Sunset Center
Ninth and San Carlos, Carmel (831) 620-2048, sunsetcenter.org
It seats 718 within its warm gothic architecture, augments acoustics with a digital sound system, and presents an impressive array of shows each season. Last year that included an impressive medley of Rufus Wainwright, Shaolin Warriors, Second City, The Chieftans, Smuin Ballet, Monterey Symphony, Carmel International Film Festival and Tango Buenos Aires, among others. And it’s the hub of arts partners including the Carmel Music Society and Carmel Bach Festival, as well as the home base of groups like the Forest Theatre Guild and Center for Photographic Art. It’s even got its own art gallery. Not bad for a place that began life in 1926 as a public school and has zoomed through the universe via composer Philip Glass and physicist Brian Greene’s film Icarus at the Edge of Time.