Driftwood Cottage

Last updated
Driftwood Cottage
Driftwood
Driftwood Cottage.jpg
Driftwood Cottage in 2022
Location26398 Ocean View Avenue and the corner of Scenic Drive, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Coordinates 36°32′24″N121°55′54″W / 36.54000°N 121.93167°W / 36.54000; -121.93167
Built1908
Built by George W. Reamer
Built for Florence E. Wells
Current use Residence
Architectural style(s) Japanese architecture
Location map USA California Carmel.png
Red pog.svg
Driftwood Cottage
Location on Carmel Point

Driftwood Cottage, often simply called Driftwood, is a historic home located on Carmel Point at the southern city limits of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It has views of Carmel Bay, Carmel River, and Point Lobos. It was the first house built on Carmel Point and became the home of actress Jean Arthur. Architect George W. Reamer built the house in 1908 for Florence E. Wells. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Driftwood Cottage on Carmel Point Driftwood Cottage at Ocean View Avenue.jpg
Driftwood Cottage on Carmel Point

After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Driftwood Cottage was the first house to go up on Carmel Point at the southwest corner of Scenic Drive and Ocean View Avenue. The property fronted the Carmel River lagoon at a time when the Point was without trees and any other homes. [3] [2] [4]

The 3,000 square feet (280 m2) home is set on five lots and has two single-story buildings made of redwood and stone. The main house and guest cottage are connected by a 20 ft (6.1 m) hallway. [5] There are four rooms in the main house, which open onto an atrium with a glass dome. The floor is covered with blue Japanese slate. A 6 ft (1.8 m) redwood fence borders the grounds for privacy. Reamer built the home with his signature lava rock fireplace. [4] [2]

Driftwood Cottage was once home of actress Jean Arthur (1900–1991) and her mother Johanna Greene. [6] She first rented the house from Wells in 1937, [7] [5] and then bought it after World War II. [8] Arthur remodeled the house and created a large outdoor garden, with landscape artist George Hoy, in a Japanese architecture style, including a Japanese bronze dragon gate latch. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmel Highlands, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Carmel Highlands is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California, United States. It is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of Carmel-by-the-Sea, at an elevation of 318 feet. Carmel Highlands is just south of the Point Lobos State Reserve, and serves as the northern gateway of the Big Sur coastline along California State Route 1. Carmel Highlands was laid out in 1916 by developers Frank Hubbard Powers and James Franklin Devendorf and the Carmel Development Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission Ranch</span> Historic hotel in California

Mission Ranch is a historic hotel and restaurant in Carmel, Monterey County, California, United States. It is located in the unincorporated Mission Tract south of the incorporated city of Carmel-by-the-Sea, near the Carmel Mission, at 26270 Dolores Street. The property was bought in 1986 by Clint Eastwood, who restored the premises in the style of the original buildings. The hotel has 31 rooms located within ten buildings on the property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael J. Murphy (builder)</span> American builder

Michael James Murphy was an American master builder in the Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. He had a significant influence on the character and architecture of the Village of Carmel. From 1902 to 1940, he built most of the early houses in Carmel, nearly 350 buildings. He erected the first house in Pebble Beach and also in the Carmel Highlands. He founded M. J. Murphy, Inc., which continues to supply building material for the Monterey Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh W. Comstock</span> American builder

Hugh W. Comstock was an American designer and master builder who lived in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. He and Michael J. Murphy were responsible for giving Carmel its architectural character. Comstock developed a fairy tale or storybook architectural-style that has been closely identified with Carmel. Twenty-one of his cottages remain in the area today. Comstock also created a modern use of adobe in the construction known as "Bitudobe," a type of post-adobe brick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmel Weavers Studio</span> Historic building in California, U.S.

The Carmel Weavers Studio, also known as Cottage of Sweets, is a historic Tudor-style English cottage in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was designed by Edward G. Kuster and constructed by Lee Gottfried in 1922 for Kuster's wife as a weaving shop. Since 1959, it has operated a candy store.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sade's</span> Historic building in California, U.S.

Sade's, is a historic Tudor-style English cottage in downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was designed and constructed by Lee Gottfried in 1925, for novelist and dramatist Harry Leon Wilson and his wife Helen MacGowan Cooke as a flower shop and dress shop. In the 1930s, Sade was a former Ziegfeld Follies dancer, made the lower level into a restaurant and Bohemian bar. It continues to be a restaurant with outdoor seating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lemos Building</span> Historic building in California, U.S.

The Lemos Building is a historic Craftsman Fairy tale commercial building in downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was built in 1929, by Louis Anderson, based on master builder Hugh W. Comstock's adjacent Tuck Box design. 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 October 8, 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden Shop Addition</span> Historic building in California, U.S.

The Garden Shop Addition is a historic Craftsman commercial building in downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The kiosk was designed and built in 1931, by master builder Hugh W. Comstock, and is adjacent to The Tuck Box and the Lemos Building. The shop 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 October 8, 2002. The building is occupied by Exclusive Realty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Wilson Building</span> Historic building in California, U.S.

The Wilson Building, also known as the Philip Wilson Building is a historic commercial building in downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It is an example of American Craftsman architectural style that was built in 1905 on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Dolores Street as a real estate office. In 1916 it became Carmel’s first official City Hall. The building qualified as an important building in the city's downtown historic district property survey and was recorded with the California Register of Historical Resources on November 30, 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Rambla Building</span> Historic building in California, U.S.

The La Rambla Building is a historic commercial building, built in 1929, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The structure is recognized as an important Spanish Eclectic-style building in the city's Downtown Conservation District Historic Property Survey, and was nominated and submitted to the California Register of Historical Resources on January 30, 2003.

The following is a timeline of the history of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmel Point</span> Unincorporated area south of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

Carmel Point also known as the Point and formerly called Point Loeb and Reamer's Point, is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California, United States. It is a cape located at the southern city limits of Carmel-by-the-Sea and offers views of Carmel Bay, the mouth of Carmel River, and Point Lobos. Carmel Point was one of three major land developments adjacent to the Carmel city limits between 1922 and 1925. The other two were Hatton Fields, 233 acres (94 ha) between the eastern town limit and Highway 1, and Carmel Woods, 125 acres (51 ha) tract on the north side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butterfly House (Carmel-by-the-Sea, California)</span> Historic house in Carmel-by-the-Sea

Butterfly House, is a Mid-century modern style house built in 1951 located on Carmel Point in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Due to its unique wing-shaped roof, this building is commonly referred to as the Butterfly House. The house was designed and built by architect Francis W. Wynkoop. It is one of the few houses that is on the rocky Carmel shoreline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George W. Reamer</span> American California pioneer

George Washington Reamer , was an early American pioneer, mining engineer, and building contractor, who in 1908 built one of the earliest homes on Reamer's Point, known today as Carmel Point, just outside the city limits of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis W. Wynkoop</span> American architect

Francis W. Wynkoop, was an American architect, known for building educational school buildings in Pacific Grove and San Carlos, and oceanfront homes in Carmel Point at the southern city limits of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. One of them is the noted Butterfly House on Scenic Drive.

Delos E. Goldsmith, was an American master builder in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. For over fifty years, Goldsmith was a resident of Carmel and had a significant influence in constructing many of the early homes in the area. He erected the first hotel in Carmel called the Pine Inn, and established the first Carmel Bathhouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Gottfried</span> American builder

Lee Gottfried was an American master builder in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. He had a significant influence on the architecture of the Village of Carmel during his career. Gottfried was one of the main local builders in Carmel and responsible for the first major residential designs done using the local Carmel stone as a building material.

Florence E. Wells, was an American property owner who made contributions to the real estate industry in Oakland, California and the Monterey Peninsula. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, she played a role in establishing the Carmel-by-the-Sea, California area as a destination for city dwellers. In 1908, her cousin and architect George W. Reamer built the first house on Carmel Point for Florence, which she named Driftwood Cottage. She was a president of the San Francisco Women's Press Club.

References

  1. ↑ "Florence Wells". Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. 5 May 1966. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
  2. 1 2 3 Fink, Augusta (2000). Monterey County: The Dramatic Story of its Past. Valley Publishers. p. 243. ISBN   9780913548622 . Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  3. ↑ Rense, Paige, ed. (1977). Celebrity Homes: Architectural digest presents the private worlds of thirty international personalities . New York: The Viking Press. p. 210. ISBN   9780670209644. OCLC   1029290581.
  4. 1 2 Hudson, Monica (2006). Carmel-By-The-Sea. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 73–74, 78. ISBN   9780738531229 . Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  5. 1 2 Oller, John (1999). Jean Arthur The Actress Nobody Knew. Limelight Editions. ISBN   9780879102784 . Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  6. ↑ Hale, Sharron Lee (1980). A Tribute to Yesterday: The History of Carmel, Carmel Valley, Big Sur, Point Lobos, Carmelite Monastery, and Los Burros. Santa Cruz, California: Valley Publishers. pp. 54, 120. ISBN   9780913548738 . Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  7. ↑ "Movie Actress Here". Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. 1937-09-03. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  8. 1 2 Russell Mac Masters (1976). "Architectural Digest: Jean Arthur". archive.architecturaldigest.com. Retrieved 2022-11-08.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.