www.montereycountyweekly.com june 29-july 5, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 23 California’s first constitutional convention convened at noon on Saturday, Sept. 1, 1849, with 48 delegates gathered on the second floor of Colton Hall in Monterey. The two-story stone building was six months old, its construction overseen by Walter Colton, the city’s first alcalde—a combination of mayor, judge and tax collector—after the U.S. took over the western territories as the victor of the Mexican-American War in 1848. At the time, it was the largest city building west of the Rockies. “It is not an edifice that would attract any attention among public buildings in the United States; but in California it is without a rival,” Colton wrote. “It has been erected out of the slender proceeds of town lots, the labor of the convicts, taxes on liquor shops, and fines on gamblers.” The building served the delegates well, allowing them to retreat in smaller committees down the steps to school rooms below, and to meet as a large group upstairs. They were tasked with debating and ultimately deciding to create the state of California. The men that signed the constitution on Oct. 13, 1849, could not imagine that their creation would become a place of dreams and innovations, a trendsetter and leader of industry and culture, and what is now the largest economy in the U.S. and the fifth-largest in the world. California officially became a state almost a year later, on Sept. 9, 1850. Today, to walk up the same steps and across the same wood floors of Colton Hall is to connect with the very history of Monterey and California. Spending time inside the state’s own “room where it happened” brings to life a community of 173 years ago, a diverse collection of people from all over the world and all walks of life, where both Spanish and English were spoken as a matter of course in daily life—the state’s constitution was written in both English and Spanish. “This is the most historic city in California, and maybe the West Coast,” says Bob Evans, chair of Monterey’s Museums and Cultural Arts Commission. The city of Monterey and its residents are the duly designated caretakers of this historic treasure and are charged with making it available to the public. According to Monterey’s own city code, Colton Hall is supposed to be open every day of the year except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. But in recent years it’s only been open on weekends for most of the year, then Thursdays through Sundays from May through August, plus school field trips. Museums and Cultural Arts Commissioner Tim Thomas is a fourth-generation Monterey resident, as well as a leader of history walks in town. He says the city “has a moral and ethical obligation” to keep Colton Hall, as well as its other two museums— the Pacific Biological Laboratory on Cannery Row and Presidio Museum in Lower Presidio Park—open to the public, “and they know that.” The issue is that city leaders also recognize they have a financial responsibility to today’s inhabitants. Keeping Colton Hall open year-round and maintaining a treasure trove of artifacts costs money, even with a team of volunteers. Spending money on museums would likely mean cutting other services needed or desired by residents today. During the first year of the pandemic, when the city lost $32 million in revenues, the city’s staff overseeing the museums was slashed. The city used to have a designated historian on staff, but no more. How then to promote and present such important historic locations and artifacts to the public? How to make them open and accessible to all? The answers may lie in what Colton himself put to paper 173 years ago upon completion of his hall “which will now go down to posterity with the odor of gamblers, convicts, and tipplers,” he wrote of those who made the hall’s construction possible. “I leave it as an humble evidence of what may be accomplished by rigidly adhering to one purpose, and shrinking from no personal efforts necessary to its achievement.” Brian Edwards, the city’s library and museums director, hired just 10 months ago, strikes a stylish presence on the job, sporting a neat beard, dapper suit jacket and fedora. His new job is a bit of a juggling act: He not only oversees the Monterey Public Library—California’s first library—plus the city’s three museums and historical artifacts, he also serves as staff liaison to two commissions and, when needed, fills in driving the library’s bookmobile. When Edwards started and took stock of Colton Hall, he was alarmed to see original documents on display without any temperature control or light protection. Irreplaceable documents like the 1849 constitution signature page or the Declaration of Independence, written in both English and Spanish, should be held in a safe place with temperature, humidity and light controls, only to be brought out for brief periods. “These are things that are nice to have, but if you don’t take care of them, you won’t have them for future generations,” Edwards says. The permanent displays within the hall have not changed in many years. For most visitors, if they’ve seen Colton Hall once, there’s little reason to return again. “This is a place that’s really great for class visits to learn about California history,” Edwards says, adding that it’s also good for special events, like music performances. Right: Inside Colton Hall, where California’s first constitution, written in both English and Spanish, was signed on Oct. 13, 1849. The displays inside the hall have remained unchanged for many years. Below: Inside the vault, Brian Edwards holds a drawing by artist Charles Christian Nahl, created in 1855, which became the basis for California’s bear flag.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAzNjQ1NQ==