Greetings from Carmel-by-the-Sea (Part 1)

Upon our return to the Monterey area, we set up camp at a wonderful RV park in Carmel called Carmel by the River. It lies about 15 minutes south of Carmel-by-the-Sea. The sites are spacious and beautifully landscaped, with privacy hedges separating them from each other. Carmel Valley Village, the site of some wonderful wine tasting rooms, is also about 15 minutes away.

Carmel is the larger unincorporated area which surrounds the tiny city of Carmel-by-the-Sea. On our first full day back in the area, we took a walking tour of Carmel-by-the-Sea with an energetic and extremely knowledgeable tour guide who has lived nearby for more than 30 years. It can be difficult to take decent photos during a tour so I returned the next few mornings to try to capture at least some of what we had seen. On-street parking and changeable weather presented challenges, but I hope you will get a sense of the beauty and magic of this place.

This was in fact my fourth visit to Carmel-by-the-Sea and I must say that my enthusiasm for the place has not diminished in the slightest. Here are some of the things about it that I love:

• Very large, very old trees on every street
• Gardens filled with flowers and shrubs just about everywhere
• Beautiful wide beaches with cool, soft sand that are welcoming to everyone, including our four legged friends
• Courtyards lined with all kinds of businesses that are actually secret passageways or shortcuts between buildings
• The relaxed (if upscale) vibe. Carmel can be pricey and exclusive, especially if judged on the basis of real estate prices. But most of the homes and commercial buildings actually appear rather modest from the outside. There are hotels and restaurants and even some shops that are quite affordable. Of course, there are also many that are not.
• The city seems to prioritize historic preservation and civic responsibility while also being appreciative of beauty, gardens, art, dogs and great food and wine. What’s not to love about that?

Carmel-by-the-Sea is known for a variety of architectural styles but perhaps the most unique is the “Comstock cottage” also known as the fairy-tale cottage style. Most of the homes built in this style were constructed by two builders, Michael J. Murphy and Hugh Comstock in the 1920s and 1930s. They typically featured steeply pitched roofs, often with multiple gables, arched doorways, and oddly shaped windows.

Below are two examples of the Comstock or fairy tale cottage style home. The first photo features the very famous duo known as Hansel and Gretal (Gretal is barely visible behind and slightly to the right of Hansel), both of which were originally built to house Comstock’s wife’s collection of handmade dolls and ultimately the business she created to sell them. The second photo features another home built by Comstock nearby.

As mentioned above, one of the two builders famous for constructing fairy tale cottages was Michael J Murphy. He built his first home at age 17, to house his mother and sister, in 1902. He went on to become one of the most significant builders in the Carmel area, completing over 350 residential and commercial structures.

There are many commercial buildings in Carmel with features similar to those of the fairy tale cottages, including those in the photos below. The building in the first photo sits on a corner, with those in the second photo directly beside it. Both have features such as oddly shaped windows and/or multi-gabled, steeply sloping roofs. Another unusual feature of the building in the first photo is its roof, which has curved shingles.

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Below are several examples of another, somewhat similar and very common style of architecture in Carmel by the Sea. This is sometimes called Alpine Cottage or Swiss Chalet style. Common features include steeply sloped roofs; exterior wood decorative trim; and second floor balconies.

Also very common in Carmel, particularly in commercial buildings, are the Spanish Revival, Mediterranean, and California Mission styles of architecture. They are all similar and I confess I don’t really know what distinguishes one from another. The photos below offer some examples. I noticed as I was preparing this post that all the buildings I saw in this style were situated on street corners rather than in the middle of a block. Interesting.