Delos Edward Goldsmith (September 3, 1828–July 3, 1921), was an American master builder and one of the earliest settlers of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Goldsmith built many of the early homes in Carmel. Some of his most notable projects were the construction of the first hotel (Pine Inn) and the Carmel Bathhouse.
Early life
Delos Edward Goldsmith was born in Painesville, Ohio, on September 3, 1828. He was the son of architect Jonathan Gillett Goldsmith (1784-1847) of Milford, Connecticut. His mother, Abigail Jones (1787-1887), was born of English parents in Massachusetts in 1787. His son, Delos E. Goldsmith, Jr. (1871-1900), a reporter, died on August 2, 1900 in Painesville at the age of 29.
Career
In 1846, Goldsmith left Ohio for New Orleans. He then moved to San Francisco in 1850 was a witness to the San Francisco Fire of 1851. He was a carpenter for two years in San Francisco and worked for the first Presidio of San Francisco.
He left for Marysville, and later went to Yuma, Arizona. He worked in the oil business until the outbreak of the American Civil War, when he was appointed citizen wagon master of the Twenty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the Union Army. Goldsmith was taken prisoner at Harper's Ferry by the Confederates and endured hardships until he escaped. He went south on a lumber expedition.
By 1872, he was selling real estate in Ohio. In 1879, he became an agent for Dr. Stockton, who was involved in oil.
Goldsmith left Ohio and moved back to San Francisco in late 1886. His niece, Abbie Jane Hunter, was already living in San Francisco. She was a real estate agent for the Women's Investment Company in San Francisco, that would become Carmel's first real estate development group. Goldsmith completed his voter registration on October 16, 1888 in at 355 First Street in San Francisco.
Carmel City
Goldsmith, Hunter, and her son Wesley R. Hunter moved to Carmel City in late 1888, where they started buying lots and building their first homes. Goldsmith became the first builder in Carmel.
In 1888, Goldsmith built a one-story vernacular side-gabled redwood residence for Duckworth, now known as the Santiago Duckworth House. The house is located on Carpenter Street SW of Second Avenue. In 1888, Goldsmith and Hunter carried water from the Carmel River until a well was made.
In December 1889, Abbie Hunter bought seven lots in Carmel City from Duckworth. Goldsmith purchased five lots in March 1890. Over time, they each acquired more property.
In 1889, Duckworth set aside 5 lots on Broadway Avenue (now Junipero), between 6th Avenue and Ocean Avenue, for Carmel City's first two-story Craftsman-style 18-room Hotel Carmelo (now the present Pine Inn). Goldsmith built the hotel with the help of Hunter and her son, Wesley Hunter. The hotel had 8 bedrooms, a front and back parlor with an open fireplace, a dining room, and a front porch.
Carmel bathhouse
In 1888-1889, Hunter and Goldsmith built the first community bathhouse at the end of Ocean Avenue at the Carmel beach, with the help of her son, Wesley Hunter. There was a boardwalk running from the main door to the beach. The bathhouse was built to attracts tourists and had a boardwalk running from the main door to the beach with a cupola and windows across the front to view the Carmel Bay coastline. The building lasted for forty years before being sold to the City of Carmel in 1921. The cost of upkeep and the potential for lawsuits led the city to sell it in 1929 to W. C. Mann, who dismantled it and used the lumber for her own home.
In 1890, Goldsmith did the design for the Farm Center building at the entrance of Robinson Canyon in Carmel Valley. It was the scene of get togethers for Carmel Valley residents. There was dancing with a fiddle, good food, and poker. By 1926, the center was called the Valley Social Club.
Carmel-by-the-Sea
Between 1892 and 1894, Goldsmith worked with Hunter to build two identical historic Queen Anne-style cottages, designed by contractor Douglas Knox Fraiser. The first house was the home for Hunter and her son, now known as the Abbie Jane Hunter House. William Askew became the owners of the home. The second became the Goldsmithss home. Goldsmith built a home for his wife's sister's daughter, Augusta Robertson, where he lived while he constructed other homes for early residents. Today this is the home of the Carl Cherry Center for the Arts.
On August 16, 1891, Hunter and Goldsmith managed to sell 300 lots, mainly to teachers, professors, and writers.