National Steinbeck Center, Salinas

Located in the Monterey County town of Salinas, the lettuce capital of the world, this museum is a tribute to Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. A Bay Area native, Steinbeck attended Stanford University in Palo Alto after he graduated from Salinas High School in 1919. His most famous works include Tortilla Flat (1935) and the Pulitzer Prize winner The Grapes of Wrath (1939). His birthplace and childhood home, The Steinbeck House, is two blocks away from the museum. In the cultural center you can see Steinbeck's works, letters and photographs, hear lectures and take tours. It also hosts an annual Steinbeck Festival in honor of the author.