Percy Parkes

Percy Parkes (May 2, 1884 –October 23, 1955) was an American master builder in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Parkes was one of the main local builders in Carmel through the 1920s and 1930s and the first contractor to build homes on Scenic Drive. His best known commercial buildings are the Seven Arts Building (1928), the Studio Theater (1924), the Dummage Building (1924), and the Percy Parkes Building (1926).

Early life

Percy Parkes was born on May 2, 1884, in Port Clinton, Ohio. He is the son of William Henry Parks (1843-1915) and Ellen Louise Barnes (b. 1862). He was raised in Port Clinton, a town on Lake Erie. He graduated from high school in Port Clinton. Parkes worked as an excursion manager in the passenger department of the Rock Island Railroad Company. In his traveling for the company, he moved to California in 1911. He entered the University of Los Angeles to study law, but left his studies to start his career as a builder. He married Charlotte Maud Janoushek (b. 1888) on December 9, 1910, in Los Angeles and had one child, Earl Percy Parkes Jr., who died in a plane crash while serving as 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army Air Forces. The couple divorced in May 1920. He married again on December 1, 1921 in Monterey, to Jeannette Hoagland (1893-1964), founder of an early dance troupe, "The Woodland Dancers,". and a longtime resident of Robles del Rio, California. They had three children together. They divorced in June 1932.

Career

Parkes became involved in real estate in Los Angeles, and in 1911, started his career as a building contractor. He worked as a builder for eight years before he moved his business to Carmel in 1919. Through the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the main local builders and did residential and commercial work in different architectural styles. He was the first contractor in Carmel to build homes on Scenic Drive.

In 1924, he and other Carmel residents owned shares in the formation of the Building and Loan Society, located in the Carmel Realty Company offices. He was a member of the Monterey County Builders' Association.

In the 1930s, Parkes led the business and civic development of Dolores Street, between Ocean and 7th Avenues. Some of the buildings he constructed on Dolores Street are the old Pacific Telephone Company office, the ''Carmel Pine Cone'' was in the De Yoe Building, Gene and Parvin's Restaurant, and the Dummage Drive-in Market. The Pacific Bell building was originally built by Parkes for Mary Louise Dummage (1870-1952), one Carmel's' first residents, at a cost of $8,000 () to house the office of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company.

Downtown commercial buildings

Mary Dummage Shop

Mary Louise (Pearce) Dummage (1870-1952), one of Carmel’s first residents, hired Parkes to design and build a two-story Pueblo Revival style building in 1924, called the First Mary Dummage Shop or the "Corner Cupboard Gift Shop" for $2,500 (). It is one of the only Pueblo Revival-style commercial buildings in the village, and is located on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Dolores Street.

In 1926, Parkes built and designed a Craftsman Fairy tale building for Dummage, based on Hugh W. Comstock's Tuck Box design, for $1,450 (). The Mary Dummage Shop is on Dolores Street between Ocean Avenue and 7th Avenue. The building is called the Mary Dummage Shop, and a common name for it was the "White Rabbit," that sold clothing, handknit sweaters, gifts, and home accessories.

Seven Arts Building

The Seven Arts Building is a one-and-one-half-story, commercial building in downtown Carmel. It was built in 1925, for poet mayor Herbert Heron. Parkes built the Tudor Revival-style building that was used as an art gallery and frame shop. The building was designated as a significant commercial building in the city's ''Downtown Historic District Property Survey,'' and was recorded with the Department of Parks and Recreation on January 31, 2003. The building has been occupied by the Carmel Bay Company since 1972.

Percy Parkes Building

In 1926, Percy Parkes built, designed, and owned the Spanish Colonial Revival style Percy Parkes Building on Dolores Street between Ocean Avenue and 7th Avenue. He advertised his company as "Percy Parkes, Contractor, Designer, and Builder,” located in the Percy Parkes Building on Dolores Street.

Monte Verde Apartments

In 1915, the El Monte Verde Hotel was run by Mary L. Hamlin 1856-1947). She was the manager of the Pine Inn in 1909. In 1924, Hamlin hired Parkes to undertake a major remodel of the Apartments. In March 1929, Parkes purchased the Monte Verde Apartments and moved them around the corner to face on Monte Verde instead of Ocean Avenue. Today it is the Monte Verde Inn, a Mediterranean style bed and breakfast.

Works

Death

Parkes died on October 23, 1955, in the Monte Verde Apartments he owned in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. He was buried at the El Carmelo Cemetery in Pacific Grove, California.

References

External links

Monte Verde InnDowntown Conservation District

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottfried, Lee
1886 births
1968 deaths
People from California
People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
People from Ohio