They say age is nothing but a number and that certainly seems to be the case with this locale which is brought to you courtesy of two stalwarts who are still trailblazing their respective industries despite being in their 90s. Known as the “Kimball House,” as well as the “Triangle House,” the sharply angled abode that stands at 4946 Vanalden Ave. in Tarzana is the creation of modernist master Harry Gesner, the now 96-year-old architect who gifted Los Angeles with such landmarks as the Wave House from the film “Yesterday,” the Hollywood Hills boat houses from “The Kominsky Method” and the Malibu mansion where Britney Spears lensed “Sometimes.”
The Kimball House is a star in its own right, having served as the main location in “Breezy,” a 1973 drama helmed by fellow nonagenarian Clint Eastwood, who turned 91 this past May. Not one of the esteemed director’s most famous works, the film chronicles the unlikely May-December romance between 19-year-old bohemian nomad Edith Alice Breezerman (Kay Lenz), aka “Breezy,” and Frank Harmon (William Holden), the wealthy curmudgeonly realtor some 35 years her senior whom she befriends and eventually falls in love with. It is a slightly disquieting story when viewed through a 2021 lens, though, truth be told, it wasn’t exactly well-received upon its release, either.
In his 2002 book “Clint: The Life and Legend,” biographer Patrick McGilligan states, “In Clint’s career, nothing would rival it as a flop. Released in November 1973, ‘Breezy’ barely cracked Variety’s list of current Top Fifty films, before disappearing from the weekly rankings. It was not widely booked then or thereafter, and was not made available in video until 1998. Twenty years would go by before Clint dared to direct – or star in – another love story.” And Richard Schickel asserts in his 2010 bio “Clint: A Retrospective,” that the movie “confounded expectations and alienated many of Eastwood’s fans.” Ouch.
“Breezy” was only the third film to be helmed by the now-prolific director and his first to be lensed entirely in the Los Angeles area. And while not beloved overall, one thing audiences did take to was Frank’s fabulous midcentury home, where most of the movie takes place. I have been asked about its location several times over the years by fellow film location fanatics, one of whom finally managed to ID it as the legendary Kimball House last month.
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Image Credit: Redfin The extraordinary structure was built in 1960 for mechanical engineer/Naval officer Richard Henry Kimball and his wife, Marianne, on a sprawling parcel they purchased more than a decade prior in 1949. The couple initially commissioned architect Leo P. Raffaelli to build a different architecturally significant property on the western edge of the lot that same year. The first of the so-called “wheelchair homes,” Richard, who suffered spinal injuries resulting from a 1943 plane crash, secured funding for the construction through Public Law 702 which granted paralyzed veterans financial aid to erect accessible residences. The one-story structure featured countless amenities to make daily life easier for Richard, including minimal walling, lowered sinks and outlets, a lack of door jams and a large pool for regular hydrotherapy. It still stands at 4936 Vanalden Ave.
Nine years later, Richard and Marianne filed permits to subdivide their large parcel and build a second residence at its far southeastern tip, this time pegging Gesner as the architect. The result, which took over two years to complete, is the Kimball House, a masterpiece of design and composition with a space-age look and feel straight out of “The Jetsons.”
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Image Credit: Redfin Per the Top Ten Real Estate Deals website, the self-taught Gesner creates all of his properties “with an eye to the environment, how the home would sit on its location, the views (which he feels creates perspective to one’s life), and the home’s relationship to the movement of the wind and sun.” The description certainly pertains to the design of the Kimball residence which, with its towering walls of glass offering unparalleled views of the surrounding leafy landscape from virtually every room, truly brings the outside in.
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Image Credit: Redfin Unfortunately, the property was vastly remodeled at three different points throughout its 60-year history, first in the mid-70s, then in the early ‘80s and most recently in 2012, and the interior, though undoubtedly striking, no longer retains much of its original midcentury feel. As it stands today, the residence counts four bedrooms and four baths in 5,278 square feet with dramatically angled nine-foot-plus ceilings and bamboo and slate flooring featured throughout.
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Image Credit: Redfin The extensive open floor plan includes such amenities as a sprawling sunken den complete with a fireplace, a media/family room, a wine cellar and a kitchen that runs virtually the entire length of the main floor with a double oven and breakfast counter.
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Image Credit: Redfin The manicured lot measures in at 1.35 acres and is dotted with a pool and spa, a pool house with a sauna, a fire pit and numerous terraces.
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Image Credit: Redfin To the rear of the property is a guest home built to be an exacting mini replica of the main house.
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Image Credit: Redfin There is also a trapezoidal carport on the premises that looks straight out of Disney’s Tomorrowland. The shape is one Gesner favors, having also used it for the carports of the Hollywood Hills boat houses.
The Kimball House, which once belonged to “Chuck” actor Joshua Gomez, most recently sold this past January for $3,350,000. Repped by Gary Wolfe of Trisha Perez and Associates, Zillow is already estimating its current worth at more than $3.7 million, just six months later!
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Image Credit: Redfin While still recognizable, the Kimball House looks considerably different today than when it first graced screens in “Breezy” 48 years ago. Gone are the fabulous rock walls and wood framing that once traversed the exterior. Though the pad still cuts a glorious façade, all of its retro charm has long since been eradicated.
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Image Credit: Redfin It appears that at least some of the fabulous interior was used in the production, as well, including the sunken den, which, though retaining its original footprint, also looks very different today.
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Image Credit: Redfin As depicted in the film, the kitchen was formerly hidden behind a wood-paneled pony wall, but it currently serves as the focal point of the main living area. The alterations certainly brought the house into the 21st Century, though it came at the sad cost of losing much of Gesner’s artistic detailing.
(Disclaimer: Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the grounds in any way.)