With its picturesque charm and colorful history cannery row captivates visitors from all over the world the unique appeal of this fabled street is what makes cannery row the most popular vacation destination on californias central coast. Cannery row is a novel by american author john steinbeck published in 1945it is set during the great depression in monterey california on a street lined with sardine canneries that is known as cannery rowthe story revolves around the people living there lee chong the local grocer doc a marine biologist and mack the leader of a group of derelicts. Cannery row is a book without much of a plot rather it is an attempt to capture the feeling and people of a place the cannery district of monterey california which is populated by a mix of those down on their luck and those who choose for other reasons not to live up the hill in the more . Event calendar in addition to the views attractions pubs and restaurants cannery row hosts several exciting events throughout the year guaranteed to be fun for the whole family