16 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY july 18-24, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com City of History Salinas continues to evolve 150 years since its incorporation. Before the agricultural fields, long before Highway 101 sliced through it, and certainly well before you could catch a movie and pick up some new threads at Northridge Mall, Salinas was a swamp. The Ohlone, until they were ripped from their home by settlers, thrived in this area, feeding off the abundant flora and fauna that populated the land. The origin of the name “Salinas” is lost to many of the city’s current residents, as little evidence of the salt marsh it was named after remains. John Steinbeck, often considered Salinas’ most famous native son, saw beauty in the swamp. “Salinas was surrounded and penetrated with swamps, with tule-filled ponds, and every pond spawned thousands of frogs,” he wrote in his 1952 novel, East of Eden. “With the evening the air was so full of their song that it was a kind of roaring silence.” This year marks the sesquicentennial anniversary of Salinas’ incorporation as a city. Remnants of the people and industry that made the city what it is today can still be seen, from the booming railroad that turned Salinas into a center for commerce, to the stunning architecture that dots the region down to the civic leaders whose vision paved the way to the future. That future remains unwritten for Monterey County’s largest city. But the past provides us with a glimpse of what may be. -Erik Chalhoub, associate editor 6 Spiritual tradition 10 Mall bucks the trend 17 On the railroad 18 The etymology of the city 20 Art Deco marvels 26 Cowboys and cowgirls convene Salinas at 150 Main Street in downtown Salinas is a mix of old and new, where historic buildings house contemporary community hotspots. The arching “Salinas” sign was installed in 2021, representing a rebirth of the area. Daniel Dreifuss
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