Top Gun House

TheTop GunHouse, formerly known as theGraves House, is a historic landmark inOceanside, Californiaknown for being the location in a scene in the 1986 action drama filmTop Gun, starringTom Cruise. It was built in 1888 and utilizesFolk Victorianstyles, being one of the earliest surviving examples of it inSan Diego County.As of 2023, it is in possession of the Mission Pacific Hotel and contains apie shop.
The lot was first purchased in 1886 by Dr. Henry Graves, a surgeon from Ohio, for $1,050 (equivalent to $35,607 in 2023). It was to be used as a seasonal summer home for him and his wife Sarah and was completed in 1888.They continued to summer there until March 1905 when they sold it to Charles and Lillian Burlock. The Burlocks sold the building to Southwestern Realty in 1910 and it was purchased again in 1921 by F.C. Janssen. The Graves continued to be associated with the house until 1914, with locals still calling it the "Graves' cottage" until then. B.C. and Margaret Beers bought the building in 1926, selling it to Edward and Edith Deggendorf and Angeline G. Morgan in 1928 and 1929, respectively. Her son rented the house until 1966, sharing it with his family before selling it to an amusement park on the beach, called Pacific Holidayland, which closed in 1983.
The house soon fell into disrepair but was bought again by Lynn and William Rego in December 1975, for $75,000. They repainted the originally brown house to its signature blue color. The Regos were contacted byParamount Pictures, who were looking for a beach cottage as a film location, in 1985. The studio rented the house and the one behind it for two weeks in June and was prepared by the crew by removing road signs and covering curbs with sand. InTop Gun, the house was used as the main love interest, Charlie Blackwood's (played byKelly McGillis) dwelling.
The cottage was included in a Cultural Resource Survey in 1992, being noted as "one of the few 1880s beach cottages remaining in near-pristine condition." In 2001, theSave Our Heritage Organisationlisted the building in its Most Endangered List of Historic Resources due to a hotel planned to be constructed on the block.In preparation for a new hotel, the block that held the house was cleared, destroying three other historic houses, including the one behind theTop GunHouse that appeared in the film. A fourth, called the Pishon house, was saved by relocation. The Oceanside Historical Society helped maintain the house and put up a sign informing tourists and passersby about the historical significance of the house. A fence had to be erected in 2009 to prevent intentional damage to the house, as multiple people had been breaking in.
S.D. Malkin Properties, Inc. announced that the house was to be restored and be used as the "centerpiece" of a new resort. It was relocated and restored a block north of its original location in the courtyard of the new Mission Pacific Hotel in 2020, reopening on May 20, 2022, a week before the release ofTop Gun: Maverick, the movie's sequel.The restoration cost almost $1 million.It is home to a pie shop, called High-Pie, and someTop Gunmemorabilia. A replica of theKawasaki GPZ900RTom Cruise rides in the movie is displayed in front of the house as well.
High-Pie, which opened in 2022, is thepie shoplocated in the house. It was created by Tara Lazar, a native ofPalm Springs. There, she owns three restaurants, two bars, a hotel, and a catering company. A dessert concept worked best in comparison to the shop's small size and both Lazar and Scott Malkin, the owner of the hotel, were fans ofapple pie. It is open from 10AM to 8PM daily.The shop offers pies in apple, cherry, blueberry, lemon, and peach flavors, withPie à la Modesand a variety of themed beverages. It also sells merchandise themed after the shop.