While in Borrego, we dined on the patio of a café called Kesling's Kitchen never inquiring about the name. When we learned more about the man behind the name, we did some investigating.

If you know something about architecture, yet nothing of Kesling’s work, that’s understandable. Kesling was almost completely overlooked during his lifetime, and completely forgotten after his retirement.

With no formal architecture training, he opened his own office, Kesling Modern Structures, in 1934, designing houses for the well-to-do. Kesling adopted what was known as the Streamline Moderne style, characterized by horizontal lines, flat-to-very-low sloping roofs and huge glass openings that bring the outside in.

And why don't we know more about Mr. Kesling's life? Sadly, it was marred by two sets of legal troubles. By the end of the Great Depression, he was sued for his inability to complete some houses at their contracted price. Charging more than you contracted for was a common practice at the time — one that Frank Lloyd Wright was notorious for — but it was felt that an example had to be made. Kesling pleaded guilty before a grand jury to one count of stealing $24. The judge sentenced him to San Quentin, but commuted that to two years’ probation, during which Kesling could not design or build anything. Being as he was not formally trained, other architects did not look kindly on the perceived interloper.

After his probation ended in 1939, Kesling moved to La Jolla, for a fresh start, changing the way it did business- catering to the everyman. Kesling said he designed 3,000 San Diego homes, a claim which has never been substantiated. However, there were at least a few hundred, probably many more.

Because he was not employed by San Diego’s elite, however — and also because he worked as his own contractor, which was considered beneath noteworthy architects — Kesling was never regarded as a master. And he continued to be as bad at business as he was good at designing. A second tango with financial trouble and/or the law — the nature of which remains undisclosed because the court records were sealed — forced Kesling to sell his business and assets in 1962.

Kesling reportedly worked handyman jobs until his death of Alzheimer’s disease in October 1983. Afterward, his wife Ehrma destroyed all his drawings and records, assuming that no one would ever want them. (This is why the architect’s claim to have designed 3,000 San Diego homes can’t be substantiated.)

It wasn’t until 2000 that the extent, and aesthetic worth, of Kesling’s work was rediscovered and properly assessed. Now the world will hopefully know this creative man and the incredible mark he has left on architecture.