Ginsburgs’ Heritage Castle. Photo by Tony LaBruno
Charlotte and Allen Ginsburg, M.D. purchased the Portuguese Point Gatehouse on Portuguese Point from Michael and Marilyn Lightman on May 1, 2014. The Villa’s imposing and storied wooden gates speak of the time when prohibition prevailed and flappers were in fashion. To avoid detection, bootleggers anchored their boats in what became known as Smugglers Cove in front of the house. There is a rich Peninsula history here Dr. Ginsburg recalled, “It’s a place of distinction, we want to take care of it, nurture it. It takes a lot of work and vigilance, it doesn’t just happen, to have beautiful open space preserved in perpetuity.”
The couple’s acquisition of the property was motivated by their goal of maintaining its place in the Peninsula’s rich history. In December of 2014, they worked with the planning commission to approve the conversion of 2,690 square feet of the estate into a non profit that is to be called the Heritage Castle. The couple ardently supports the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy.
Heritage Castle was originally known as the Harden Estate. It was designed by architect Gordon Kaufmann, who is also designed oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny’s Greystone Manor and the Hoover Dam. It was built in 1926 for Ruth Vanderlip and her husband Edward Walker Harden. Ruth was the daughter of Peninsula pioneer Frank Vanderlip. In 1902, while attending college and staying with her brother Frank in New York, Ruth introduced her brother to Mabel Narcissa Cox, known to friends as Clover. Frank and Narcissa became engaged seven days later. Frank’s best man was Edward Harden and Ruth was one of Narcissa’s five bridesmaids. Frank and Edward had previously agreed that whoever married first would have his honeymoon paid for by the other. Dutifully, the friends on both sides of the families drew up the anticipated costs of the resplendent honeymoon and published it in the Aurora Beacon-News. Four months later Ruth and Edward married. It was a close race to the altar and remains unknown if Edward actually paid for the Vanderlip honeymoon.
This Mediterranean Revival villa originally housed furnishings by the same artisan who made the furniture for William Randolph Hearst’s Castle in San Simeon. Its 2.06 acreage overlooks Abalone Cove. “We have daily whale, dolphin and sea lion sightings,” Charlotte said. The Olmsted Brothers (whose father Frederick designed New York’s Central Park and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park) designed the landscaping to emphasize the environment’s natural beauty, which includes ocean pathways, viewing gardens and lush greenery that seems to stretch to infinity. The brothers’ genius lay in producing soothing scenes by subordinating individual details to the whole. Charlotte described their backyard “as a place she goes to renew her spirit.” The Ginsburg’s friend and decorator Alex Perez said that busy as the couple is, they meet most evenings outside to watch the sunset and the peacocks. He said he’ll have ideas on how to create a look and Charlotte will take it up a notch to really make a statement. “Like the bow on the top of the Christmas tree. I had it extending out a few inches and she said, Have it extend out a few feet.”
Heritage Castle was inspired by the Renaissance era Dovecote building in Ospitaletto, Italy. These types of structures have holes for doves and pigeons to nest in. Italians would dine on the eggs and meat from these birds and even fertilize their fields with the droppings. Ruth Harden was an ardent conservationist. Unfortunately, with the stock market crash in 1929, the Hardens were unable to complete their dream estate, which was to have been a Palos Verdes version of Hearst Castle. The extensive plans hang framed inside the home, along with black and white photos of Ruth and Edward Harden. In 1990, the Rancho de Los Palos Verdes Historical Society designated the gatehouse an historical building.
“We purchased this property because heritage lives here, dreams were here and people of consequence tried to do things,” Dr. Ginsburg said
Dr. Ginsburg is a retired eye surgeon and real estate entrepreneur. Charlotte is a fashion and costume designer with a background in theatre, set design and dance. At the Castle, she keeps a collection of Broadway show style feathered hats that she designs and makes by hand — many with peacock feathers and all with her signature flair. She bought the house without her husband seeing it first yet. Happily, he trusted her judgement.
The couple married in 1990 in a simple ceremony at a city courthouse. Charlotte said of her husband, “He is a “visionary, he is always in the future.” The couple has five children from previous marriages — Gregory, Daniel, Jeffrey, Quinn and Charmaine.
A number of movies and television shows have been filmed at the Castle, including “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” The caper’s closing scene shows palm trees planted in the shape of a “W,” marking where the ovie’s hidden treasure is buried. The trees were planted for the movie in the Ginsburg’s backyard and remain in the shape of a giant W.
“It’s a great challenge to be in a place where dreams started,” Dr. Ginsburg said.
