Clam Box, Carmel-by-the-Sea, 1960s/70s

A stunning seaside hamlet on California's Monterey Peninsula, Carmel-by-the-Sea grew into an artistic community following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that displaced many artists, writers and musicians.

These so-called bohemians, people who rejected strict Victorian moral conventions in favor of freer and more creative lives, flocked here for inexpensive cottages and breathtaking natural scenery.

The town proved a blank canvas for many to reimagine their lives and some of America’s first female-owned art studios flourished here.

Key residents included writers Jack London, Mary Austin and George Sterling, as well as painters such as Mary DeNeale Morgan, William Ritschel, and E. Charlton Fortune. 

No wonder then, that this menu cover for the Clam Box shows a rather extravagantly dressed artist creating a still life of fish while a rather well-fed King Neptune looks on approvingly. This artwork was created by respected local cartoonist Bill O’ Malley (1903-1975.)

The Clam Box was run by Swiss-born Edouard Morgenegg and his brother-in-law Roger Canel. Edouard came to the US in 1939 to work at the New York World Fair. Later, he became a chef at the Olympic Hotel in Seattle, later moving to Portland and then to Spokane as chef at the Chinook Hotel.

In 1958, Edouard and his wife Odette moved to Carmel and were joined there by Odette's brother Roger and his wife Jeanne. The two families operated the Clam Box until 1975 and also operated the Spinning Wheel restaurant.

We believe the Clam Box was then taken over by a new restaurateur Carter Fries Henry. It closed in 1996 and merged with the neighboring restaurant Casanova.

Today, Carmel’ s bohemian spirit remains in the town's hidden passageways and courtyards where many local artists still run independent studios. An estimated 100 art galleries are packed into its one-square-mile boundary.