The Sunset Center is located in

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California 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 ric ...

. It is a

performing arts center Performing arts center/centre (see spelling differences), often abbreviated as PAC, is used to refer to: * A multi-use performance space that is intended for use by various types of the performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. :The ...

which features concerts, comedy, theatre, and dance. Formerly the Sunset School, the site was purchased by the city of Carmel in 1965 with the plan to develop it into a cultural center. It is home to the

Carmel Bach Festival The Carmel Bach Festival (CBF) began in 1935 as a four-day series of concerts at the Sunset School Auditorium and the Carmel Mission Basilica. Over the years, it grew to a three-week series of concerts, recitals, master classes, lectures, and open ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on January 9, 1998.

History

The Sunset School was a

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

founded in 1903, as a subscription school of seven students held in the home of Elmer Douglas on Dolores Street and 7th Avenue in

. The school moved to another home, then to a lumber company's office, and then, in 1906, the Sunset School was built at 9th Avenue and San Carlos Street. The school was built in a late

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style by architect John J. Donovan. It had only two rooms and a third room was added before 1915. Part of the property is now used for public parking. Two additional classrooms were designed and built by M. J. Murphy for the school in 1929. the classrooms were on the northwest corner of Mission Street and 10th Avenue. Today, it is used as office space and adult classrooms. The school district purchased land within the two-block area. In 1931, a 718-seat auditorium was built for the growing school. This auditorium was sometimes utilized by outside organizations and producers, such as the

. It has a steep pitched side-gabled roof designed by architect Columbus J. Ryland and constructed by M. J. Murphy. In April 1964, faced with the need for expensive earthquake preparedness improvements and limited space to expand, the Sunset School District opted to sell the school to the City of Carmel for $550,000 USD. The city intended to turn the school into a

and the transaction was completed in 1965 through the passage of a bond measure. The vote count was 1,330 to 169 in favor. The site was renamed the Sunset Center. The center was overseen by the Cultural Commission of Carmel City Council. Appointed in 1966, its first director was an alumnus of the school, the photographer

Cole Weston Cole Weston (January 30, 1919 – April 20, 2003) was photographer Edward Weston's fourth and youngest son. Although Weston "was born into the tradition of craftsman- produced black-and-white art photography, he was to find his own photographic di ...

. Weston was succeeded by Dorothy Bowman in 1969, who was replaced by Frank Riley in 1970. Riley acknowledged the difficulty of transforming the building: "It was designed as a 1920 schoolhouse, not as a center of the arts. Mechanically, it is almost impossible to administer." The next director of Sunset Center was Richard Tyler, followed by Brian Donoghue in 1990. The 25-year bond was paid off in 1989 and the mortgage ceremoniously burned. The center was listed on the

in 1998. The theatre was renovated from September 2001 to July 2002 using money from a

public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Administ ...

; the City of Carmel paid $9 million USD while private donors contributed $13 million USD. In 2003, a

LARES Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ''Lar'') were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an amalgam of these. Lares ...

sound system was installed. Previously, the auditorium had been known to absorb much of its sound, making it difficult for performers to hear. After performing in a one-man show at the theatre,

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...

famously wrote, "For God's sake, get yourself a real theater." The LARES system, which cost around $300,000 USD, enhanced the volume of the performers, though many of the classical music groups using the venue were dissatisfied with it. In October 2002, the city of Carmel set up a non-profit organization to run the center. Tom Bacchetti was appointed as its interim director. Current executive director Christine Sandin took that role in 2011. In addition to the theatre, the complex includes a photography gallery, pottery and dance studios, and workshops for the arts. Currently, the Sunset Center is the home of the Carmel Adult School Pottery Studio, the Center for Photographic Art, the Forest Theater Guild, and the Yoga Center of Carmel. Current producing partners of the center are the

Monterey Symphony Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

, the Carmel Music Society, Chamber Music Monterey Bay, and the Carmel Bach Festival. From 2017 to 2022, the Sunset Center was contracted by the city to manage the nearby

Forest Theater The Forest Theater is an historic amphitheater in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Founded in 1910, it is one of the oldest outdoor theaters west of the Rockies. Actor/director Herbert Heron is generally cited as the founder and driving force, an ...

venue.

Notable recordings

Recordings of concerts at the Sunset Center have been made commercially available, dating back to when it was still a school. These include: *''

Concert by the Sea ''Concert by the Sea'' is a live album by pianist Erroll Garner that was released by Columbia in 1955. It sold over a million dollars' worth of retail copies by 1958, qualifying for gold record status by the definition of that time but has neve ...

'', 1956,

Erroll Garner Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad "Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first rec ...

*''Concert by the Sea'', 1959, Cal Tjader Sextet – Includes an early recording of the

Mongo Santamaría Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (April 7, 1917 – February 1, 2003) was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga and ...

composition "

Afro Blue "Afro Blue" is a jazz standard composed by Mongo Santamaría. Santamaria version Mongo Santamaria recorded his composition "Afro Blue" in 1959 when playing with the Cal Tjader Sextet. The first recorded performance was on April 20, 1959, at th ...

" featuring the composer

References

External links

*
Carmel Bach FestivalSunset School Video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunset Center Music venues in California Theatres in California Tourist attractions in Monterey County, California Buildings and structures in Monterey County, California Theatres completed in 1931 1965 establishments in California Carmel-by-the-Sea, California National Register of Historic Places in Monterey County, California