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HARRY HARMER GESNER (1925 –2022)

Harry Gesner was born in Oxnard, California. He was a self-taught architect who designed most of his homes in the Los Angeles area, particularly in Malibu. At age 17, Gesner joined the U.S. Army and was a ski instructor for the 10th Mountain Division. After serving in World War II, Gesner returned to the United States and audited architecture classes at Yale. Instead of pursuing an architecture degree, Gesner spent time in Mexico and Ecuador, where he worked on archeological digs. Following his adventures, he returned to the United States and worked for his uncle's building company, where he gained experience in both architecture and construction. Gesner died in Malibu, California, in 2022.

1946 - The Ethel and Henry Gesner House, Tarzana CA. An experimental adobe house designed for Gesner's parents, it had generous windows and pared down flying buttresses. Destroyed.

1946 - The Inez Northrop House, Santa Barbara CA. Gesner considered this his first real commission, as his parents' house was a gift. The project was an adobe home for his aunt, featuring clerestory windows. Destroyed.

1946 - The Harry Gesner House, Tarzana CA. Built on 10 acres given to Gesner by his parents, he and his first wife, Patty Townsend, built it over a two-year period. Destroyed for a new development.

1955 - The Dale Hutchinson House, Malibu CA. Designed as a beach house. Unbuilt.

1957 - 6 Unit Apartment House for Dick Markowitz,  21351 Rambla Vis, Malibu CA. Built below the Markowitz house "Eagles Watch."  Sold to Orlando Joseph Alberti. Sold in 2008 to Catherine Vandevoort. Rentals.

1957 - The Richard Kimball House, aka The Triangle House, 4946 Vanalden, Tarzana CA. Sold in the 1970s to Stephen Vandermann. Sold in 2004 to Anne Pham. Sold in 2015 to Innah Land and David Weiss. Sold in 2021 to Thomas Brown.

1963 - The William Cooper House aka The Wave House (also referred to as The Flying Wing House by Gesner), 33602 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu CA. Sold in the 1970's to singer Rod Stewart who had Gesner add handrails to the balconies. The house was further altered with the installation of large concrete piers to support it, since the retreat of the beachfront left it more exposed to ocean waves. Sold in 1987 to Warner Brothers executive Mo Ostin. Sold in 2024 to Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner.

1957 - The Dick Markowitz House, aka Eagles Watch, 21363 Rambla Vis, Malibu CA. Destroyed by fire in 1993 and rebuilt by Gesner in 1997 out of concrete and reinforced steel. In 2024, rental on Airbnb.

1958 - The Fred Cole House, 8448 Harold Way Los Angeles CA.  Sold to William Fezler. Sold in 1996 to Mark Krajewski, who added a 3rd story of 715 sf. Sold in 2023 to Dwellular LLC.

1958 - The Fleet Southcott House aka Condor Crag, Calabasas CA. Designed for a cinematographer for Gunsmoke. Sold in 1980. Sold to Bob Wayne in 2011.

1958 - The  Stanley and Lucetta Kallis House, 12345 Deerbrook Lane, Los Angeles CA. Kallis was a writer and television producer who worked on shows such as Mission Impossible and Hawaii Five-O. Sold as part of a multi-property sale in 1984. Renovated in 1985. Sold in 2014. Sold 2021 to Benjamin Stern.

1959 - The Robert and Diane Bregman House, Los Angeles CA. Status unknown.

1959 - 7025 Woodrow Wilson Drive, Los Angeles CA. First of six "boathouses" designed by Gesner on Woodrow Wilson Drive. Built by Norwegian shipbuliders. Sold in 2017 to Judith Martin.

1959 - 7031 Woodrow Wilson Drive, Los Angeles CA. Built by Norwegian shipbuilders. Sold in 1999 to Jacquelyn Wehner. Sold in 2006 to Arden Rune. Sold in 2008 to Rulon Raymond. Sold in 2015 to Oakley Stevenson. Sold in 2020 to Eric and Zoe Pinczower.

1959 - 7035 Woodrow Wilson Drive, Los Angeles CA. Bullt by Norwegian shipbuilders. Sold in 2000 to Erin and Chad Crawford. Sold in 2003 to Charles and Victoria McCue. Sold in 2010 to Eric Brown. Sold in 2014 to Kathryn Giordano and Alejandro Silva. Sold in 2015 ro Michelle Mikolis.

1959 - 7041 Woodrow Wilson Drive, Los Angeles CA. Sold to the Lesser Trust. Sold in 2000 to Ivan and Margaret Wolf. Sold in 2015 to Joanne Paek. Sold in 2022 to Jill Small.

1959 - 7045 Woodrow Wilson Drive, Los Angeles CA. Built by Norwegian shipbuilders. Sold in 1999 to Mark and Rhonda Stovey. Sold in 2002 to Allison Summer. Sold in 2005 to Lorenzo Randisi. Sold in 2011 to Eric Nye and Matthew Russell. Sold in 2022 to Laurel Canyon Associates c/o of Robert Rosenheck.

1959 - 7147 Woodrow Wilson Drive, Los Angeles CA. Built by Norwegian shipbuilders. Sold in 2024 to Heather Grace Carson.

1959 - 6890 Pacific View Drive, Los Angeles, CA. First of four "boathouses" built by Norwegian shipbuilders on Pacific View Drive. Sold in 2012 to Renee Van Drent and Adam Marvel.

 

1959 - 6894 Pacific View Drive, Los Angeles, CA. Built by Norwegian shipbuilders Sold in 2018 to Daniel P. Morgan and Steven Barrow Barlow. For sale in 2024.

1959 - 6900 Pacific View Drive, Los Angeles, CA. Built by Norwegian shipbuilders. Sold in 2015 to James and Joy Donohue.

1959 - 6906 Pacific View Drive, Los Angeles, CA. Built by Norwegian shipbuilders. Sold in 2015 to the Jane Maki Trust.

1960 - The Robert Bregman House, 1443 Devlin Drive, Los Angeles CA. Sold to actor Jack Haley Jr in the early 1960's who enlarged the entry and the bathroom and added the deck in 1987. Sold in 2000 to Kelly Brandt. Sold in 2003 to Lester Knispel. Sold in 2011 to Todd Gelfand. Sold in 2011 to Carsten Fischer. For sale in 2024.

1961 - Three Spec Houses for Ronald Buck, one at 13400 Chalon Road, Mandeville Canyon, Los Angeles CA.  Houses were identical "A" frames and built by the same shipbuilders who built the Boathouses. Director Francis Ford Coppola once owned this house. Sold to Michael Dinner. Sold in 1995 to Jeff and Dorothy Cooper. Sold in 1997 to Stephanie Snyder. Sold in 1999 to Peter Maurer. Sold in 2000 to Rick Nowles. Sold in 2002 to Michael Elliott. Sold in 2004 to Farimah Boradeh and Farid Hamedy who were contacted by Gesner in 2009. Sold in 2021 to Joshua and Alyssa Stone.

1961 - The Sid and Jan Stebel House, 1963 N Mandeville Canyon Road, Los Angeles CA. Put into Stebel Trust. Sold in 2020 to Jesse Gazzuolo and April Thrun. Sold in 2023 to Gary and Jeanne Newman.

1965 - The John Scantlin House, Santa Monica CA. This was a bachelor pad for John Scantlin built on 10 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains. Purchased by the Getty Trust. Gesner renovated the house for architect Richard Meier, who lived there sporadically. The pool had an underground entrance to the bedroom. After discovering a stranger dressed in his clothes and smoking a cigar in his living room, Meier had the underground entrance sealed up. Status unknown.

1965 - The Malibu Mountains, Luxury Homes Development, Malibu CA. Planned for the Old Topanga Highway and Las Virgenes, Saddle Peak and Stunt Ranches area. Unbuilt.

1965 - Ski Resort at Mineral King in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Status unknown.

1966 - The Dr. Wiley Reshaw House, High Sierras area, CA. Two side-by-side houses planned. Unbuilt.

1966 - The Gershwin Beach House, Malibu Colony, Malibu CA. Unbuilt. Client cancelled and sold property. In 1968, architect John Lautner built a house on the lot.

1967- The Rex Buchanan House, 21423 Colina Drive, Topanga CA. This was almost Jimi Hendrix's house, which is how the house is frequently marketed. Hendrix never lived there, but the house was in escrow when he died. Placed on the market in 1973. Places in the the Pauker Trust in 2003. Sold in 2010 to Anne Zolla and Estancia Escondito. Sold in 2013 to guitarist, film and television composer Daniel Licht, who had planned to have Gesner build a studio. Sold in 2021 to Zachary Burnham.


1968 - The Dr. Melvin Erenhault House. Status unknown.

1969 - Circular House, Ojai CA. Status unknown.


1969 - Castle Crag House. Status unknown.


1969 - Diana's Castle Keep House. Unbuilt.



1977 - The Robert Jones House, Colony Cove Malibu CA. Status unknown.

1977 - The Mushroom House. A circular prototype model uit by Paramount Development Corporation. House designed to be buit in a 1,00 acre development being undertaken by Paramount in Agoura CA, part of which included the Paramount Movie Ranch near Cornell and Muholland Drive. One house to be built per acre with solar energy and rain storage and built from reinforced concrete circles cast in reusable forms. Original home to be built at 7966 Mulholland Drive with 3000 sf. In 1978 the project was still on, but continued problems with permits and commissioners kept the project from being built. Unbuilt.


1978 - The Marta and Britta Wolman House. Status unknown.

1980 - The Marlon Brando Houses, Malibu and "Tetiaroa," and French Polynesia. The Malibu house was supposed to be a remodel of the "Tetiaroa" house. Brando was finally able to purchase the island after visiting and vacationing in there since the late 1960's. Brando eventually built a resort but Gesner was not involved in the project. Gesner eventually quit when Brando tried to hire him to start a retreat project in Wyoming saying, "He would have kept me on a string forever doing plans that went nowhere." Unbuilt.

1981 - The Virginia Houser House, 31536 Victoria Point Road, Malibu CA. Deeded in 2007 to son Christopher Houser. Sold in 2018 to Robert Murray Wilson. As of 2024, same owner, but under Wildwood Holdings LLC.



1988 - The Dorothy Blower House. Status unknown.

1997 - The Jerome Lawrence House, aka Ravenseye, 21056 Las Flores Mesa Drive, Los Angeles CA. The first home designed by Gesner at the address burned down in 1993 and Lawrence asked him to rebuild. Unfortunately, Lawrence became ill, and the house was not completed as planned. In 2008. the new owner, Goldeneye Holding aka "007," asked Gesner to finish the original plan for the house.  "007" and Gesner became good friends, with Gesner being given the nickname "Q" (Bond's boss in the movies). Still owned by Goldeneye Holding as of 2024..

2012 - The Jim and Helen Dziadulewicz House aka Castle Keep, 34593 Mulholland Highway, Malibu CA. A 3-story geodesic dome.

Sources include: Research by Catherine Cramer. Additional research by Bobbie Morris. Photos by Michael Locke.