On Saturday, the public has a rare opportunity to view some usually hidden-away historical artifacts.
At the Colton Hall Museum in Monterey, City of Monterey Artifiacts Specialist Jordan Leininger unboxes some artifacts that are rarely put on display. Leininger uses archival gloves because these items are so delicate.
“So one of them is an old key from Colton Hall, an old skeleton key. I'm still researching this item. But we know it did belong to a sergeant-at-arms who was at the 1849 California constitutional convention,” said Leininger.
Another artifact to go on display is the earliest-known drawing of Colton Hall after it was built and a photograph of the landmark taken between 1843 and 1885.
These are just some of the items that will go on display for the second annual Monterey Peninsula Archives Crawl. It’s a walkable, free tour throughout historic Monterey. Participants will get a passport and map to guide them.
“So as we leave Colton Hall, we cross the street... to my right is the Monterey Public Library. Going down the street from there we'll head to the Monterey Museum of Art.There's been a lot of artwork created out of Monterey. Then just down the way from the Museum of Art is Sherman Quarters," said Leininger.
Although the crawl is taking place in Monterey, people will be able to see artifacts from all over the county. Twenty organizations are opening their vaults to share what’s inside.
“One is theNational Steinbeck Center, it has been reported they are gonna have some items that belong to John Steinbeck. Possibly a manuscript or some writing from him,” said Leininger.
