Monterey in Monterey County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Science

Historic Cannery Row

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, April 23, 2012

1. Science Marker

[Caption:] This frog hunting permit was issued in 1937 to a local collector for Ricketts by the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Game. Frog-hunting permit from E.F. Ricketts Papers, courtesy of the Monterey Public Library, California History Room.

Inscription. Edward F. Ricketts, owner-operator of Pacific Biological Laboratories, was described by a biographer as “a devoted and rational biologist who sought to uncover scientific truth.” A true renaissance man, Ricketts wrote extensively on a wide variety of subjects ranging from Bach to Buddhism.

Ricketts’s book Between Pacific Tides, coauthored with Jack Calvin in 1939, is still considered a classic of intertidal marine ecology. In 1941 he coauthored with John Steinbeck The Sea of Cortez, a study that is widely recognized as a highly influential work on holistic ecology.

Between 1930 and 1948, Ricketts and Steinbeck shared a deep and complex friendship based on mutual respect. Steinbeck cast the scientist-philosopher Ricketts as various “Doc” characters in his novels and wrote of his friend, “His mind had no horizons. He was interested in everything.”

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Science & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1939.

Location. 36° 37.038′ N, 121° 54.062′ W. Marker is in Monterey, California, in Monterey County. It can be reached from Cannery Row. This marker is located on a small alleyway to the right of Ed Ricketts’s Pacific Biological Laboratories at 800 Cannery Row. The alleyway leads to an

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ocean view promenade. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 800 Cannery Row, Monterey CA 93940, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Central Coast

and specifically on the Coast Ranges.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Ed Ricketts’s Backyard (a few steps from this marker); Fiction (a few steps from this marker); The Real “Docs” (within shouting distance of this marker); One Man, Two Worlds (within shouting distance of this marker); A Day in the Canneries (within shouting distance of this marker); The Spanish Community (within shouting distance of this marker); The Del Mar Canning Company, 1927-1947 (within shouting distance of this marker); The Japanese Community (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Monterey.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. To better understand the relationship, study each marker in the order shown.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, April 23, 2012

2. Science Marker

Ed Ricketts's Pacific Biological Labratories image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, April 23, 2012

3. Ed Ricketts's Pacific Biological Labratories

The alleyway and marker are to the right of the building.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on May 7, 2012, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 694 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 7, 2012, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.