Off the Beaten Path in Carmel-by-the-Sea: A Self-Guided Tour

M. J. Murphy was born in 1885 in Utah. In 1902, M.J., his mother Emma, and his sister Myrtle traveled to Carmel to meet with Frank Devendorf. He had promised M. J. work, building homes in the village. That same year, at the age of 17, Murphy built his first home for his mother and sister and by 1904, he was an associate with Frank Devendorf as a builder for the Carmel Development Company.

The Harrison Memorial Library was one of Carmel’s first public works projects. The library was constructed in 1927 and is named for Mrs. Ella Reid Harrison and her husband California Supreme Court Justice, Ralph Chandler Harrison.

The bronze sculpture figure by George Wayne Lundeen is called The Valentine. It was purchased by the City of Carmel for $40,000 and installed in First Murphy Park in 1994. The man with his bow tie and sweater vest gently rests his hands on his cane and his head on the woman next to him. In her hand she holds a valentine, and the two are frozen in time, possibly daydreaming of days past.