Entry No. 4 — the Monterey file — filed under: marine specimen lab
Pacific Biological Laboratories (Ed Ricketts' Lab)
Marine biologist Ed Ricketts ran this building as a mail-order biological supply house, preserving and selling specimen slides of Pacific Coast sea creatures to labs and classrooms nationwide — the real-life building, specimen tanks and all, that became Steinbeck's fictional 'Western Biological Laboratory.' It's normally locked and off-limits, opened only for capped, city-run tours.
The story
Wedged between the commercialized hustle of modern Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium sits a plain wooden building at number 800 that most tourists walk right past. In the 1930s and '40s, this was Pacific Biological Laboratories, a practical, mail-order supply house run by marine biologist Ed Ricketts. From this small workshop, Ricketts collected, preserved, and shipped Pacific Coast marine creatures—from starfish to sea anemones—mounted on glass slides to high school classrooms and university labs across the country.
John Steinbeck spent his afternoons here drinking beer, listening to classical records, and taking notes that eventually turned Ricketts into "Doc" and this exact building into the fictional "Western Biological Laboratory" of *Cannery Row*. Behind the literary fame, it remained a working science outpost where Ricketts cataloged intertidal life and kept live catch sloshing in holding tanks in the back room.
What it's like
Most of the time, the front door is locked tight while crowds stream past to buy t-shirts and saltwater taffy next door. To get inside, you have to snag a slot through a city-run tour capped at just 15 visitors per hour. Inside, you stand in the back room right beside the original concrete specimen tanks where live sea life was once held, surrounded by the preserved wooden bones of a laboratory frozen in time.
The move: Reserve a free one-hour tour through the Monterey Museums office (831-646-5648, only 15 visitors per hour admitted) to stand in the back room where Ricketts once kept tanks of live specimens, then walk Cannery Row afterward comparing the real street to Steinbeck's version.
- 📍 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.
Pair it with
- Pearl Hour — After touring Ricketts' lab, walk half a mile to this Lighthouse Avenue cocktail bar named after Steinbeck's term for the muted, quiet light of twilight on Cannery Row.
- Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History — Double down on early California natural science less than a mile away, where hundreds of mounted birds and historical local specimens fill classic glass display cases.
- Robert Louis Stevenson House — Follow Monterey's literary history 1.4 miles into Old Town to see the 1830s adobe where Robert Louis Stevenson nursed his health in 1879.
Good to know
How do I get inside the lab?
The building is locked to the general public, but the city offers free one-hour tours. You must reserve a slot in advance through the Monterey Museums office (831-646-5648).
How much does it cost?
Tours are completely free, but capacity is capped at 15 visitors per hour, so you cannot just walk up without a reservation.
Is this the exact lab from Steinbeck's Cannery Row?
Yes. Steinbeck based Doc's fictional 'Western Biological Laboratory' directly on Ed Ricketts' real-life biological supply house at 800 Cannery Row.
Where is it located?
You'll find it at 800 Cannery Row in Monterey, located directly next door to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Wikipedia · montereypl.libcal.com
last checked: 2026-07-20