Seven Arts Building
Seven Arts Building street view
LocationOcean Avenue & Lincoln Street, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Coordinates36°33′17″N 121°55′26″W / 36.55472°N 121.92389°W / 36.55472; -121.92389
Built1925 (1925)
Built byPercy Parkes
Built for Herbert Heron
Original useBook and art store
Current useRetail store
ArchitectAlbert B. Coats
Architectural style(s)Tudor Revival
Seven Arts Building is located in Monterey Peninsula
Seven Arts Building
Seven Arts Building
Location in the Monterey Peninsula

The Seven Arts Building, is a one-and-one-half-story, commercial building in downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was built in 1925, for poet mayor Herbert Heron. 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 January 31, 2003.[1] The building has been occupied by the Carmel Bay Company since 1972.

History

Seven Arts Building in 1926.
The Carmel Art Association's gallery in the Upper floor of the Seven Arts Building (1927).
The Seven Arts Sign

In 1918, writer Herbert Heron opened the first Seven Arts bookstore, selling books, art materials, poetry, and antiques near the Forest Theater, which he founded in 1910.[2][3] Heron chose the name "Seven Arts," because it included the seven words: music, dancing, literature, painting, sculpture, and architecture.[4]

In 1923, Heron commissioned Michael J. Murphy to build the Seven Arts Shop for he and Helena Conger at a new located on Ocean Avenue and Monte Verde Street, next to Edward G. Kuster's Carmel Weavers Studio.[5][6]

In September 1925, The Seven Arts store moved again to a larger Seven Arts Building on Ocean Avenue and Lincoln Street.[7] He hired architect Albert B. Coats and builder Percy Parkes to build the Tudor Revival style, building that included plans for an art gallery and frame shop. George & Catherine Seideneck did the original interior decoration. The building is a one-and-one-half-story, cement-block framed Tudor Revival style commercial building. The exterior wall is textured cement stucco. It has a steep pitched cross-gabled roof, and three brick chimneys. An open wood staircase, leads up to an open balcony, supported by wood posts and a rail, which has access to shops on the upper floor.[4][1][8]

The Seven Arts was home to Heron's bookshop and printing press, the Seven Arts Press, and the Carmelite newspapers. They published modernist articles about art, music, and culture.[4] The Seven Arts Building became a popular meeting place for the many Bohemian artists and writers in Carmel including George Sterling, Mary Austin, and Jack London.[9]

The Seven Arts Building accommodated several art organizations, including the Carmel Art Association, operated by Armin Hansen and Paul Whitman in the late 1930s. It became the first showplace for the Art Association in 1927 and the studio of photographer Edward Weston. The Carmel Cymbal weekly (later merged with the Carmel Pine Cone), was housed in the building.[1]

The building qualifies for inclusion in the Downtown Historic District Property Survey because it is one of the early commercial buildings built for writer Herbert Heron; for the method of construction using a light grey interlocking Thermotite brick blocks that were manufactured by the Carmel Thermotite Company; and for the only known design by Monterey builder Albert B. Coats.[1]

Heron built a two-story building just south of the Seven Arts Building on Lincoln Street. It has shops and offices around a brick courtyard, that he rented to artists, writers, and builders.[10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kent L. Seavey (January 31, 2003). "Department Of Parks And Recreation" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  2. ↑ "For Christmas What is Better Than a Book". Carmel Pine Cone. December 12, 1922. p. 10. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  3. ↑ Bostick, Daisy F.; Castelhun, Dorothea (1977). Carmel at Work and Play. Seven arts. p. 68. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  4. 1 2 3 Dramov, Alissandra (2019). Historic Buildings of Downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 62, 77. ISBN 9781467103039. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  5. ↑ Seavey, Kent (2007). Carmel, A History in Architecture. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: Arcadia Pub. p. 74. ISBN 9780738547053. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  6. ↑ "Certificate Of Partnership Fictitious Name". Carmel Pine Cone. July 7, 1923. p. 7. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Pine Needles". Carmel Pine Cone. September 19, 1925. p. 7. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  8. ↑ Hale, Sharon Lee (1980). A Tribute to Yesterday: the History of Carmel, Carmel Valley, Big Sur, Point Lobos, Carmelite Monastery, and Los Burros. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: Valley Publishers. p. 65. ISBN 9780913548738. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  9. ↑ "Herbert Heron Collection" (PDF). Harrison Memorial Library. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  10. ↑ Dramov, Alissandra (2022). Past & Present Carmel-By-The-Sea. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 59. ISBN 9781467108980. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
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