Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Carmel-by-the-Sea is a small town with city status with a population of 3,897. It is located on Route No. 1 in Monterey County, on the west coast of California about 190 km south of San Francisco and 5 km south of Monterey.
Many famous authors and artists lived for some time in the Carmel-by-the-Sea region and made nature the subject of their works. Among them were the writers Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck and Jack London as well as the photographer Edward Weston, who lived here for many years until his death and took many landscape pictures, also of nearby Point Lobos. These days, the small town's pleasant climate and high quality of life are still appreciated by many celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. In 2019, the actress Doris Day died here. Accordingly, the property prices are also very high by Californian standards.
The place also became famous because the actor Clint Eastwood was elected mayor in April 1986 as a candidate of the Republican Party with a large majority. He is the owner of the Mission Ranch hotel complex there, which he had purchased and renovated in the early 1980s. He remained mayor until 1988.
Of historical importance is the Mission of San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, an old Spanish mission from 1770, founded by Gaspar de Portolà, Juan Crespí and Junípero Serra, who wanted to convert the Indians to the Catholic faith. The latter was beatified by John Paul II on September 25, 1988. After Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821, the monastery began to decline and was finally secularized in 1834. In 1863, the Catholic Church was able to reacquire the structures, renovated them, and established a parish church there for the town, which is part of the Diocese of Monterey. Of all the California missions, Carmel is the only one that still has its original bell tower.
The monastery's buildings, which is a registered National Historic Landmark with the National Park Service, include a museum.
Among tourists, Carmel is also known for its nature. The 17-Mile Drive leads around the headland of Monterey via Carmel-by-the-Sea, past Pebble Beach, through Pacific Grove and back to Monterey. Further south on California State Route 1 is the mountainous coastal landscape of Big Sur. Just a few miles south on the coast is Point Lobos State Reserve with rich fauna and flora.
Carmel-by-the-Sea has gained international importance through the Carmel Bach Festival, one of the most important music festivals in the USA, led by the renowned German conductor Bruno Weil.
Curious
To distinguish itself from other towns, Carmel has some curious traditions enshrined in law: There are neither mailboxes nor house numbers. Only in recent years has mail been delivered on request (though this is rarely used; previously, residents had to pick up their mail from the post office box). Similarly, there are no street lights, pedestrian walkways, or neon signs today. There are also no parking meters; a trial program on Ocean Avenue ran from December 2014 to June 2015; in early July 2015, the council decided to take them down again.
There are no shops directly on the coast; new buildings must be built around trees. Anyone who wants to wear high heels needs a permit from the public order office; this regulation from the 1920s was intended to prevent damage claims.
Personalities
Sons and daughters of the city
- Ronald Levy (* 1941), oncologist
- Alison Eastwood (* 1972), actress, director and model
- Lindsey Stoddart (* 1974), actress and voice actress
- Ian Bohen (* 1976), actor
- Rushad Eggleston (* 1979), cellist, kazoo player, jazz singer and composer
- Scott Eastwood (* 1986), actor
- Jeremy Sumpter (* 1989), actor
