Carmel Highlands is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Montere ...

, California, United States. It is south of

Carmel-by-the-Sea Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and r ...

(better known as simply, "Carmel"), at an elevation of 318 feet (97 m). Carmel Highlands is also located just south of the

Point Lobos Point Lobos and the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is a state park in California. Adjoining Point Lobos is "one of the richest marine habitats in California." The ocean habitat is protected by two marine protected areas, the Point Lobos St ...

State Reserve, and serves as the northern gateway of the Big Sur coastline along

California State Route 1 State Route 1 (SR 1) is a major north–south state highway that runs along most of the Pacific coastline of the U.S. state of California. At , it is the longest state route in California, and the second-longest in the US after Monta ...

. Carmel Highlands was laid out in 1916 by developers Frank Hubbard Powers and James Franklin Devendorf and the

Carmel Development Company The Carmel Development Company was a real-estate development company that operated in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California from 1902 to 1965. It was developed by James Franklin Devendorf and Frank Hubbard Powers. Powers provided the capital and did th ...

History

In 1906, the

purchased of land from the local ranchers south of

, 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 A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garde ...

and laid out the roads and building sites. His friend, marine artist

William Frederic Ritschel William Frederic Ritschel, also known as Wilhelm Frederick Ritschel (1864–1949), was a California impressionist painter who was born in Nuremberg, Germany on July 11, 1864. Germany and New York After completing his education at a regional Gy ...

, helped him plan sight lines for the hotel that had views north along the coast. The building of the

Big Sur Coast Highway Big Sur Coast Highway is a section of California State Route 1 through the Big Sur region of California that is widely considered to be one of the most scenic driving routes in the United States, if not the world. It is both a National Scenic ...

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. 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 John Francis O'Shea (; born 30 April 1981) is an Irish professional football coach and former player. He was known for his versatility in playing several positions on either side of the pitch or the centre. Born in Waterford, O'Shea joined Man ...

, Thomas S. Parkhurst,

Ira Mallory Remsen Ira Mallory Remsen (May 11, 1876 – November 29, 1928), known locally as Rem Remsen, was an American painter, playwright and Bohemian Club member. He was the son of Dr. Ira Remsen chemist and former president of Johns Hopkins University. Rems ...

, Nora Havel Ritschel.. Seaward, Carmel Highlands

In 1918, writer

Daniel Lewis James Daniel Lewis James, (January 14, 1911 – May 18, 1988), was an American writer, best known for his novel, ''Famous All Over Town,'' about Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles. He published the novel under his pseudonym, Danny Santiago, and during mos ...

's father, D. L. James Sr., (1880–1944), purchased property in Carmel Highlands and hired the firm

Greene and Greene Greene and Greene was an architectural firm established by brothers Charles Sumner Greene (1868–1957) and Henry Mather Greene (January 23, 1870 – October 2, 1954), influential early 20th Century American architects. Active primarily in Cal ...

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. In 2022 actor

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

purchased Seaward for $40M.

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association of photographers advoca ...

, and

Edward Weston Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was a 20th-century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers..." and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." ...

, whose studio home, Wildcat Hill, is preserved and occupied by his grandson,

Kim Weston Kim Weston (born December 20, 1939) is an American soul singer, and Motown alumna. In the 1960s, Weston scored hits with the songs "Love Me All the Way" and "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)", and with her duet with Marvin Gaye ...

. The local Carmel literati frequently socialized in the Highlands, including

Lincoln Steffens Lincoln Austin Steffens (April 6, 1866 – August 9, 1936) was an American investigative journalist and one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era in the early 20th century. He launched a series of articles in '' McClure's'', called " ...

Ella Winter Leonore (Ella) Sophie Winter Steffens Stewart (1898–1980) was an Australian-British journalist and activist. Early life She was born in 1898 to Freda Lust and Adolph Wertheimer in Nuremberg, Germany. Her parents were Freda Lust and Adolph W ...

Robinson Jeffers John Robinson Jeffers (January 10, 1887 – January 20, 1962) was an American poet, known for his work about the central California coast. Much of Jeffers's poetry was written in narrative and epic form. However, he is also known for his short ...

, and

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American writer and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was ...

. The real estate in the Carmel Highlands is some of the most expensive in the United States. Many celebrities have homes and vacation homes in this area. The ZIP Code is 93923, and the community is inside

area code 831 Area code 831 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for a small region of the U.S. state of California. The numbering plan area (NPA) comprises Monterey County, San Benito County, and Santa Cruz County. The area c ...

Government

At the county level, Carmel Highlands is represented on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors by Supervisor Mary Adams. In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...

, Carmel Highlands is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, Carmel Highlands is in

Notable people

, American actor *

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

, American singer-songwriter and resident from 1996–1997, died in a plane crash in

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by ...

near Pacific Grove on October 12, 1997. *

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...

, Academy Award winning actress

References

External links

Carmel Highlands Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmel Highlands, California Unincorporated communities in Monterey County, California Santa Lucia Range 1916 establishments in California Populated places established in 1916 Populated coastal places in California Unincorporated communities in California

History

Government

Notable people

See also

References

External links