The records from the 1900s are a bit inconclusive, but the Monte Verde Inn apparently started as an apartment complex in downtown Carmel. Mary L. Hamlin owned the property in 1915, and in 1921 she built two buildings on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Monte Verde Street that were called the El Monte Verde Apartments. The property passed to Ethel P. Young in 1925 and the apartments were managed by her daughter, Virginia Stanton, whose husband, Robert, was a renowned Monterey Peninsula architect and builder. He built the Normandy Inn on the property in 1936, perhaps moving the apartment buildings around the corner to the hotel's current location just southwest of Ocean Avenue on Monte Verde. The initial mention of the Monte Verde Inn came in 1958 in the city directory. Robert Stanton designed a number of buildings in Monterey County, most notably the Monterey County Court House and the King City Joint Union High School Auditorium, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He also worked closely with renowned sculptor and artist Joseph “Jo” Mora on several of his projects. Richard and Virginia Stanton were both respected philanthropists later in their lives, including establishing the Robert and Virginia Stanton Endowment Fund for The Community Foundation for Monterey County. Virginia Stanton was the party and entertainment editor of House Beautiful magazine and was one of the founders and a major donor for the Stanton Center and Maritime Museum, now home to the Museum of Monterey.