Mission Ranch, like a popular movie star and director Clint Eastwood, has a long history. He, like many other guys who came to Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, fell in love with the ancient ranch. After revamping the film and television industries as well as the town of Carmel, he set about renovating the tired Mission Ranch. It wasn’t simple or inexpensive, but he did it.
Clint Eastwood was only 21 when he first stepped inside the Mission Ranch. The teenage boy was seeking a location to relax and eat something cheap. He had been recruited to the adjacent Fort Ord at the time. Originally, the structures in Mission Ranch were a combination of the Fort Ord officers’ club and a dairy farm.
Before being enlisted, Eastwood worked as a lumberjack; after being released, he had few plans. However, as he entered the ranch, he immediately fell in love with it.
“The first time I saw the property, I thought it was fantastic,” he tells Architectural Digest. “That was something different visually, and I believed it was the location I’d like to call home.” As a result, I embraced Carmel.”
The Mission Ranch is a wonderful piece of land situated on the lush wetlands where the Carmel River meets the Pacific. The ranch, as you might expect, boasts amazing views of the sea, as well as picturesque vistas of the Monterey coastline and the spectacular arc of the beach. It’s no surprise that this area is regarded as one of the most beautiful in Northern California.
There are also numerous goats, horses, and sheep in the region, which may be seen grazing in the verdant grassland beneath strands of eucalyptus and oak. Of course, herons and ducks traveling down the river are tough to overlook.
Over 40 years later, the smitten, young boy is one of the most popular and successful actors and directors in the world. His fierce, carved smile and grizzled chin have led him into dozens of important roles, including as a singer in “Honkytonk Man” and a detective in “Dirty Harry.” His revisionist western, “Unforgiven,” earned him an Oscar. Today, this legendary star is the newest owner of the tastefully refurbished Mission Ranch.
Clint Eastwood came to Los Angeles in the 1960s and appeared in the successful television series “Rawhide,” by which time he had purchased his first home in Monterey. He soon found himself permanently relocating to California’s harsh central coast.
Eastwood was an avid golfer. He was a regular at the Pebble Beach Golf Course near Carmel Bay. This is where he filmed his first movie, which was all about the rough Monterey Peninsula.
“I eventually became a member of the community,” Eastwood explains. “Carmel offered me a new viewpoint from the movie business,” Eastwood said of renovating a downtown property in the 1980s. Unfortunately, the Carmel City Council refused him permission to proceed with the project. He found out that other low-income Carmel residents had the same thing happen to them and were not allowed to fix their homes or businesses.
The guy rode impressively to defend the helpless and protect the defenseless, exactly like he would in a movie. The legal process began, and Eastwood was victorious. A year later, he ran for mayor of the town.
“I couldn’t get anyone else to do it, so I said I’d do it after a few glasses of alcohol.” “I chose to win because I am a really driven guy,” he told Architectural Digest.
Eastwood tried everything, including knocking on doors, chatting to people at coffee klatches, and hosting rallies. He was elected by a landslide in 1986, as one might assume.
Although Eastwood was doing well politically and personally, the Mission Ranch was struggling. The ranch was fast succumbing to termites after many years of neglect. While its walls were separating, its screens were rusting and deteriorating. From his new house in Carmel, Eastwood watched the property deteriorate. He stood there watching as the marshes encroached on the ancient club’s polo field and swimming pool. The restaurant and motel had become a place where illegal couples and traveling merchants could stay in a shady way.
Eastwood decided to pay a visit to take a closer look. When he did, he discovered several damaged windows and peeling paint. Notably, several of the windows were blackened during the Second World War. At the time, people in Carmel were waiting for the Japanese to come over the marshes and attack them.
Carmel-by-the-Sea was Alta California’s spiritual center in 1771. Around this time, Father Junipero Serra constructed the San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo, which is now Mission Ranch’s magnificent neighbor, and the San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo, which is now Mission Ranch’s magnificent neighbor. In case you’re interested, the area was initially colonized by Spaniards in the 18th century when they established Monterey as the capital of Alta California. The region consisted of the area between San Diego and Baja California.
During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Carmel also served as a haven for a significant number of Western authors and artists. From Upton Sinclair to Sinclair Lewis, everyone from Upton Sinclair to Sinclair Lewis lived and wrote in the tranquil Carmel setting.
The farmhouse was built in the 1850s by one of the first families to settle on the Monterey peninsula. There were six guest rooms. The home was rebuilt 45 years later and became a two-story dwelling.
When Robert Louis Stevenson arrived in Monterey in 1879, he was just 29 years old. His aim was to capture the heart of the attractive Fanny Osbourne, who was married to another man at the time. As he strolled aimlessly around the rocky shore and forested hills, the lovesick teenage writer became enamored with San Carlos Borromeo. When the Spaniards were forced away, the mission was long abandoned. The destitute young man wrote: “The church is roofless and decrepit… sea breezes and sea fog, and the alternation of rain and sunshine, every day enlarging the gaps.”
Stevenson walked past the mission and crossed the field and beach right at the mouth of the Carmel River before climbing the steep cliffs at Point Lobos.
Robert Louis Stevenson returned to England, maybe after being profoundly influenced by love. His panorama from Mission Ranch and Point Lobos eventually provided the scene for the magnificent Treasure Island. Fanny Osbourne, who also married him,
A developer was interested in building condominiums on the ranch around 100 years later, in 1986. Eastwood paid $5 million for the 22 acres, which included the old buildings when he bought it not long ago.
“I had always admired the location, and they were just going to obliterate it.” They said it was out of date. “I felt it should be kept as is,” he told Architectural Digest.
He was part of a small dynasty of men who left their stamp on the little cove in the Pacific, including Robert Louis Stevenson and Junipero Serra. The Mission Ranch was not a pleasant sight for anyone unless they were overly nostalgic or stubborn. The whole electrical system was damaged, as was the plumbing system. Actually, the pipes leaked so badly that around 40% of the gas was lost beneath the floor.
“It’s like the bear who climbs a hill to see the next hill and the next hill…it never stops,” Eastwood says.
“There is a significant distinction between conducting preservation and promoting preservation.” “Putting your money where your mouth is different,” Eastwood rapidly realized. The man has already invested millions, and he claims that even if the ranch breaks even, he will consider it a big success.
At the moment, the Mission Ranch’s shining structures include 31 premium guest rooms, a contemporary restaurant and bar, and some of California’s greatest vistas. Eastwood is continually building tennis courts and new fitness centers.
Eastwood chose to enlist the assistance of Alan Williams for the refurbishment. Alan works for the Carmel Development Company, which specializes in building rehabilitation. A mason who had previously rebuilt the Mission San Carlos Borromeo refurbished the chimneys. When the ranch needed furniture, he brought in some worn-out items from film sets.
Frances Fisher, who worked on the movie “Unforgiven” with Eastwood, helped a lot with the quilts and flower arrangements.
“She cares more about the little things, while I care more about the big picture,” Eastwood says.
Eastwood hired North Carolina-based furniture maker Edgar Broyhill to bring him more serious furnishings. Broyhill is a golf course friend who developed the Mission Ranch Collection. “Furniture lends a place character… I wanted this furniture to have a substantial feel yet be quite comfy,” Eastwood said. According to Broyhill, the collection’s emphasis is on physical comfort, which is why he included several deep cushions and practicality. He made it clear that he was not attempting to make a fashion statement.
Eastwood is well-liked not just on the ranch but also in the surrounding area. He is, nonetheless, incredibly quiet and reclusive. He does not consider himself to be a “jolly host.” Rather, he is a modest and affable man who readily offers credit to others while downplaying his own personal achievements. Given his shamble and loose attire, the individual is practically unidentifiable. He enjoys flying, which is perhaps why he has his own helicopter.
Clint Eastwood, at 92, has worked on more than 30 films. It looks like the love he started with the small town has grown into a passionate relationship between worldly power and natural beauty.
Carmel is fantastic — the location really gets into your blood. When you’ve been away and returned here, it always seems like coming home.
When Eastwood first saw the Mission Ranch, he knew it was his mission. It is now nearly finished. He should be pleased with himself.