Outlands in the Eighty Acres

Outlands in the Eighty Acres
Flanders Mansion, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Outlands in the Eighty Acres is located in Monterey Peninsula
Outlands in the Eighty Acres
Location within Monterey Peninsula
Location25800 Hatton Rd., Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Coordinates36°32′54″N 121°55′0″W / 36.54833°N 121.91667°W / 36.54833; -121.91667
Built1924/1925
Built byFred Ruhl
ArchitectHenry Higby Gutterson
Architectural styleTudor Revival architecture
NRHP reference No.89000228
Added to NRHPMarch 23, 1989

Outlands in the Eighty Acres, also known as Flanders Mansion is an 8,000-square-foot Tudor Revival house. It is significant as a work of architect Henry Higby Gutterson, and for its innovative construction with light grey interlocking Precast concrete blocks. It is one of the earliest architect designed residences in Carmel-by-the-Sea, and the only known example of work by Gutterson in the region. It is located within the Mission Trail Nature Preserve in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 23, 1989.

History

Front of the Flanders Mansion

Paul and Grace Flanders, married in 1920, came to Carmel in 1922, to build a home and start a business in real estate development. They purchased 80 acres of land from Dr. Daniel T. MacDougal. Flanders designed a two-story home, which they named the Outlands at 25800 Hatton Road, located on a hill overlooking the Carmel Mission, and Point Lobos.

The Flander's were one of the first Carmelites to hire an outside architect, Henry Higby Gutterson, to design and contractor Fred Ruhl to build their residence. The home lies at the end of a driveway off Hatton Road surrounded by upper end of the Mission Trail Nature Preserve. The "Outlands" English cottage design was one of the first use[citation needed] of this style of residential architecture in Carmel By-the-Sea. The construction with light grey interlocking Precast concrete blocks that were advertised as "fireproof, waterproof and practically everlasting."

In 1972, Mayor Gunnar Norberg mounted the "Save the Flanders Estate' campaign. As vice-mayor, he persuaded the City of Carmel to purchase the Flanders mansion and adjoining 14.9 acres (6.0 ha) from the Flanders heirs for $275,000 (equivalent to $2,116,647 in 2025). It has become part of the 34-acre Mission Trail Nature Preserve.

One of the things former mayor Clint Eastwood was elected on in 1986 was tearing the mansion down because it was not making any money for the city after it was purchased by them in 1971.

The Carmel Art Institute was relocated to the Flanders Mansion, where the Institute continued to operate under John Cunningham.

Ownership disputes

The City of Carmel-by-the-Sea has continuously held the deed and official management authority over the preserve and mansion since purchasing the estate in 1972. Because the mansion required over $1 million in repairs, the City Council repeatedly sought to either lease or sell the house to a private buyer to offload the maintenance liability. Local preservationists (led for many years by former mayor Charlotte Townsend and resident Melanie Billig) formed the non-profit Flanders Foundation in 1998 specifically to oppose privatization and raise grant funding so a non-profit could restore and manage the mansion for public use. Rather than partnering with the Flanders Foundation to manage the site, the City of Carmel pushed forward with plans to sell the mansion. In response, the Flanders Foundation sued the city multiple times beginning in 2005 (Flanders Foundation v. City of Carmel-by-the-Sea), winning a California Court of Appeal decision in 2012 on environmental and historic preservation grounds (CEQA) that blocked the sale. Because the Flanders Foundation was locked in litigation with City Hall, the City Council later recognized a separate volunteer organization called the Friends of Mission Trail Nature Preserve (formally designated as an official City Support Group by City Council Resolution 2012-70 in October 2012) to assist the Public Works Department with hands-on trail maintenance and habitat restoration.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Outlands in the Eighty Acres". Dictionary Of California Historic Places. Vol. 1. New York, New York: Somerset Publishers. 1987. p. 412.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Seavey, Kent L. (August 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Outlands in the Eighty Acres". National Park Service. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  4. ↑ "Federal Register 1989-03-07". archive.org. 7 March 1989. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  5. ↑ "Easter Brings Eastbay Folk to Art Colony". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. 12 Apr 1925. p. 21. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  6. ↑ "The Flanders Mansion Historic American Buildings Survey" (PDF). City of Carmel. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. March 2014. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  7. ↑ Erskine, Alice Putnam (2006). "Flanders Mansion". Loose Ends: A Biography of John Cunningham. Anava Design. p. 346-348.
  8. ↑ Webber, Francis J. (2001). Encyclopedia of California's Catholic heritage, 1769-1999. St. Francis Historical Society. p. 16.
  9. ↑ Grimes, Teresa; Heumann, Leslie. "Historic Context Statement Carmel-by-the-Sea" (PDF). Leslie Heumann and Associates. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. p. 103. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  10. ↑ "Mission Trail Nature Preserve". City of Carmel-by-the-Sea.
  11. 1 2 Lyons, Jessica (January 11, 2007). "Preservationists say Carmel is purposely letting Flanders Mansion deteriorate". Monterey County Now. Retrieved 2026-10-17.
  12. ↑ "Flanders Foundation receives grant trust". The Californian. Salinas, California. 17 Apr 2004. p. 35. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  13. ↑ "Requests for Proposal. Resident Curatorship. Flanders Mansion" (PDF). City of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Retrieved 2026-10-17.
  14. ↑ Pierik, Brian (February 4, 2025). "City Council Staff Report". City of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Retrieved 2026-10-17.