Sundial Lodge
Sundial Lodge, also known as the L’Auberge Carmel
LocationMonte Verde Street and 7th Avenue., Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Coordinates36°33′14″N 121°55′22″W / 36.55389°N 121.92278°W / 36.55389; -121.92278
Built1929-1930
Built byMichael J. Murphy
Built forAllen Knight
Original useApartments
Current useHotel
ArchitectAlbert L. Farr
Architectural style(s)Medieval Revival
Sundial Lodge is located in Monterey Peninsula
Sundial Lodge
Sundial Lodge
Location in the Monterey Peninsula

The Sundial Lodge is a historic Medieval Revival hotel in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was designed by architect Albert L. Farr of San Francisco Bay Area and was built in 1929–1930, by Master builder Michael J. Murphy. It was designated as an important commercial building in the city's Downtown Historic District Property Survey, and was recorded with the Department of Parks and Recreation on December 5, 2002.[1]

History

L’Auberge Carmel lodge

The Sundial Lodge is a three-story, wood framed Medieval Revival style hotel built around an interior courtyard. The exterior walls have smooth cement stucco. It has five interior stucco-clad chimneys. It is located on Monte Verde Street and 7th Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The building qualifies for inclusion in the Downtown Historic District Property Survey because it is an example one of the few remaining Medieval Revival designs from the early 1930s that has maintained its original appearance, and it is a good example of Medieval Revival design by San Francisco Bay Area architect Albert L. Farr. The concentration of Medieval Romanantic revival buildings in the area of Monte Verde Street, Ocean Avenue and Lincoln Avenue helped to define Carmel as a "European" village.[1]

The design of the lodge was inspired by Allen Knight's visit to eastern Europe in the late 1920s, where he enjoyed the old European charm of the hotels. He asked the owners of a Czech hotel in Prague to share their blueprints with him. It was these blueprints he gave to architect Albert L. Farr to use to design the Sundial apartments. He commissioned Farr to design the apartment building and Michael J. Murphy to do the construction on the property where his aunts had a home. Allen Knight's parents and his two aunts purchased three lots on Monte Verde Street 7th Avenue. On the property was a cottage that Knight's father had purchased and assembled from real estate developer James Franklin Devendorf. Knight had to move their home on the building site to a new location at Guadalupe Street and Sixth Avenue.[2] Knight got financial backing for the construction of the residential apartment building from friends Mary L. Hamlin and Alys Miller. Knight later served as the Carmel city councilman and mayor.[3]

The August 30, 1929, edition of the Carmel Pine Cone stated:

The big steam shovel has begun its opening part in the building of the Sundial Court Apartments on the east side of Monte Verde Street between Ocean Avenue and Seventh. Soon will rise a structure new in Carmel’s experience, to mark an era of the town’s growth. The building will house thirteen small apartments, three rooms each, and eight one-room-with-bath accommodations for bachelors, male or female. The Sundial Court to be built around a court, will be three stories high on its western side, facing the sea, two stories high the balance of the structure The architecture is European, probably more Bohemian than of any other national type, and fits in well with Carmel’s general scheme.”[4]

In December 1929, the Carmel Pine Cone announced the newly started hotel, that "A block below, Monte Verde Street has gained by the newly started Sundial Court apartments, between Seventh and Eighth. The architecture is European, probably more Bohemian than of any other national type, and fits in well with Carmel's general scheme."[5]

On May 23, 1930, M. J. Murphy, Inc., completed the contract for the Sundial Court Apartments. The hotel officially opened in June 1930, with an announcement in the Carmel Pine Cone saying: "Sundial Court Apartments ready June first on Monte Verde south of Ocean. Mrs. Mary L. Hamlin Manager".[6][2]

In 1951, Canadian born artist Henrietta Shore's studio was at the Sundial Lodge.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Kent L. Seavey (December 5, 2002). "Department Of Parks And Recreation" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Seavey, Kent (2007). Carmel, A History in Architecture. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: Arcadia Pub. pp. 93–94. ISBN 9780738547053. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  3. ↑ "Sundial Court To Open Soon". Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. May 23, 1930. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Work Has Begun On Sundial Court Apartments". Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. August 30, 1929. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Artistry In Construction Marks Carmel's Growth". Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. December 12, 1929. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Sundial Court Apartments". Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. May 16, 1930. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Henrietta Shore". The Ottawa Citizen (17 Feb 1951, Sat): 11. 1951. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
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