Top Gun House

Top Gun House, formally known as the Graves House, is a restored Folk Victorian seaside cottage located on North Pacific Street in Oceanside, California. The house was completed in 1888 as a summer residence for Dr Henry Graves and his wife, Sarah, who normally lived in Riverside. It originally stood at 102 North Pacific Street, on the corner of Pacific and First Street, now known as Seagaze Drive, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The single-storey cottage is distinguished by its veranda, elaborate spindlework, decorative brackets, roof cresting and central brick chimney, and is regarded as the last surviving oceanfront Folk Victorian cottage in San Diego County. After standing vacant for several years, the building was moved in 2019 to allow construction of the Mission Pacific Hotel. It underwent an extensive restoration in which damaged or missing windows, wooden cladding, porches and decorative details were reconstructed using historic photographs. The cottage was subsequently placed one block north of its original site, still facing the ocean, and incorporated into the grounds of Mission Pacific Beach Resort. It operated as the High-Pie dessert shop from 2022 until early 2026 and now contains the aviation-themed An’s Gate D5 gelato shop.

Top Gun House has appeared in Top Gun (1986). The cottage represents the Oceanside home of civilian astrophysicist and Topgun instructor Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood. The production also used a neighbouring house formerly located behind the cottage, meaning that Charlie’s screen residence was assembled from more than one building and additional sets.

In Top Gun (1986), Top Gun House appears as the home rented by Charlie while she works as a civilian instructor at the United States Navy’s fighter weapons school. After learning that Maverick encountered a MiG-28 and flew inverted directly above it, Charlie invites him to dinner so that she can obtain more information about the aircraft. Maverick arrives late after continuing a volleyball game with Goose, Iceman and Slider, and rides his motorcycle along palm-lined North Pacific Street before stopping outside the cottage. Inside Charlie’s home, the two discuss the MiG encounter, Charlie’s ambitions, Maverick’s missing father and their growing attraction. Maverick eventually leaves after telling Charlie that he is going to take a shower, using the remark to excuse himself rather than continuing towards her bathroom. The cottage’s exterior, entrance and oceanfront surroundings establish Charlie’s home, while the dinner and later romantic material are presented as taking place within the same residence. Paramount Pictures rented the Graves House and the adjoining property at 112 First Street for two weeks in June 1985. The neighbouring building was used for additional Oceanside footage connected to Charlie’s home, so not every interior, rear deck or garden area seen in the film belonged to the surviving cottage.

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