HOMES OF THE TREASURE COAST
82
HOME & DESIGN
During the 2004 hurricanes, some tiles broke loose
and Guthrie was ordered to replace the whole roof.
Deepwater docks were destroyed.
When storm surge ate up some of his riverfront
land, Guthrie repaired the property, angering the
Army Corps of Engineers and the St. Johns River
Water Management District.
“They said, ‘If you want to fight us in court, you
will win, but it will cost you $3 million and take 10
years. Or you can pay a $35,000 fine.’” The fine was
later waived, Guthrie says.
During construction, Guthrie did some camping
out in the upstairs office with temporary power from
the dock. “There was a whole world of things you
have to laugh about and take with a grain of salt,” he
says. “I put far more into it than I will get out of it, but
the value was in doing it.”
PREVIOUS LIFE
Built in the mid-1930s as a Coast Guard station, it
was used to watch the Sebastian Inlet for German Uboats
during the 1940s, but was closed when the inlet
was filled in. The building later became Indian River
Fishlets, where crab meat was canned.
A long-time visitor at the Ashram interfaith spiritual
community in Sebastian while in Florida to see
his father-in-law in West Palm Beach, Guthrie knew
the area.
“I saw this vacant building and said I wish someone
would do something with that,” he says. “After a
few years of negotiating, I bought it. I had been living >>
When the entire Guthrie clan descends on The Crab House, the industrial kitchen
is put to the test during meal preparations.
The only original walls left in the house are found in the covered lanai with views of the Sebastian Inlet.