Carmel-by-the-Sea is only one square mile yet it is surprisingly easy to get lost in our town, even though the streets are laid out as a grid. The reason? We don’t have traditional street addresses. Historically homes were given names such as “Owl House,” “Periwinkle,” or “Sea Urchin.” Many still retain those names has it was considered bad luck to change a home’s name even when ownership changed.
Clearly remembering the names of 4,000 houses doesn’t work today, so a system has developed of identifying a home based on the nearest intersection.
View More