Carmel-by-the-Sea wasn’t always so quaint...or cultured. In fact, at the turn of the last century, little about the Carmel landscape rivaled its magnificent seascape. But never underestimate the aesthetic value of a “dollhouse” and a few trees. During the early 1920s, Frank Devendorf planted his vision for an artistic community by the sea in the form of 100 cypress trees along a one-mile stretch of windswept sand. Soon after, Hugh Comstock built his bride a petite, 400-square-foot cottage that defined “quaint” and changed the face and the future of Carmel. The demand for full-sized Comstock homes for under $100 made him a legend and made Carmel-by-the-Sea the renowned hamlet it is today, where addresses are cross streets and people find each other by the name on the gate.

Carmel was once, and for many still is, a bohemian sanctuary—a haven for artists and a refuge for writers and intellectuals. It is the setting that inspired Robinson Jeffers to build a tower from which to write poetry about the splendor of waves against a rugged shore; a place whose spectacular sunsets illuminate the secrets of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, and provided the backdrop for the lives and times about which Jack London and George Sterling composed their novels and poetry, respectively.

Stevenson’s Treasure Island, and provided the backdrop for the lives and times about which Jack London and George Sterling composed their novels and poetry, respectively.

As the area’s cultural center, the town houses the Carmel Bach Festival, Carmel Music Society, Monterey County Symphony, Pacific Repertory Theater, Carmel Art Festival and the Open Studios Tour. Ocean Avenue is both the main entrance and the heart of the Carmel shopping district, a walkable labyrinth of art galleries, antiques shops, restaurants and boutiques.

Dolores Street, which bisects Ocean, is fast becoming the mecca for art galleries and antiques shops. You won’t find fast-food, neon lights or parking meters here, though ice-cream cones and high-heels have been reinstated.

There are no boardwalks, no bikini-clad shoppers—just fine art, fine dining and rare finds.
Among the rarest finds are the treasures at Conway of Asia on Dolores between Ocean and 7th. Unearthed by Peterson Conway’s own journeys to the once-kept secret caches of Asian antiques from Tibet, Afghanistan, Persia, Turkey, India, Cambodia and Vietnam, the antiques and artifacts give testament to the resplendence of once-grand civilizations and to those who appreciate them.

The gallery itself vanishes behind a dazzling assortment of lavish objets d’art and rich Oriental rugs presented like a fantastic bazaar. Treasures include 17th-century ornate Buddhas priced at $24,000 and a selection of Tibetan monastery furniture, jewelry, silks and brocades.