Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle is the palatial estate built by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. It is located near San Simeon, California, on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Donated by the Hearst Corporation to the state of California in 1957, it is now a State Historical Monument and a National Historic Landmark, open for public tours. Hearst formally named the estate "La Cuesta Encantada" ("The Enchanted Hill"), but he usually just called it "the ranch". The castle and grounds are also sometimes referred to as "San Simeon" without distinguishing between the Hearst property and the unincorporated town of the same name.

History

Hearst Castle was built on a 40,000 acre (160 km²) ranch that William Randolph Hearst's father, George Hearst, originally purchased in 1865. The younger Hearst grew fond of this site over many childhood family camping trips. He inherited the ranch, which had grown to 250,000 acres (1,000 km²), from his mother, Phoebe Hearst, upon her death in 1919. Construction began that same year and continued through 1947, when he stopped living at the estate due to ill health. San Francisco architect Julia Morgan designed most of the buildings. Hearst was an inveterate tinkerer, and would tear down structures and rebuild them at a whim. For example, the opulent Neptune Pool was rebuilt three times before Hearst was satisfied. As a consequence of Hearst's persistent design changes, the estate was never completed in his lifetime.

The estate is a pastiche of historic architectural styles that Hearst admired in his travels around Europe. For example, the main house is modeled after a 16th century Spanish cathedral, while the outdoor swimming pool features an ancient Roman temple front transported wholesale from Europe and reconstructed at the site. Hearst furnished the estate with truckloads of art, antiques, and even whole ceilings that he acquired in their entirety from Europe and Egypt.

Hearst Castle featured 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, Шаблон:Convert of gardens, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a movie theater, an airfield, and the world's largest private zoo. Zebras and other exotic animals still roam the grounds. Morgan, an accomplished civil engineer, devised a gravity-based water delivery system from a nearby mountain. One highlight of the estate is the Neptune Pool, which features an expansive vista of the mountains, ocean and the main house. looks out to the mountains of the central coast.]]

Invitations to Hearst Castle were highly coveted during its heyday in the 1920s and '30s. The Hollywood and political elite often visited, usually flying into the estate's airfield or taking a private Hearst-owned train car from Los Angeles. Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, the Marx Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, James Stewart, Bob Hope, Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill were among Hearst's A-list guests. While guests were expected to attend the formal dinners each evening, they were normally left to their own devices during the day while Hearst directed his business affairs. Since "the Ranch" had so many facilities, guests were rarely at a loss for things to do. The estate's theater usually screened films from Hearst's own movie studio, Cosmopolitan Productions. Hearst Castle became so famous that it was caricatured in the 1941 Orson Welles film Citizen Kane as Charles Foster Kane's "Xanadu". The estate is portrayed as a gloomy and ridiculously self-indulgent barony.

condition of the Hearst Corporation's donation of the estate was that the Hearst family would be allowed to use it when they wished. Patty Hearst, a granddaughter of William Randolph, related that as a child, she hid behind statues in the Neptune Pool while tours passed by. Although the main estate is now a museum, the Hearst family continues to use an older Victorian house on the property as a retreat — the original house built by George Hearst in the late 19th century. The house is screened from tourist routes by a dense grove of eucalyptus, to provide maximum privacy for the guests. In 2001, Patty Hearst hosted a Travel Channel show on the estate, and Amanda Hearst modeled for a fashion photo shoot at the estate for a Hearst Corporation magazine, Town and Country, in 2006.

Size

The total square footage of the castles on the estate exceeds 90,000 square feet (8,300 m²). The area of Casa Grande, the "castle", is 60,645 square feet (5,634 m²). The area of the guest houses on the property are:

  • Casa del Mar: 5,875 square feet (546 m²)
  • Casa del Monte: 2,291 square feet (213 m²)
  • Casa del Sol: 2,604 square feet (242 m²)

Location

Hearst Castle is located near San Simeon, California, about 250 miles (400 km) from both Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Шаблон:Convert from San Luis Obispo.

The castle itself is five miles (eight kilometers) inland on a hill. Access is only by a scheduled tour bus, and as of 2008 tickets are USD$24-$30 depending on the season and time of day. Reservations are recommended during busy periods such as summer, weekends and holidays. Evening tours with Living History docents portraying Hearst's guests and visitors are available typically Sept to May.

Directly across the street from the entrance is San Simeon State Park, which features a fishing pier and a public park.

Sources

References

Шаблон:Reflist

External links

Шаблон:Commonscat

Listed in the following categories:
Post a comment
Tips & Hints
Arrange By:
Richard Revilla
13 October 2014
Amazing home and property. They now let you wander the grounds so you can spend a good part of your day here. Tours are $25. Book ahead.
Connie Chiu
29 December 2016
Gorgeously excessive. The grand room tour was quite grand. It gets cold up there so bring and extra jacket during the winter.
LeVan Greene
2 January 2018
12-30-17 was my first time visiting a Christmas gift. I did The Grand Tour Rooms it was spectacular all dressed up for Christmas, will definitely be back to see more of the Castle.
Diana Arz
5 March 2018
Absolutely stunning! Neptune pool was still under construction Mar ‘18, but it didn’t spoil the experience. Took a grand tour. Highly recommend visiting! They call this place “enchanted” for a reason✨
Lucille Fisher
11 January 2015
An enchanting place! The house is a medley of architectural styles& periods. May not be to everyone's taste, but it's fantastic. And the panoramic views highlight the beauty of Central Coast CA.
Angie Osmanski
20 July 2018
Pleasantly surprised at how wonderful this stop was! A cannot miss along Highway one!
Load more comments
foursquare.com
8.4/10
367,093 people have been here
Map
750 Hearst Castle Road, San Simeon, CA 93452, USA Get directions
Fri 9:00 AM–5:00 PM
Sat 9:00 AM–7:00 PM
Sun 9:00 AM–6:00 PM
Mon 9:00 AM–5:00 PM
Tue-Wed 9:00 AM–4:00 PM

Hearst Castle on Foursquare

Hearst Castle on Facebook

Hotels nearby

See all hotels See all
Cavalier Oceanfront Resort

starting $201

San Simeon Lodge

starting $79

Courtesy Inn

starting $63

Sands by the Sea Motel

starting $79

Silver Surf Motel

starting $65

Days Inn by Wyndham San Simeon

starting $85

Recommended sights nearby

See all See all
Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Neptune Pool

The Neptune Pool is the name of the outdoor swimming pool ensemble at

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Hearst San Simeon State Historic Monument

Hearst San Simeon State Historic Monument is a tourist attraction,

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
San Simeon State Beach

San Simeon State Beach is a tourist attraction, one of the Beaches in

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery

Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery is a tourist attraction, one of

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Nitt Witt Ridge

Nitt Witt Ridge is a house on two-and-a-half-acres in Cambria,

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Salmon Creek Falls

Salmon Creek Falls is a 120 foot (36 meter) waterfall near Gorda in

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Fort Hunter Liggett

Fort Hunter Liggett, named after General Hunter Liggett in 1941, is a

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Mission San Antonio de Padua

Mission San Antonio de Padua was founded on July 14, 1771, the third

Similar tourist attractions

See all See all
Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Old Westbury Gardens

Old Westbury Gardens is the former estate of John Shaffer Phipps

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Arundel Castle

Arundel Castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England is a restored medieval

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Powis Castle

Powis Castle (Welsh: Castell Powis or Castell Coch) is a medieval

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Gillette Castle State Park

Gillette Castle State Park is located in East Haddam, Connecticut in

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Greys Court

Greys Court is a Tudor country house and associated gardens, located

See all similar places