Carmel Heritage Society President Thomas Hood is a well-known architect with experience in historic restoration across the country, making him uniquely suited to serve the nonprofit’s mission of preservation. Hood owned a design/build firm outside of Chicago that specialized in restoring historic homes before working in the San Francisco Bay Area as an architect with new and historic projects. For the past 20 years, he’s been designing new homes and restoring historic structures in the Carmel area and also participates as a board member on the Monterey Bay chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
“I serve my clients with functional, sustainable and beautiful design solutions to meet their needs that contribute positively to their surroundings,” Hood says.
Hood’s local projects include Carmel Valley Athletic Club, Villa Mara Carmel, Earthbound Farmstand, Grasing’s Restaurant, and the Hog’s Breath Inn (previously owned by former Carmel Mayor Clint Eastwood), along with two historic Comstock cottages. His technical knowledge and vision allow Hood to create and restore properties that align with the residential character and natural elements of the local area. “Heritage informs good design,” he says.
The Carmel Heritage Society’s annual house tour, held this year on September 8 from 11am-4pm, showcases historic and modern buildings in our unique town. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the popular event, co-sponsored by the Monterey Bay AIA. Hood says the tour “provides the opportunity for visitors to witness firsthand many of Carmel’s historic houses, learn about local history and gain an appreciation of their influence and craftsmanship.” This year’s event includes famous Comstock buildings Hansel and Gretel, Obers (Comstock’s private residence), Comstock’s private studio, and another of his designs, Curtain Call.
The charming and whimsical Comstock cottages are some of the most asked about structures in Carmel by both visitors and residents. Following his service in WWI, Hugh Comstock fell in love with Mayotta Browne, a dollmaker who created “Otsy-Totsy” dolls in the 1920s. After marrying her months later, Comstock, with no prior experience, built them a cottage on a Carmel bluff and soon after, a tiny storybook home for his new bride to display her dolls. Now known as Hansel and Gretel, the buildings were immediately popular, and Comstock was inundated with requests to create more “storybook” homes in Carmel. One serves as The Tuck Box tea room on Dolores Street today.
“The handcrafted designs were sought after by everyone who wanted to share in the delight of life in a fairy-tale setting: a cottage in the woods,” Hood explains. “Today, Comstock’s work draws international visitors who gaze at the picturesque garden settings, open gates and sneak around trying to get a better look at these fanciful little buildings. To own a Comstock is to own a piece of playful art that belongs to the public when viewed from the street.”
With a mission to “preserve and promote the cultural heritage of Carmel,” the Carmel Heritage Society operates the historic First Murphy House in Carmel, located on the corner of Lincoln Street and Sixth Avenue, as a welcome center with exhibition space that also serves as the first stop for a self-guided historic walking tour. In 1902, at only 17 years old, Michael J. Murphy built the house after being invited by town fathers James Franklin Devendorf and Frank H. Powers to contribute to the careful development of Carmel.
Also included in the walking tour are Harrison Memorial Library (built by Murphy), the Pine Inn, the Cottage of Sweets and the Court of the Golden Bough, City Hall, the Church of the Wayfarer, Cypress Inn, and many more charming stops until finishing at the Carmel Art Association Gallery. The Heritage Society also holds other events, such as an Inns of Distinction Tour held each December.
Much more than just an information gathering nonprofit, Hood points out that the Heritage Society has influenced public sentiment towards historic structures since its creation over 30 years ago, leading and encouraging City Hall to engage a professional historian to complete exhaustive field surveys and historic reports. Buildings like the First Murphy House have been saved from demolition and some, including the First Murphy House, have been moved to new locations. The Village Corner Restaurant, a prior gathering place for some of the town’s most noted writers, was also preserved due to influence from the society.
As our culture becomes more modernized, protecting the past allows us to acknowledge its impact on our daily lives. Hood explains that Carmel has always been a destination for creative action: painting, dance, music, literature, architecture, theater, sculpture and photography. One can see the influence of those artists every day through their architecture: a stroll around Scenic Road allows walkers to view poet Robinson Jeffers’ hand-built Tor House on Carmel Point (and go inside) as well as marvel at famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Della Walker house overlooking Carmel Beach.
“Old buildings have their own story based on their time frame,” Hood says. “New buildings must have a new story to tell while acknowledging the presence of their older neighbors. In Carmel, the aesthetic is one of a continuum of local history from the turn of the 20th century to present day…buildings are perceived and regulated as part of the public realm.”
Looking around today, it’s hard to imagine Carmel without the influence of these beloved structures from the past, many used for modern purposes. Carmel’s City Hall building is an adaptive reuse of a former church, the beloved Sunset Center was rehabilitated from a school to a performing arts center, Earthbound Farm Center’s popular food stand on Carmel Valley Road was created from former artichoke field outbuildings and the Seventh & Dolores building, which operates now as a restaurant, was transformed from a former bank building.
“Our present is possible due to the events of the past,” Hood says. “To protect the past is to acknowledge its impact on our lives daily.”
This year’s Carmel Heritage Society Tour kicks off at 4pm on Saturday, September 7, with a lecture by architect Brian Congleton, “Hugh Comstock and his Fairytale Houses in Carmel,” at the Carmel Foundation, located on the SE corner of 8th Avenue and Lincoln Street in Carmel. Admission is free with donations to the Heritage Society appreciated. The house tour takes place on Sunday, September 8, from 11am-4pm. For more information and tour tickets ($50-$60), visit www.carmelheritage.org.