Hugh Comstock’s Architectural Signature – Inside “Doll’s House”
“Some time last year an easterner came out to the Monterey
peninsula, built himself a house to settle down in, and decided to do a
friendly thing in Carmel…He wanted to help create…He therefore chose an
architect who would carry out this feeling sympathetically in the lines of his
houses. He rearranged his
lots and the cottages on them (first consulting and obtaining the consent of
the City Council) so that instead of standing on narrow wedges of plots, city
fashion, they would be grouped together with a feeling of spaciousness about
them, as in a park...
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He
therefore shortened and widened the lots…grouped his cottages in community
fashion…like the English cottage groups in their garden cities. The houses were cleverly planned and
executed by Hugh Comstock…
These quaint little cottages
are nevertheless modern, with their electric stoves and hot water, their
ironing-boards tucked cleverly away…These fetching little houses…stand on Ocean
Avenue at the rise, lifting to a glimpse of the sea. There are five of them in a group
among the trees. The
landscaping about them has given them a unity.” (1)
Currently (April, 2017) Doll's House is on the market for $995,000. What a difference 90 years makes in real estate values.
One of approximately 300 properties on the Carmel Historic Resource Inventory, Doll's House has been protected and preserved as close as possible to its original plan (at least on the outside).
and low beamed ceiling on first floor.
A typical narrow stairway leads upstairs 
through uniquely shaped doorways,
another Comstock signature,
to cozy bedrooms.
to cozy bedrooms.
The kitchen though upgraded from 1928 still has a quaint cottage feel.
For more
information on the Comstock homes in the Historic Hill district visit my site
here.
For more information on Carmel's historic homes, and an interactive Google Map, please see my book Historic Homes and Inns of Carmel by the Sea, available on Amazon and at many of our local shops downtown.
Until next time Happy Adventures!
___
Pictures courtesy of L. A. Momboisse
(1) February 6, 1929, The Swain Houses, The Carmelite.
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