Francis Whitaker was a blacksmith in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, where he established The Forge in the Forest.
14 Facts About Francis Whitaker
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Francis Whitaker had The Mountain Forge, in Aspen, Colorado, which he later relocated when he was named an artist-in-residence at the Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale, Colorado.
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Francis Whitaker completed the five engine bay doors and inside iron handrails for the Carmel Fire Station in 1937.
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Francis Whitaker taught classes at the school for decades and launched the folk school's annual fundraising auction.
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Francis Whitaker operated the Forge in the Forest from 1940 to 1963.
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Francis Whitaker made the wrought hardware for many of the historic buildings in Carmel.
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Francis Whitaker worked on the dragon-headed wrought iron grille work at the Kocher Building in Carmel.
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Francis Whitaker became friends with authors John Steinbeck and Leon Uris in Carmel.
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Francis Whitaker served on the Carmel City Council for 13 years helping to preserve Big Sur and Point Lobos.
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When Francis Whitaker left Carmel in 1963, the Forge became an artist's studio, then converted to a restaurant and saloon in the fall of 1970, called Forge in the Forest.
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Francis Whitaker moved to Aspen, Colorado, where he opened the Mountain Forge.
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Francis Whitaker gave workshops across the county and established two Francis Whitaker Schools.
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In 1976, Francis Whitaker was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Colorado.
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Francis Whitaker died, at age 92, on October 23,1999, in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.