Forest and Beach Commission Arbor Day at First Murphy Park and First Murphy House Centennial Exhibit - April 30, 2016

Valentine by George Wayne Lundeen

First Murphy Park, on the northwest corner of Lincoln and Sixth Avenue in beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea, is a quiet refuge off the beaten path. 

The park, which wraps around the south side of the historic First Murphy House, was designed by the architectural firm Hall & Rock and completed in 1993. The design consisted of large boulders, benches, and meandering paths and featured native drought-tolerant plants. 

Well, two decades have gone by and as with many gardens, some of the original plants have thrived, while others have wilted and died a slow death.

In October 2015, the Carmel Forest and Beach Commission took pity on First Murphy Park and decided to make their Arbor Day project a face lift of the park.

Several sick and dying trees were removed, the ground cleared, and irrigation updated. Two new trees were brought in; a Canary Island pine and Catalina ironwood.

A motion was made to dedicate the trees to longtime forest and beach advocates, Steve and Barbara Brooks.  Their Cavalier King Charles Spaniels seconded the motion. 

When the morning was over, the park was starting to look its old self with the addition of new yarrow, carmine bells, canothus, and bright new wood chips.

Not satisfied with renovating just half of First Murphy Park, the Forest and Beach Commission team were back in action as part of this year's Arbor Day activities. 

 

The Valentines were pleased to welcome Forest and Beach Commissioners, our City Forester, staff and volunteers to the park.

Pastries and coffee were provided by Carmel Belle for energy (or maybe just as a friendly bribe).

Two new trees were planted, a Monterey pine in the lower "island" and a Catalina ironwood in the outer "island."  Below the Catalina ironwood waits its turn to set root in the ground. 

Plants were artfully pruned by Forest and Beach Chair Karen Ferlito. 

Some just needed to be removed. 

Irrigation was carefully reconfigured and

black sagebrush, rosemary, manzanita, rockrose, and the Carmel staple, ceanothus were interspersed throughout the lower "island" section of the park.

New plants were given their first sprinkle of water by Forest and Beach Commissioner Kathy Bang.

And the cherry on top, new wood chips were added!  

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Carmel Heritage Society, which makes its home in the First Murphy House, is very thankful to the Forest and Beach Commission and the City of Carmel for sprucing up the adjacent park.  

Last month Carmel Heritage Society opened its Centennial Exhibit, Carmel Then/Now in First Murphy House. 

The first house built by M. J. Murphy in 1902 looks the same on the outside, but the inside has been transformed into a museum quality exhibit spanning the 100 years of history of Carmel-by-the-Sea.  

Some rooms feature architects of Carmel such as M. J. Murphy, and Albert Henry Hill.  The other rooms depict Carmel over the course of its first 100 years as a town with a "temperament wholly its own". There is also a historical video chronicling Carmel's timeline from 1771 to 2016. The exhibit is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12 to 3pm.  Check out the Carmel Heritage website for more information on this exhibit and upcoming events.   

Now when visitors come to the northwest corner of Lincoln and Sixth they will be greeted by the Valentine's and treated to a beautiful park as well as the informative Carmel Heritage museum.  

Until next time - Happy Adventures!!!!! 

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For an interactive map and guided walking tour covering many of our tours please be sure to download the GPSmyCity App from the iTunes store.  The  App covers an extensive library of articles and walking tours from over 470 cities worldwide, and now features articles from Adventures of a Home Town Tourist covering Carmel and Monterey (with more cities on the way).

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Photography
LA Momboisse and RM Momboisse

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