» ARTICHOKE QUEEN

Castroville, an agricultural town of 6,500 in Monterey County that calls itself the artichoke center of the world, is home to expansive fields planted with this tasty member of the thistle family. The annual Castroville Artichoke Food and Wine Festival, featuring the likes of fried, sautéed and grilled artichokes, along with music and threedimensional “vegetable art,’’ takes place on the first weekend in June at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. In 1948, Castroville crowned visiting starlet Norma Jean Baker as California’s Artichoke Queen. Norma Jean later won fame under her new name, Marilyn Monroe.

HOLLYWOODLAND, a housing development established in 1923 marked by this sign on Beachwood Drive, top, was the inspiration for the famous Hollywood sign; Marilyn Monroe, above.