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“What is Bohemia?“

An elegantly dressed crowd gathered in the The Beach HotelCarmel’s Pacific Ballroom sang the chorus in unison, led by an ensemble of actors from the IAMA Theatre Company Last winter, more than 250 people gathered to celebrate the grand reopening of the historic venue, including Lewis Pullman, Patrick J. Adams, actor Guillermo Diaz and writer/podcaster Evan Ross Katz. ScandalKatie Lowes and The bear And I have neverAdam Shapiro beamed in the audience as they watched fellow actors from the Atwater Village-based theater they co-founded perform the prologue to The Last Bohemianan immersive one-night, site-specific piece, directed by Eli Gonda and commissioned for the occasion by hotelier John Grossman of Marc & Rose Hospitality.

Set in 1907 and inspired by Carmel’s unorthodox creative legacy, playwright Christian Durso’s story unfolded throughout the property. Chef and food writer Andy Baraghani was also present, having prepared the day before a dinner based on local products for this joyful convergence of guests representing many disciplines and fields.

Clint Eastwood is often associated with the hamlet on the southern tip of the Monterey Peninsula. But it’s also where, more than a century ago, figures such as Robinson Jeffers, Jack London, Edward Weston, Sinclair Lewis and painter Chris Jorgensen found refuge and community. It was Jorgensen who built the winter home that would become the La Playa Hotel in 1905 for his wife, San Francisco chocolate heiress Angela Ghirardelli.

Elements of that old bohemian culture are still present in the gridded streets of the one-square-mile village of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Fairy-tale-style buildings and a distinct lack of numerical addresses add to its quaint charm. Homes are identified by descriptive names and geographic locations rather than conventional addresses, so residents pick up their mail at the downtown post office (and deliveries can be difficult).

Carmel’s notable real estate deals indicate a renewed focus. In 2022, Brad Pitt added a $40 million investment to his portfolio in the form of Seward, the 1918 stone D.L. James House designed by architect Charles Sumner Greene, one of the architects responsible for the Playhouse in Pasadena. The 1951 Butterfly House, furnished with chic interiors by Jamie Bush, sold in 2023 for $29 million; and Monaco businessman Patrice Pastor bought Frank Lloyd Wright’s compact but spectacular Clinton Walker House for $22 million, adding a particularly rare gem to his growing crown of real estate holdings in Carmel (a global development that generates local concern).

Casual but…