Carmel-by-the-Sea

Here's a real-photo postcard of Ocean Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea. This is what Carmel looked like in the 1940s. It's also what Carmel looked like in the 30s and what Carmel looks like now, although I think the parking is now parallel instead of angled. The City of Carmel has been intent on retaining the village look, even going so far as to reject home delivery of mail.

Delivering mail would require actual addresses, and in Carmel people would rather refer to their houses with names such as Tinkerbell's Cottage, Sea Urchin, or Ocean Mist. So, the houses remain unnumbered and all four thousand plus residents must go to the post office to pick up their mail. This can cause a bit of congestion, but it is also a well-loved social occasion. UPS does not love this though, because they only deliver to houses. Somehow they manage. There are also no streetlights or sidewalks outside of the downtown.

It's been difficult to maintain the village ambiance as property values have risen. In the early 1900s, the town was full of artists and bohemians living in shacks and small houses, often on small lots. Although it's precisely that ambiance that draws wealthy people to Carmel, when they move there they generally don't want to live in a little house. Carmel's planning regulations keep it from getting out of control.

Carmel is not your average small town. Some of you may recall that Clint Eastwood was once mayor of this small town. I lived in Carmel at the time, and I remember that one of the first things he did was to overturn the ban on selling ice cream cones. Why, you may ask, were ice cream cones illegal in Carmel to begin with? Well, silly, ice cream could drip off the cone and then the next thing you know, somebody steps in it and tracks it into Tinkerbell's Cottage. There is also (really!) a law against wearing high heels in Carmel. You can get a permit at City Hall to wear them. This is generally regarded as a relic or a joke, but if you're walking in high heels in Carmel and trip on uneven ground on an unlit street with no sidewalks, don't try to sue the city.