Illustration of Carmel Highlands by Jo Mora in 1926
In 1906, the Carmel Development Company purchased two miles (3 km) of land from the local ranchers south of Point Lobos, where it developed the Carmel Highlands. In 1915, Frank Devendorf developed the Carmel Highlands as a residential community of creative people dedicated to the arts. Devendorf and his foreman, Frank DeAmaral developed the area with the Highlands Inn as a resort hotel at the center of the development. He planted pine trees and laid out the roads and building sites. His friend, marine artist William Frederic Ritschel, helped him plan sight lines for the hotel that had views north along the coast.[4][5] The building of the Big Sur Coast Highway in the 1930s opened the area and allowed tourists to discover the area. Point Lobos, which borders the Highlands on the north, became a State Park in 1933.[6]
The Carmel Highlands was important in the development of the regional art colony during the first half of the 20th century. Here many painters and sculptors found inspiration in the rugged scenery and established studio-homes, including: Ferdinand Burgdorff, Alice Comins, Theodore Criley, Arthur Hill Gilbert, Ralph Helm Johonnot, Ada Howe Kent, George J. Koch, Louise F. MacDougal, John O'Shea, Thomas S. Parkhurst, Ira Mallory Remsen, William Frederic Ritschel, Nora Havel Ritschel.[7]
Seaward, the Carmel Highlands home of D. L. James
In 1918, writer Daniel Lewis James's father, D. L. James Sr., (1880–1944), purchased property in Carmel Highlands and hired the firm Greene and Greene to build a stone house on a bluff overlooking the water. Greene supervised the construction of the granite house that took five years to complete. The house was later called "Seaward" and was a summer retreat for the family for 20 years.[8] In 2022 actor Brad Pitt purchased Seaward for $40M.[9]
The Farrar House, also known as the Far-A-Way or Copper Spine, located in Carmel Highlands, was designed by architect Mark Mills in collaboration with Philip and Betty Farrar. Mills, who apprenticed under Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin West from 1944 to 1948, created a distinctive design that caught the attention of the architectural world. The Far-A-Way house was featured in the September 2009 issue of Architectural Digest, as a true work of art.[10][11]
The real estate in the Carmel Highlands is some of the most expensive in the United States.[citation needed] Many celebrities have homes and vacation homes in this area. The ZIP Code is 93923, and the community is inside area code 831.
^ abDurham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 881. ISBN1-884995-14-4.
