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

Kalisa's La Ida Café

1957-2007

Kalisa's La Ida Cafe Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Denise Boose, March 7, 2015

1. Kalisa's La Ida Cafe Marker

Inscription. Kalisa Moore, known as "Queen of Cannery Row," was born in Latvia and came to America after WWII. She bridged the eras, opening her gourmet restaurant when most of the canneries had closed.

Over the years "Kalisa's" became a bohemian coffee house where artists, writers and poets "hung out." Her weekend cabaret was bustling with musicians, dancers and occasionally celebrities from the Monterey Jazz Festival.

As time passed and Cannery Row was reborn, Kalisa became a major factor in retaining memories of Steinbecks's era, promoting tourism and commerce as the President of the Cannery Row Foundation.

For fifty years she was a friend to the famous and a mother to the needy with a local following who knew and loved her.

Kalisa's La Ida Cafe was a very special time and place, and Kalisa wil always be remembered as "Queen of Cannery Row."

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Immigration • Industry & Commerce • Women.

Location. 36° 37.052′ N, 121° 54.106′ W. Marker is in Monterey, California, in Monterey County. It is on Cannery Row, on the left when traveling east. Located at the Austino's Patisserie business. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 851 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.

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At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: La Ida Café (here, next to this marker); A Day in the Canneries (within shouting distance of this marker); The Spanish Community (within shouting distance of this marker); The Real “Docs” (within shouting distance of this marker); The Filipino Community (within shouting distance of this marker); The Japanese Community (within shouting distance of this marker); One Man, Two Worlds (within shouting distance of this marker); Ed Ricketts’s Backyard (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Monterey.

Photographed by Denise Boose, March 7, 2015

2. Kalisa's La Ida Cafe Marker

Kalisa's La Ida Cafe image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Denise Boose, March 7, 2015

3. Kalisa's La Ida Cafe

The marker is mounted on the wall between the two large windows.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 9, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 21, 2015, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. This page has been viewed 3,688 times since then and 251 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 21, 2015, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.