Philip Wilson Building

The Wilson Building, also known as the Philip Wilson Building is a historic commercial building in downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It is an example of American Craftsman architectural style that was built in 1905 on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Dolores Street as a real estate office. In 1916 it became Carmel’s first official City Hall. The building qualified as an important building in the city's downtown historic district property survey and was recorded with the California Register of Historical Resources on November 30, 2002.

History


The Wilson Building was established in 1905 by the Philip Wilson family as a real estate office. It is one of the oldest continually operating businesses in Carmel. The property is located on northwest corner of Ocean Avenue and Dolores Street.

The Wilson Building is a two-story, rectangular wood frame building with a pitched shingled roof with two dormers. The ground floor has the original corner entrance. A doorway was added to the north of the building. The south and east sides of the building have horizontal redwood siding. In 1923, an addition was added to the north side of the building.

The building served as Carmel's first "official" City Hall after its incorporation in 1916. A flagpole was erected on June 6, 1917.

In the 1990s, it was called the Burchell House Building. The Burchell House Properties (formerly Burchell Realty) held a grand opening of the restored property on October 1, 1999. The Burchell House Properties was a real-estate firm located in the upstairs office of the Wilson Building.

The building qualified for inclusion in the city's Downtown Historic District Property Survey, and was registered with the California Register of Historical Resources on September 7, 2004. The building qualifies under the California Register criterion 3 in architecture, as a good example of early Craftsman style built for a commercial building in Carmel.