Carmel Development Company

In November 1900, San Francisco attorney Frank Hubbard Powers (1864–1920) purchased purchased the largest portion of land in Carmel. He bought seven hundred lots and eighty-nine acres of beachfront property from Dr. W. Sanders.[1]

In 1902, James Franklin Devendorf (1856–1934) purchased all the unsold land in Carmel from developer and real estate agent Santiago J. Duckworth, who, in 1889, wanted to build a Catholic summer resort.[2] He also bought land from French businessman Honoré Escolle.[1]

On November 25, 1902, Devendorf became partners with Frank Hubbard Powers and formed the Carmel Development Company to operate in the town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Powers provided the capital and did the legal work of the corporation. Devendorf was general manager and oversaw subdividing and developing the land.[3][4][5][6][1][7] The first Board of Directors meeting for the Carmel Development Company was held on November 28, 1903 in San Francisco for the purpose of passing the by-laws, election of officers, and organization of the corporation.[8]

Carmel Development Company Building on Ocean Avenue and San Carlos Street (1903).

Devendorf hired engineer Henry Fisher to layout the village of Carmel. The first subdivision map of the town was filed with the Monterey County Recorder in 1902. In November 1903, there were thirty families living in Carmel. That same year, the Company bought the Hotel Carmelo and later renamed it the Pine Inn and built the Carmel Development Company Building. It was the first modern "fireproof" commercial building in Carmel. It is still standing on the northwest corner of San Carlos Street and Ocean Avenue.[7][5]

By 1904, Davendorf hired Michael J. Murphy as the master builder for the Carmel Development Company. He built over 300 buildings in Carmel during his career. The Company bought their finished lumber to be used in building in San Francisco and costal steamers brought it down to the Monterey Wharf.[5] At this time, there were 75 permanent residents, several stores, a restaurant, school, and Carmel City's first hotel, Hotel Carmelo. The Company even handled the mail, which was delivered by stagecoach and sorted at the Company's store. Under Devendorf's direction, Carmel became a colony of artists and writers and was established as a city in 1903.[1] The Company also ran stagecoach to pick up visitors and prospective buyers from Monterey and the Del Monte Lodge in Pebble Beach. In 1905, the Company installed its own water system. It pumped water from the Carmel River to a large tank at Ocean Avenue and Mountain View Avenue.[7]

The first property sold by the Carmel Development Company was to E. A. Foster, an African American woman from Monroe, Michigan. She purchased two lots on Dolores Street and ten lots on the south side of Ocean Avenue between San Carlos and Mission Streets.[7] The prices of the property were $500 (equivalent to $16,285 in 2022), secured by a five or ten dollar deposit.[6]

By 1905, Devendorf used the Carmel Development Company provided a cottage for the first school and donated two lots on Lincoln Street near Ocean Avenue for the construction of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Carmel, known as the community Church of the Wayfarer.[9][1]

In 1906, the Carmel Development Company provided the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club with their first building on Ocean Avenue. Their first art exhibit was held in this temporary building.[10] Devendorf was one of the founders of the Club to support artistic works.[3] The Company donated the site that would become the Carmel Forest Theater. In 1919, the Forest Theater Society bought the Forest Theater and its grounds from the Company for $2,000 (equivalent to $33,758 in 2022).[9]

Carmel's Ocean Avenue, with row of pine trees down the middle of Ocean Avenue.

After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, more lots were sold because of relocated residents. By 1909, the Carmel Development Company advertised "Carmel-By-The-Sea" round trip railroad rates to get people to come down to the town. Devendorf had a row of pine trees planted down the middle of Ocean Avenue because of his love for trees and the beautiful environment of the Monterey Peninsula.

In 1906, the Carmel Development Company purchased land from local ranchers five miles south of Carmel, south of Point Lobos, where it developed the Carmel Highlands.[7][3] In 1915, the Company developed the Highlands Inn in the Carmel Highlands, which was a resort hotel. His friend, marine artist William Frederic Ritschel helped Devendorf design the Highlands Inn.[9][1][7]

The Company dissolved in 1965, after the sale of its final parcel known as the Glen Deven Mountain Lands, an 860 acres (350 ha) property in Big Sur.[11]

Holman's Carmel Hardware Store

Carmel Drug Store

The Carmel Development Company Building is a one-story concrete block commercial building in downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.The building is occupied by the Carmel Drug Store, which is the oldest remaining business in the block. The building originally housed the Carmel Development Company, a hardware store, and a grocery store around 1906 (on the right).[12] Later, the Carmel Drug Store moved in, the oldest drug store in Carmel which has operated since 1908 and still exits today with its historic interior.[13][14]

The Carmel Development Company Building was the first "modern" commercial building in Carmel built in 1902–1903 on the northwest corner of San Carlos Street and Ocean Avenue. It has a flat roof and its exterior wall covering is made up of hollow core "fireproof" concrete blocks. The concrete wall cladding for the building was made by the Wizard Face Down Concrete Block Machine made by the Sears and Roebuck Company. T. A. Work was responsible for the construction. Artie Bowen was the carpenter and the work was supervised by George Quentel.[13][15]

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