Hearst Castle

Our tour of Duncarrick Mansion reminded me a little of Heart Castle in San Simeon, California. The 'castle' was the home built for and designed by newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst. The architect he worked with was Julia Morgan. He was well known in Hollywood and was host many of the top entertainers in early 1900s who were invited to stay at the compound. There are three structures, the main house and two outbuildings. I had the opportunity to do two of the tours they offered in 2000, both focused the main building. 

Hearst Castle is a good example of concentric circles in an historic building. The building materials used for parts of the structures came from dilapidated homes and castles across Europe. As the tours go through the various rooms, the guide describes the stones for the arches came from a structure hundred years old. These structural materials mixed well with the contents. Along the top of the walls by the ceiling were tapestries from different centuries. This was offset by furniture pieces for the time period. There are hidden doorways which Hearst used to get around without his guests seeing him. 

It took a lot items to decorate the complex. Hearst collected items during trips and often had other people obtain and ship pieces to him. He started to built up the collection before the buildings were finished, so a storage building was built near the coastline to hold them. He would not live long enough to enjoy the oasis, he died in August 14, 1951. The family donated the land and complex to the State of California. There is a team of curators who has the on-going task of check all of the artifacts and grounds for preservation issues. Also available are several collections related to Hearst Castle.

The state built a welcome center at the bottom of the hill where the tours start from along with the souvenir shop.  I enjoyed both tours (although not knowing at the time I had a non-displaced fracture of the left ankle) and would like to go back to take the other ones. It is a must see for those traveling through this part of California.

Source and Photo: http://hearstcastle.org/