Custom House Store

Still looking for interesting books to read as we celebrate Monterey's 250th birthday? Lands of Promise and Despair is a collection of first-person accounts of the exploration and colonization of the Californias.

Another book for Monterey's 250th birthday, Discovering Early California Afro-Latino Presence. Did you know that many of the earliest settlers at the Monterey Presidio were Afro-Latino? The book is available at both the Custom House and Pacific House Stores.

Celebrating Monterey's 250th birthday? Spain in the Southwest is a great way to learn about the larger context of the colonization of California.

It's #whalefestmonterey this weekend and our Item of the Week is the perfect souvenir for this weekend's festivities! Our bone box featuring... a Whale and Calf, along with other great whale, ocean and maritime merchandise can be found at the Custom House Store throughout the weekend. Come on down to the Monterey State Historic Park and Fisherman's Wharf this Saturday & Sunday from 10am-5pm and experience a wide array of ocean-related activities that are fun and educational for the whole family! The Custom House Store is open daily from 10A-4P, located at the Custom House Plaza in the Monterey State Historic Park, near the wharf in Monterey. Custom House Store sales proceeds support education programs at the Monterey State Historic Park. Help us preserve, support and share the historic treasures of the Monterey State Historic Park! #mspha #montereystatehistoricpark #californiahistory #montereyhistory #oldmonterey #seemonterey #monterey #musuemstore #giftshop #supportlocalorganizations #shopsmall #featurefriday #itemoftheweek See more

Our next suggested reading for Monterey's 250th birthday: learn about the people who were here before the Spanish founded their colony. The Ohlone Way is available at our store in the Pacific House Museum, along with other books on the first peoples of California. Read our review: An Acclaimed Mini-Classic for Your Bucket List Perusing the bookshelves during your (recommended) monthly visit to MSHPA’s Custom House Store, you’ll notice that some titles come and go while other...s are perennial mainstays. One of the ever-present titles is The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San FranciscoMonterey Bay Area. More than one copy of this paperback has occupied our shelves since the Cooper-Molera days. Indeed, the title is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its publication this year. But how many of us have actually purchased a copy and read it? At 167 pages, it’s not an overly long book, nor is it academically obtuse in its writing style. It does not offer endless footnotes or many statistics; there are no charts or graphs. What its author, Malcom Margolin, does create is a string of day-in-the-life-of scenarios that sympathetically speculate on the life, death, birth, marriage, arts, rituals, and war of the pre-colonial Indians along California’s central coast. At times, Margolin attempts to enter the minds of the Ohlones, exploring the thinking behind their actions while, at the same time, exposing some of his own biases and prejudices. Reading and interpreting history often tells us as much about ourselves and the author as it does the subject of study. The Ohlone Way is in the genre of storytelling, after the storyteller has immersed himself in an extensive bibliography of primary and contemporary sources. In his introduction, Margolin warns that the storyteller must steer clear of the unduly simplistic opposite stereotypes of digger and noble savage and compose a more complex narrative that reflects the historical sources. Margolin’s composite image ultimately depicts a grouping of more than 40 tribelets living in balance with their environment, a balance that becomes dysfunctional with the incursion of the Spanish colonials. This relation of balance to imbalance is, perhaps, The Ohlone Way’s lasting 40-year legacy. Although no revised edition has been published, on his website Margolin claims that The Ohlone Way is an ongoing process, reflecting continuing archeological study and expanding academic and Native American perspectives. The Custom House store currently offers the only available edition for sale (at $18). Most MSHPA members are aware of the Spanish and Mexican components of our educational program, but fewer are familiar with the Ohlone emphasis in the Tuesday morning Hands On program for third graders. The Ohlone Way is a quality and easy read to help you catch up. By George Wright MSHP Volunteer

It's 2020, and we're celebrating 250 years since the founding of Monterey in 1770. If you only read one book on the history of Monterey, this is the one you want: Monterey: Presidio, Pueblo, and Port. Available at both the Custom House and Pacific House stores. Remember, current members of MSHPA receive a 10% discount on store purchases! Join at mshpa.org

Who's hungry? This week we are featuring a selection of cookbooks available at the Custom House Store. Browse our selection of early American and Ca...lifornia cuisine. The Custom House Store is open daily from 10A-4P, located at the Custom House Plaza in the Monterey State Historic Park, near the wharf in Monterey. Custom House Store sales proceeds support education programs at the Monterey State Historic Park. Help us preserve, support and share the historic treasures of the Monterey State Historic Park. #christmasintheadobes #mshpa #montereystatehistoricpark #monterey #seemonterey #oldmonterey #californiatstateparks #californiahistory #montereyhistory #holidayevent #keephistoryalive @ Custom House Store See more

Can you help? It's past time to restore California's First Theatre.

We're participating in Monterey County Gives! With your help, we hope to restore California's First Theatre so that it can once again be used for theatrical and educational events.

Dia de los Muertos is next Friday! Are you ready?

We California! This week we are sharing an assortment of our California items that are available at the Custom House Store. Show your love ...for the Golden State with a tote bag, water bottle, tea towel or bingo game! Kick up your feet and enjoy a copy of Kevin Star's book, California: A History. Come in and see what other California treasures we have in stock! The Custom House Store is open daily from 10A-4P, located at the Custom House Plaza in the Monterey State Historic Park, near the wharf in Monterey. Custom House Store sales proceeds support education programs at the Monterey State Historic Park. Help us preserve, support and share the historic treasures of the Monterey State Historic Park. #mspha #montereystatehistoricpark #californiahistory #montereyhistory #oldmonterey #seemonterey #monterey #musuemstore #giftshop #supportlocalorganizations #shopsmall #featurefriday #itemoftheweek See more

Tickets go on sale here TODAY at the Early Bird price of $20 for adult tickets; this price is good through October 31st. Purchase tickets in person at the store: meet our fabulous volunteer storekeepers, check out our great merchandise, and don't pay the online fee. Online sales begin October 15th at mshpa.org.

Tickets go on sale at the Custom House Store tomorrow, Saturday October 12. Purchase your tickets before November 1 to receive the Early Bird price of $20 (regular price $25) for an adult ticket.

Our Item of the Week this week coincides with another great event taking place during next weekend's History Fest! Stop by the Custom House ...Store this week to browse our selection of pirate-related items and books, including Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. Next Saturday, October 12 from 11am-3pm there will be a Treasure Hunt for History at the Robert Louis Stevenson House - it's free and fun for the whole family! Join us for a hunt for history based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Pirate costumes are encouraged! Pick up your Treasure Map at the building at 11:00 am, and get a pirate tattoo painted on your face or arm before heading out to find the historic places on your map. Return by 2:00 pm for a prize from the Treasure Chest! Click here for a complete schedule of History Fest events: https://mshpa.news/historyfest2019 The Custom House Store is open daily from 10A-4P, located at the Custom House Plaza in the Monterey State Historic Park, near the wharf in Monterey. Custom House Store sales proceeds support education programs at the Monterey State Historic Park. Help us preserve, support and share the historic treasures of the Monterey State Historic Park! #mspha #montereystatehistoricpark #californiahistory #montereyhistory #oldmonterey #seemonterey #monterey #musuemstore #giftshop #supportlocalorganizations #shopsmall #featurefriday #itemoftheweek #treasurehunt See more