Maps & Buildings
Maps & Buildings
Getting Started
Carmel House History: The Road to Your Home – Join Local History Librarian Katie O’Connell and family historian and librarian Kathy Nielsen for a talk on finding your house’s history. You’ll learn how to navigate historic newspapers, city directories and property files; what City and County resources are available; the particularities of historic research in Carmel-by-the-Sea; and how tracing a house’s history can fill in gaps in your own family history.
Carmel House & Building Research: A resource guide put together by our local history librarian
Home & Building Research
- City of Carmel Building Permits: 1920-Feb 1928; 1928-Jan 1934; 1939-1940
- City of Carmel Property Files: construction information, permits and plans for individual properties within city limits
- Inventory of Historic Carmel Buildings: Part I (Blocks A-73) and Part II (Blocks 74-End). (Current Historic Inventory (2022))
- Carmel Development Company Collection: Business records of the development of Carmel, from Devendorf and Powers, 1891-1997. (Full collection guide)
- List of Deeds of Property, Carmel Development Company Papers (1903-1935)
- Fire Insurance Sanborn Maps: Access through your library account. Historical maps of Monterey County houses and buildings, 1880s-1950s. Additional maps available in the Local History Department
- House Names in Carmel (This map is not created or maintained by the City of Carmel-By-The-Sea.)
- City Directories Online (1947-1961, some gaps)
- Monterey County Recorder Historical Indices: Historic index of property transactions, 1850-1977 (Halfway down list. Note: much of the older records are handwritten and the text search can’t read them.)
Maps
- Fire Insurance Sanborn Maps: Access through your library account. Historical maps of Monterey County houses and buildings, 1880s-1950s. Additional maps available in the Local History Department. (Learn how to read a Sanborn map)
- Homes of Famous Carmelites (Additional information)
- House Names in Carmel (This map is not created or maintained by the City of Carmel-By-The-Sea.)
- Old Carmel on Historypin: Explore Carmel’s history overlaid on today’s streets. Find Jo Mora’s studio, George Sterling’s home, Carmel’s first library and much more.
Historic Building Brochures
- Artists and Artisans - Carmel Woods
- The Eighty Acres - Carmel-by-the-Sea
- Historic Houses - Carmel-by-the-Sea
- Historic Inns - Carmel-by-the-Sea
More in the Library
Available at the Local History Department in the Park Branch Library.
- Carmel Preservation Foundation Collection: Survey of Carmel buildings, builders and architects conducted 1990s-2000s.
- City directories and reverse look-ups (1926-present, some gaps)
- M.J. Murphy estimates/costs for home building/projects (1915-1917)
Carmel House History: The Road to Your Home
Do you wonder about the history of your Carmel home? Who built it and when, who used to live there, what stories it holds? Are you interested in tracing your family’s history in Carmel, finding out where your aunt lived or where your great-grand parents honeymooned?
