Skip to main content

Ocean Avenue (Carmel-by-the-Sea)

By


Ocean Avenue is a one-mile street located in and around the city of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.  The corridor was developed as part of a 1902 subdivision which formed the basis for the modern Carmel town plot.  The routing of Ocean Avenue begins at California State Route 1 and extends west through downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea to Carmel Sunset Beach.  




Part 1; the history of Ocean Avenue

Prior to European contact Carmel Valley was home to numerous local tribes.  The area was first explored by Europeans during a 1542 Spanish expedition led Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo.  The Cabrillo expedition sailed along the coastline north through Big Sur, Carmel Valley and Monterey Peninsula, but made no attempt to land.  

In 1602 Sebastián Vizcaíno discovered Carmel Valley at the behest of Spain and named the river running through it Rio Carmel.  The name is thought to be an honorific reference to three Carmelite friar which were part of the expedition.  The Spanish would not attempt to colonize the area until 1770 when the Catholic Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo was established.  

Following the Mexican-American War the lands around Carmel Bay became part of the American state of California.  Numerous settlers would buy up plots of land on Carmel Bay and Carmel Valley from the 1850s through the 1880s.  During 1889 Monterey property developer Santiago J. Duckworth filed a subdivision map with Monterey County.  The subdivision plot was simply known as "Carmel" and the area would even receive erratic on/off Postal Service.  

During 1902, James Franklin Devendorf and Frank Hubbard Powers, would submit another subdivision map with Monterey County which established much of the modern town plot of Carmel.  The plot included what is now "Ocean Avenue" which served the central business district.  The community would incorporate as the city of "Carmel-by-the-Sea" on October 31, 1916.  The name "Carmel-by-the-Sea" was a reference to the early publicity campaign to spur interest in the area.  

Ocean Avenue appears in detail on the 1938 Thomas Brothers Map of Carmel-By-The-Sea. 





Part 2; a drive on Ocean Avenue

Westbound Ocean Avenue begins from California State Route 1.  


Ocean Avenue begins as a two-lane street and descends into downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea.  The street expands to four lanes at Junipero Street.  








Ocean Avenue passes through downtown and narrows to two lanes again at Monte Verde Street.  








Ocean Avenue descends west of downtown and terminates at the parking lot of Carmel Sunset Beach.  










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cajon Pass; Cajon Pass Toll Road, National Old Trails Road, US Route 66/91/395 and Interstate 15

By
This past weekend I spent some time in Cajon Pass traversing the many historic road alignments. Cajon Pass is located in San Bernardino County, California along the San Andreas Fault.  Cajon Pass  serves the boundary line between the Mojave Desert, the San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains and San Bernardino Valley.  Cajon Pass is historically one of the most traveled transportation corridors in American California and presently is served by four rail lines, Interstate 15 and California State Route 138. While Cajon Pass is known mostly for carrying US Route 66 it has carried numerous other signed highways that have had a significant impact on regional and national road travel.  While this is my best attempt to compile everything from the best sources I could find into one single transportation history blog regarding road travel in Cajon Pass I suspect as time goes on this article will be frequently updated.  If you have any information that you ...
1 comment
Read more

Pardee Dam Road

By
Pardee Dam is a 358-foot-high concrete structure located near Campo Seco at the Calaveras County and Amador County Line.  Pardee Dam impounds the Mokelumne River which forms the namesake Pardee Reservoir.  Pardee Dam was completed during 1929 and is part of the East Bay Municipal Utility District.  Pardee Dam is accessed by the namesake Pardee Dam Road which crosses the structure via the one-lane road seen as the blog cover photo.   Part 1; the history of Pardee Dam Road The closest community to Pardee Dam is that of Campo Seco on the Calaveras County side of the Mokelumne River.  Campo Seco was founded in 1850 by Mexican Miners who worked placer claims in Oregon Gulch during the height of the California Gold Rush.  Campo Seco would reach a population of about three hundred by 1860 spurred by the numerous mining claims in the area.  Main Street of Campo Seco flowed directly into the Campo Seco Turnpike which had been authorized by the California L...
2 comments
Read more

California State Route 82/Old US Route 101 on the El Camino Real from San Francisco to Interstate 380

By
After completing Interstate 380 I made my way northward into the City Limits of San Francisco to drive the northernmost portion of California State Route 82. CA 82 is 52 mile State Route between I-280 in San Francisco southward to Interstate 880 in San Jose.  CA 82 is significant due to it being part of the historical surface alignment of US Route 101 and the El Camino Real. The "El Camino Real" was a Spanish Highway in Las Californias and Alta California which connected the 21 Catholic Missions along the coast.  Essentially the route of the El Camino Real was plotted out in the late 1700s from two Spanish survey expeditions.  The Missions were plotted approximately 30 miles apart along the 600 mile route so that they would be a single day journey by horse.  The El Camino Real name fell into disuse after the Mexican Revolution of 1821 but was revived by American highway promoters in the 1890s and 1900s.  Today the El Camino Real is mostly associated...
2 comments
Read more