like
Getting inside requires planning ahead, as the doors only open to the public on the second Saturday of the month (or for paid private bookings). Inside, the smell of salt air mixes with old timber while docents guide you through cramped rooms, pointing out charred fire damage from 1936 and historic specimen jars. Out back, you can step out to the concrete holding tanks overlooking Monterey Bay where Ricketts kept live sea creatures floating until shipping day.
The move: Catch one of the free public tours on the second Saturday of the month (Jan–Nov, 10am or 11:30am, plus 12–4pm open hours) or book a private hour-long tour ($100 for up to 4 people) and hear docents point out where the 1936 fire tore through Ricketts' library.
- 📍 Cannery Row, Monterey
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 800 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Pearl Hour — A half-mile walk up to Lighthouse Avenue puts you in a cocktail lounge named directly after Steinbeck's description of the pre-dawn light in Cannery Row.
- Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History — Follow Doc's specimen-collecting obsession under a mile down the shore to see hundreds of preserved natural-history taxidermy mounts.
- Robert Louis Stevenson House — Pair Ricketts' literary-scientific hideout with the 1830s adobe where Robert Louis Stevenson lived while writing in Monterey.
Good to know
How can I visit Doc's Lab?
Free public tours run on the second Saturday of each month from January through November at 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM, along with open hours from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM. You can also book a private one-hour tour for up to four people for $100.
Is this the real laboratory from Steinbeck's novel?
Yes. Steinbeck modeled his fictional 'Western Biological Laboratory' directly on Ricketts' actual working lab and base of operations at 800 Cannery Row.
What is visible inside the building?
Exhibits detail Ricketts' pioneer work in marine ecology, charred wood remnants from the 1936 library fire, and the exterior concrete holding tanks overlooking the bay.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: monterey.gov · Tripadvisor · Wikipedia · Atlas Obscura
last checked: 2026-07-20