Guest House set in pilot

[Pahonu]

I was just watching the pilot... again. I always enjoy it and seem to pick up on new things. In the past I noticed, for example, that Magnum slips as he runs to the main house after locking out the lads in the opening scene. Don’t know if I’ve mentioned that one before. I‘ve also noticed that he drops an ice cube when he’s making a drink after almost getting run off the Pali Highway as he talks to Higgins. It can be heard hitting the floor. It’s during that scene that I noticed something new this viewing.

The guest house set in the pilot clearly has some different details than in later episodes. One of the most noticeable is the spade-shaped fans that are wall sconces throughout the set. The one at the top of the stairs will be changed to a hat rack and the others will all disappear in later episodes. As I watched that drinking scene, right after Higgins says, “It’s a pitty you couldn’t have been more like your sister”, the camera focuses on Magnum whose standing to the left of the fridge. Behind him is the wall with the small kitchen alcove... except it’s not there. It’s a blank wall with one of those fan lights. Apparently Magnum only has a fridge in the pilot, no stove or sink.

I’ve always thought the guest house kitchen was a little odd, with part of it in the alcove and part along the wall with the Gauguin painting. It seems they decided to put the fridge inside a cabinet (also odd) for the pilot and then added the rest of the kitchen in later episodes. Now I wonder which episode first shows the kitchen alcove. Just some random thoughts.

[KENJI]

Great observations and random thoughts there Pahonu!

I remember a few of them, but I'll have to watch that episode again to check out the others.

I agree the kitchen is odd.....so is the entryway with the stairs....go up the outside stairs, enter and then go down another set of stairs towards the kitchen etc.. Having said that I still love it....it must be a Magnum thing!

I can't remember what episode the kitchen alcove appears. I'm sure one us will!

[Pahonu]

Great observations and random thoughts there Pahonu!

I remember a few of them, but I'll have to watch that episode again to check out the others.

I agree the kitchen is odd.....so is the entryway with the stairs....go up the outside stairs, enter and then go down another set of stairs towards the kitchen etc.. Having said that I still love it....it must be a Magnum thing!

I can't remember what episode the kitchen alcove appears. I'm sure one us will!

You definitely get random thoughts when watching something for maybe the 30th time, no joke! The stairs down into the guest house, I think, were just a response to the actual boat house having stairs up to the lanai but also having 2 levels. It made for a more visually interesting interior as well, with the high ceilings. Of course, there is an actual door to the lower level below the exterior stairs that is completely ignored in the show, but it would be such an unceremonious entry compared to the lanai. Also everyone would wonder what was downstairs if the set was just one level. It was a good choice given the reality of the actual building.

The thing I find most odd about the kitchen is the fridge placement. Years ago, I had a friend in the UCLA grad program who rented a studio apartment in Venice Beach. It had a kitchen in an alcove almost exactly like Magnum’s. (I remember thinking that, sad but true!) It even had louvred bi-fold doors that you could close to hide it. It had the tiniest range I’d ever seen, just 24 inches wide. My wife and I ended up renting a place later with a similar range. It was too narrow to fit a baking half sheet in it! That’s probably why the standard width is 30 inches. Anyway, my friend’s kitchen was in that alcove, maybe 7-8 feet across like Magnum’s, but the fridge was under the counter to one side. It had a small sink next to it. That was the whole kitchen, but it was efficient for a studio. Why did they put the fridge in a cabinet at the other end of the room, where you have to open two doors, then the fridge door, just to get a beer? The answer is Hollywood. That fridge setup worked great in that scene in the pilot, which likely wouldn’t get picked up, but then it did, and now a full kitchen is needed for this new script, so the set department added one where they could.

More random thoughts!!!

[Styles Bitchley]

Great observations and random thoughts there Pahonu!

I remember a few of them, but I'll have to watch that episode again to check out the others.

I agree the kitchen is odd.....so is the entryway with the stairs....go up the outside stairs, enter and then go down another set of stairs towards the kitchen etc.. Having said that I still love it....it must be a Magnum thing!

I can't remember what episode the kitchen alcove appears. I'm sure one us will!

You definitely get random thoughts when watching something for maybe the 30th time, no joke! The stairs down into the guest house, I think, were just a response to the actual boat house having stairs up to the lanai but also having 2 levels. It made for a more visually interesting interior as well, with the high ceilings. Of course, there is an actual door to the lower level below the exterior stairs that is completely ignored in the show, but it would be such an unceremonious entry compared to the lanai. Also everyone would wonder what was downstairs if the set was just one level. It was a good choice given the reality of the actual building.

Yeah, I always imagined it as a subterranean bachelor pad - even though it's above ground. I just remove the actual building from my mind. The ramshackle kitchen felt normal to me because the place isn't really meant for living, but rather to tide guests over for the weekend.

Incredible observations, Pahonu. You've got an eye for details!

[Pahonu]

Great observations and random thoughts there Pahonu!

I remember a few of them, but I'll have to watch that episode again to check out the others.

I agree the kitchen is odd.....so is the entryway with the stairs....go up the outside stairs, enter and then go down another set of stairs towards the kitchen etc.. Having said that I still love it....it must be a Magnum thing!

I can't remember what episode the kitchen alcove appears. I'm sure one us will!

You definitely get random thoughts when watching something for maybe the 30th time, no joke! The stairs down into the guest house, I think, were just a response to the actual boat house having stairs up to the lanai but also having 2 levels. It made for a more visually interesting interior as well, with the high ceilings. Of course, there is an actual door to the lower level below the exterior stairs that is completely ignored in the show, but it would be such an unceremonious entry compared to the lanai. Also everyone would wonder what was downstairs if the set was just one level. It was a good choice given the reality of the actual building.

Yeah, I always imagined it as a subterranean bachelor pad - even though it's above ground. I just remove the actual building from my mind. The ramshackle kitchen felt normal to me because the place isn't really meant for living, but rather to tide guests over for the weekend.

Incredible observations, Pahonu. You've got an eye for details!

I added more random thoughts to the post since you responded, incredibly! I was an architecture major for the first half of college and currently teach in a high school program geared toward architecture and engineering careers. I figured out in college that I didn’t want to be a practicing architect but I am a major architectural history student. You probably figured that out from my Pahonu thread comments. I also teach a lot of architectural history in my classes and read voraciously on the topic. My personal library of architecture books numbers over 200. So I guess that’s where the eye for detail comes from.

I totally agree that the set was meant by the art director to look like a thrown-together bachelor pad. It fits with the story. Guest houses, as opposed to guest rooms though, are usually a self sufficient house. That would include a kitchen. What has really begun to intrigue me though is the actual use of that space in the boat house. Clearly the lower level was for water-related equipment. Upstairs though has the lanai, a single room, and a bathroom. If you remember the real estate photos, that room also had a built-in wall of cabinets. For what purpose? Was this a servant room separate from the gate house, or another guest room with a beautiful lanai? It’s all very intriguing to me. Random thoughts continue...

[Styles Bitchley]

What has really begun to intrigue me though is the actual use of that space in the boat house. Clearly the lower level was for water-related equipment. Upstairs though has the lanai, a single room, and a bathroom. If you remember the real estate photos, that room also had a built-in wall of cabinets. For what purpose? Was this a servant room separate from the gate house, or another guest room with a beautiful lanai? It’s all very intriguing to me. Random thoughts continue...

Yeah, but a pretty small room for anything truly useful. But the size of the lanai is a lot of trouble to go through for something that wouldn't get any use...

[K Hale]

Am I remembering correctly that we see the inside of the actual boathouse in “Don Luis Higgins”?

[Pahonu]

What has really begun to intrigue me though is the actual use of that space in the boat house. Clearly the lower level was for water-related equipment. Upstairs though has the lanai, a single room, and a bathroom. If you remember the real estate photos, that room also had a built-in wall of cabinets. For what purpose? Was this a servant room separate from the gate house, or another guest room with a beautiful lanai? It’s all very intriguing to me. Random thoughts continue...

Yeah, but a pretty small room for anything truly useful. But the size of the lanai is a lot of trouble to go through for something that wouldn't get any use...

Good points.

The upstairs of the boat house would make for a reasonable sized bedroom with a full bath. If I remember correctly the room is about 10x15 and it has a bathroom on the side near the perimeter wall as evidenced by the plumbing vent in the roof and the small window on that side. For reference, the lanai is about twice the size of the upstairs enclosed space, and the storage space below is about three times the size.

The question then becomes, how was it used? It’s quite a bit smaller than all the bedrooms suites in the main house. It’s also isolated on the other side of the property in an outbuilding used for storage so it seems unlikely as a guest suite. However it has that beautiful big lanai with stunning views, though no windows from the room face that view, so it doesn’t seem to be for a servant either. All the other servant bedrooms, 5 total and 2 bathrooms are in the gate house, which also includes a living room, kitchen, and laundry. That room is just sitting there, all by itself, in a great location.

I just haven’t been able to come to any conclusion on that upstairs space, unlike the other structures on the property whose functions and layout are clear. The one possibility that keeps coming to me is from a historic property in Malibu, California called the Adamson House. It is of similar age and architectural style. It is located similarly on the coast, with a long drive, a gate house, and a pool house similar to the one behind Pahonu. It also has a small boat house facing the lagoon side of the property and on top of the boat house is an uncovered patio space with stunning views of the lagoon. It’s like the lanai, but there isn’t a random room and bathroom out there. Maybe the space was used simply as a convenient bathroom and place to change. Not very exciting, but reasonable now that I think it through. This is turning into a stream of consciousness post!

[Pahonu]

Am I remembering correctly that we see the inside of the actual boathouse in “Don Luis Higgins”?

There’s some debate about this, but the storage space below was definitely shown in Hawaii Five-O. McGarrett was held hostage there in an early episode. You can even see an old wooden gate stored under there that matches one at the rear of the main house. We’ve only seen the upstairs from small glimpses through the door on Magnum and one or two real estate photos. A Vega$ episode might also have used the lower level of the boat house but that’s also uncertain.

[only looking]

This is a gold mine of information. Very very interesting

[Gorilla Mask]

Whouaa, i am learning a lot about the Lanai and the guesthouse. Panohu you're a wealth of informations ! (and relevant guessing too ).

However, i've got (again...) a question: i was always puzzled by the rather 'crude' aspect/pattern of the guest house walls (not raw wallstones, bricks but what seems to be some beige and dullish coating...) any thought about it ?

Edit: also, in the episode "The Black Orchid" (1.16), Higgins attempt a total conversion of the Guest House in (cherry) red color and ... green tribal like (or onaments linked to modern evocation of primitive hawaiian art)? I was (of course) amused by this trick (Obviously, Magnum was in shock ! ), besides, my second thought was that this kind of set wasn't so "garish" from nowodays decoration fashion tendance. Any opinion ?

[Pahonu]

Whouaa, i am learning a lot about the Lanai and the guesthouse. Panohu you're a wealth of informations ! (and relevant guessing too ).

However, i've got (again...) a question: i was always puzzled by the rather 'crude' aspect/pattern of the guest house walls (not raw wallstones, bricks but what seems to be some beige and dullish coating...) any thought about it ?

Glad you’re enjoying.

If you’re referring to the exterior of the actual boat house, not the set interior, the walls are constructed of structural terra-cotta blocks like the main house and other buildings. This is a fireproof method of construction popular in the early decades of the 20th century. The first floor ceilings/second level floors are steel beams and concrete, also fireproof. This information is from newspaper articles published at the time of Pahonu’s construction. The exposed exterior wood was all redwood too. It’s very durable in that climate and resists termites which are a big problem there. It was a well built home in it’s day, with high quality materials and construction methods.

Back to your question. The exterior block walls are then covered with concrete stucco, troweled on in a very rough manner. This was done intentionally as part of the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style to imitate the coarseness of thick adobe block walls. The interior plaster was also roughly applied for the same reason. The interior walls of the set were likely wood framed with drywall and course plaster applied. No weather considerations there as the sets are all inside a soundstage.

Check this out for a little primer on the style:

https://fieldselpaso.com/wp-content/upl ... lisher.pdf

[Gorilla Mask]

Bon sang... my wife was almost weeping when she saw the illustrations of your docuement !

Yes, that is a strudy while very elegant and durable way of building..; impressive, really. It brought tears when you're thinking about the old Anderson Estate hacienda... now gone.

It reminds me of Zorro filming studios...

Some pictures i found in a french forum.

https://ibb.co/gtqKnCw
https://ibb.co/kBQd6BK
https://ibb.co/41NRJDD

And fot this last one...

https://ibb.co/NjkvdRr

... does the interior of that set recall you another one ?

[Pahonu]

Bon sang... my wife was almost weeping when she saw the illustrations of your docuement !

Yes, that is a strudy while very elegant and durable way of building..; impressive, really. It brought tears when you're thinking about the old Anderson Estate hacienda... now gone.

It reminds me of Zorro filming studios...

Some pictures i found in a french forum.

https://ibb.co/gtqKnCw
https://ibb.co/kBQd6BK
https://ibb.co/41NRJDD

And fot this last one...

https://ibb.co/NjkvdRr

... does the interior of that set recall you another one ?

Your wife has good taste! Glad she liked it. Here’s another link she might like, with a bit of a Hollywood connection:

https://eyefordesignlfd.blogspot.com/20 ... d.html?m=1

Those sets were designed to look like the old missions of 18th and 19th century California, then a Spanish colony, later Mexico. These would be the inspiration for the Spanish Colonial Revival style of the 1920’s & 30’s that Pahonu was designed in. There was an earlier, smaller Mission Revival style that happened about 2 decades earlier, but Pahonu came later. Pahonu does draw a lot from some of the less-ornate elements of the earlier mission style, particularly the broad roof overhangs, and the long arcades of its courtyard. Later examples of the style showed more refinement of details depicted in the link I provided.

It is sad to think that Pahonu is gone given its beautiful design and high quality construction, but it was a design (internally) for another time, and even well built structures need maintenance. Pahonu was neglected for too long and ultimately it’s land became the real value of the property over the buildings themselves.

Those Zorro scenes were filmed on the soundstages at Disney Studios in Burbank, not far from where I grew up. Coincidentally, I briefly met Tom Selleck there back in the mid-90’s. I was there for a meeting that happened to be in an office next to the one he had there at the time.

[Gorilla Mask]

It is sad to think that Pahonu is gone given its beautiful design and high quality construction, but it was a design (internally) for another time, and even well built structures need maintenance. Pahonu was neglected for too long and ultimately it’s land became the real value of the property over the buildings themselves.

Those Zorro scenes were filmed on the soundstages at Disney Studios in Burbank, not far from where I grew up. Coincidentally, I briefly met Tom Selleck there back in the mid-90’s. I was there for a meeting that happened to be in an office next to the one he had there at the time.

I have to (again) warmly thanks you for taking time to bring these links. From a cultural point of view, i am learning a lot. That is exactly the style (Altogether with Art deco, i have to admit) i am fond of ! That was one of the reason why i first review all the MPI show six years ago.

I said to my wife, while staring at "Robin's Nest', : " that is the place i would have wanted to live !"

Here in Dordogne, we have just bought a very nice and quite large countryside house in "Périgourdine" style. I like it much too, but ol' Pahonu will stay as the "state of art".

The main House was only 80 years old when it was torn down (that is not very very old here, in France): did the inner structure suffered damage beyond repair or was it the new owner's choice ?