4 minute read
Harry Gesner
the Harry Gesner MAVERICK
of Malibu
By Judy Abel
Driving northbound into Malibu, there’s one home that especially catches the eye, as it sits above the others perched on the hillside of the La Costa neighborhood, just north of Las Flores Canyon. The idiosyncratic home with a swooping bow that soars over the canyon below is evocatively called Eagle’s Watch. This grand artistic structure standing sentinel near Malibu’s front door announces to visitors, “You’ve arrived. This is Malibu and we’re a bit offbeat.” The same may be said of the home’s architect, Harry Gesner, who died at age 97 in Malibu in June. Gesner, initially self-trained until earning his license, is responsible for designing some of the most prized homes in Southern California. A few of his most iconic works are sprinkled throughout Malibu.
Across the canyon from Eagle’s Watch, seemingly speaking to its sister, sits another Gesner masterpiece, Raven’s Eye. This jaw-dropping home features oversized windows inspired by Gothic arches—although its organic style and sloping roof resembles nothing 13th century. Word has it the Rolling Stones once held a jam session in the home’s spacious living room, a Gesner trademark: employing large gathering spaces and smaller sized kitchens.
It’s in the kitchen, however, in Gesner’s own beloved family home, the Sandcastle, where many loving memories were made.
The three-story tower-like home, inspired by nature, was built using recycled materials rescued by the architect, including old gymnasium floors. Wood flooring that had burned and was to be junked was personally scraped down to usability by Gesner.
“He went through the layers of soot and saw there was beautiful wood underneath,” Zen explained.
In addition, the architect implemented stained glass windows from a church about to be demolished. The walls throughout the home are old-growth redwood previously used as water pipes (Gesner rescued the barrellike wood before it was to be destroyed). Railroad ties and telephone poles are also in the mix.
—Zen Gesner
Other Gesner structures came to life back in the 1950s when the architect fell in love with a property in a cove on the far north end of Malibu. He had been commissioned to design a house next door that would end up becoming a Gesner landmark, the Wave House, which he sketched while sitting on his surfboard in the water across from the property. The Wave House became an iconic architectural gem typifying a surfer’s dream of a cresting wave with a sophisticated 1960’s vibe. The Wave House has been featured in numerous videos and movies including the Beatles-themed film, “Yesterday,” and the Brian Wilson bio-pic, “Love & Mercy.” When Danish architect Jorn Utzon saw the Wave House profiled in Life Magazine, he was so taken with the design he contacted Gesner and thanked him for the inspiration when he designed one of the world’s most famous buildings: the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Which is “something that many architects don’t normally do,” Zen noted. It was in the ’60 when the residential architect sold his sports car to put money down on the beachside lot next to the Wave House. The property sat untouched for years until Gesner built it in a romantic gesture for his fourth wife, actress Nan Martin, Zen’s mother. The two had gone to Santa Monica High School together, but never dated. “He always had a crush on her,” Zen said. However, they lost touch and Gesner went on to marry three times, storm Omaha Beach on D-Day, become wounded during the Battle of the Bulge, and work as a deckhand on actor Errol Flynn’s yacht—and these are just some of the adventures in the intrepid Gesner’s colorful life. But Zen said his father always tracked Martin’s entertainment career. So, in the late ’60s, when Martin was to receive an award in Los Angeles, Gesner devised a plan to be there and surprise her—which he did. “There were lightning bolts in the room,” Zen said with imagination of what must have happened when they reunited. Zen recounted that his father asked his mother to drive up to Malibu to show her his property where he intended to build a family home. Legend has it that Gesner told Martin, “If you marry me, I’ll build you your dream house.” And, thus, the Sandcastle was built. “The main fireplace in the living room was built like a Greek theater shell; the hearth, a stage. He built her her own theater in this house.” Martin passed away in 2010. And, the Sandcastle, the Wave House and a few other Gesner’s occupy the same cove still today. If design buffs know what they’re looking for, discovering a cove filled with Gesner homes is “like stumbling onto Shangri-La,” Zen remarked. They are masterpieces designed by the “Maverick of Malibu” Harry Harmer Gesner.
