Carmel-by-the-sea, California

Enchanting coastal town

Carmel-by-the-Sea, or sometimes shortened to Carmel, is an enchanting California coastal city on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. Carmel-by-the-Sea is located on the Pacific coast 15 miles north of the world-famous Big Sur, north of Los Angeles 330 miles (6 hours) and 120 miles (2 hours) south of San Francisco.  The weather of Carmel is a cool Mediterranean climate with summers often overcast blocked by marine fog. September, October, and November bring Indian summers – typically the best weather of the year around 72 degrees and showcasing amazing sunsets.

Founded in 1902 and incorporated in 1916, the city just celebrated a 100 year anniversary. The city has a total population of 3,852 (2017 statistics), but many homes are second homes or vacation rentals causing it to be a quiet little community in the winter months. During the summer tourist season, the population can explode with tourists from all over the world.

History dating back to 1700s

Carmel’s history dates back to the late 1700s when it was chosen as a location for one of the 21 Spanish Missions.  The property was built in 1771 by Father Junipero Serra, it was named “Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo” and served as his personal headquarters and continued to flourish until 1848 when Mexico lost California to the United States in the Mexican-American War. Carmel Mission is now Serra’s resting place and a historical landmark. Lush gardens and buildings can be toured during the week and are still used as an active Mission offer Sunday service.

An Artist inspiration

In the late 1800’s, artists began coming to Carmel to paint its breathtakingly natural scenery. In 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake, hundreds of artists, writers, and musicians left homeless from the devastation came to Carmel seeking refuge. The new resident’s location for home lots – ten dollars down, little or no interest, and whatever they could pay on a monthly basis. The city’s association with artists continued as the years progressed, and remains strong today. Over the years, several were poets or actors were city mayors including Herbert Heron, (founder of the Forest Theater), writer-actor Perry Newberry and actor-director-producer Clint Eastwood.

Developers of Carmel

The village continued its sleepy existence until the latter part of the decade when the land was bought by developers and subdivided. First named, “Rancho Las Manzanitas”, the area that was to become Carmel-by-the-Sea was purchased in the late 1850s by French businessman Honore Escolle, who was prosperous in Monterey, owning the first commercial bakery, pottery kiln, and brickworks.

In 1888, Escolle partnered with a young developer, Santiago Duckworth and the two partners filed a subdivision map; and a year later, 200 lots had been sold. Later in 1902, James Frank Devendorf and Frank Powers, on behalf of the Carmel Development Company, filed a new subdivision map of the core village that became Carmel. The Carmel Development Company ordered 100 cypress trees to be planted throughout the barren farmland along Carmel’s coast.

They also invited a builder, Michael J. Murphy, to build his home in the newly cypress-laden Carmel-by-the-Sea. Built in 1902, Murphy’s house still stands today (known as the Welcome Center). Buildings were required to be built around existing trees and is followed to this day.

The Tuck Box was born

Other builders followed, like Hugh Comstock in 1924. Originally from Illinois, Comstock had no formal training as an architect, yet he designed and built his wife (a Otsy-Totsy rag doll maker) a fairytale cottage for her handmade dolls called “Hansel,” as a 244 square foot showroom and sales center for his wife’s dolls. Later he built a companion cottage on the same parcel and named it “Gretel.” Another favorite: The “Cottage of Sweets” is now a candy store in town on main street. My favorite, “The Tuck Box” was constructed in 1927, and for the last 80 years has existed as a restaurant.  He went on to build 30 cottages with only 22 remaining today. His collection of 22 cottages became in high real estate demand and was later known as “Hugh Comstock’s Historic Hill District.” Click map or try this. The residents’ were cheap to build; often for as little as $100 to $1000 depending on size. Today, these homes sell for in the millions. Most of Carmel’s historic and charming layouts are thanks to many other gifted architects, designers, and artists. The 1940s and 1950s in Carmel were filled with one-of-a-kind construction, landscapes, and art pieces in typical fairytale-cottage-style Carmel architecture.

Carmel-by-the-sea has no street numbers

The one-square-mile village has no street lights or parking meters. Residents and businesses have no street numbers but are “named” with names instead of addresses (ie “Tiptoe View, SeaCastle, Tucked In).  Because of this, there is no mail delivery, forcing residents to own a box at the post office to receive their mail. The format used for addressing the street is the street-cross street and the number of homes from the intersection”Monte Verde 4SW of 8th”.

Artists and writers came to Carmel -followed by theatre

In 1907, the first cultural center and theatre, the Carmel Arts and Crafts Clubhouse, was built. The center held exhibitions, lectures, dances, and produced plays and recitals. By 1914, the club had achieved national recognition, 

n 1931, the Carmel Sunset School constructed a new auditorium, complete with Gothic-inspired architecture, with seating for 700. Often doubling as a performing arts venue for the community, the facility was bought by the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1964, renaming the venue the Sunset Theatre. In 2003, following a $22 million renovation, the building re-opened with the 66th annual Carmel Bach Festival. Added to the Sunset Center was the Marjorie Evans Gallery which promotes art education and Studio 101 for folk, slam poetry, improv comedy and more.

A Theatre in the middle of a forest

In 1910, the Forest Theater, one of the first outdoor theaters west of the Rocky Mountains, was built and focused on original works and the plays of Shakespeare. Play-writer Herbert Heron was cited as the founder and writer Mary Austin credited with the idea. Numerous groups including the Carmel Arts & Crafts Club, Forest Theater Society (1910), and the Western Drama Society (1911) presented plays and pageants. The property Illinois to the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea in order to qualify for federal funding and in 1939 became a WPA project. After several years, the site re-opened as The Carmel Shakespeare Festival with the exception of the WWII years of 1943-44 and continued through the 1940s.
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Theatrical activities in the town grew to such a proportion that between 1922 and 1924, two competing indoor theaters were built by Edward G. Kuster – the Arts & Crafts Hall and the Theatre of the Golden Bough. Unfortunately, in 1949, the playhouse burned to the ground but was later rebuilt and reopened in 1952.

Unfortunately, for most of the 1960s, the Forest outdoor theater lay unused and neglected and the original guild ceased operations. In 1984, Pacific Repertory Theatre initiated productions on the outdoor Forest Theater stage, reactivating The Carmel Shakespeare Festival in 1990. In 1994, Pacific Repertory Theatre acquired the Golden Bough Playhouse. PacRep now presents a year-round season of 10 to 12 plays, musicals, films in the forest in three Carmel theaters: The 330-seat Golden Bough Theatre, the 120-seat Circle Theatre and the 540-seat outdoor. In 2016, the Forest Theatre had a major revitalization making it a joy to sit outside under the stars among the trees watching a live play or film.

The Oldest Art Association in the USA

Founded in 1927, the Carmel Art Association is one of the oldest operating non-profit artists co-operative in the United States. Early CAA Artist Members were painters, sculptors, etchers, muralists, mosaic artists, authors, illustrators, printmakers, dancers, actors, and playwrights. They came here from training at schools from all over the country, Chicago Art Institute, California School of Fine Arts, San Francisco School of Design, Mark Hopkins Institute, Mills College, New York Art Students League, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Julian Academy of Paris, Union Nationale des an et Lettres, Boston School of Design, Ontario Society of Fine Arts, Otis Art Institute, Kansas City Art Institute and the Royal Canadian Academy of Art, to name just a few. Today, it is dedicated to presenting only the finest work for sale by more than 100 professional local artists living on the Monterey Peninsula. A wide variety of styles and media are shown, changing exhibitions monthly. 

Walkable Downtown with so much to see

Carmel’s seaside village is a walkable downtown decorated with, boutiques, galleries, wine tasting rooms and bistros. You won’t find any chain restaurants in town – they are banned – improving the sustainability of local eateries. At the end of the town’s main street, Ocean Avenue is Carmel Beach on the Pacific Ocean, partially sheltered by towering Monterey Cypresses. Know for being dog-friendly, numerous hotels, restaurants and retail establishments admit guests with their dogs. Carmel is also known for several unusual laws, including a 1920 prohibition on wearing high-heel shoes without a permit, enacted to prevent lawsuits arising from tripping accidents caused by irregular pavement distorted by tree roots.

Carmel is located near a number of popular tourist destinations: Fisherman’s Wharf, Cannery Row, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Point Lobos, 17-Mile Drive, Seal Rock, Bird Rock, Forest Theatre, Golden Bough Playhouse, Sunset Center, Robinson Jeffers Tor House, and Hawk Tower and The Lone Cypress and Big Sur. A walking tour is here.