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Dates: Thursday, February 6th, 9:30am
Location: Zoom! See your e-mail for the link!
Website: https://hearstcastle.org/
a west coast castle
a west coast castle
This week we are joining the California State Parks rangers to learn more about the architecture of Hearst Castle and its architect, Julia Morgan. The castle, located in San Simeon, California, is a testament to her engineering and design work. She ultimately designed more than 700 California buildings, though the castle is her most famed location. Before we virtually head up the coast to look at the beauty of the castle and the amazing woman who saw it built, we’ll take a quick look at how it came to be!
San Simeon Beginnings
San Simeon was founded in 1836, when the San Miguel Mission divided the area into 3 ranches: San Simeon, Santa Rosa, and Piedra Blanca. Not long after the split, San Simeon made a name for itself as a whaling station, helped by the natural harbor at San Simeon Point, as well as the grey whale migration patterns that took the animals right past the area.
Though the whaling industry boomed for a short time, by the 1860s it was in decline. The value of whale oil was decreasing and fewer ships were sent to sea to harvest the whale population. As the whaling industry began to shrink, it provided less economic boom for San Simeon. This economic downturn, coupled with a drought in the early 60s, meant that San Simeon ranchers were left with very little good grazing land for their stock. They were soon forced to sell off their land. Waiting to buy was one George Hearst who soon came to own 40,000 acres in the San Simeon area. \
If you get a chance to head up the coast for an in-person visit, check out all of the other amazing things to do in this coastal town. You can see the top 10 things (after, of course, visiting Hearst Castle) to do here:
The Father of an Empire
George Hearst, born in 1820, worked his way out of family debt to becoming a self made millionaire. George struck out from Missouri to try his luck in California, mining for gold. Not only did George strike it rich in gold, he was an early investor in the Comstock Lode silver rush. After eloping with a young woman named Phoebe from Missouri back to California, George was nominated to the California State Assembly, representing the San Francisco area. He continued to pursue mining all over the American West, buying real estate and even winning a small newspaper office, the San Francisco Examiner, as payment for a gambling debt. Though he remained interested in mining, his son, William Randolph, expressed an interest in journalism and asked to take over the struggling newspaper business.
Read George’s amazing biography here:
To listen to a podcast about his history, you can check out this 45 minute episode here:
william randolph hearst
william randolph hearst
William was born in 1863 in San Francisco. His father had already established his wealth, so William received a valuable education (George was always interested in books but was described as ‘almost illiterate’) and became interested in publishing and journalism.
Read George’s amazing biography here:
You can watch an hour-long C-SPAN documentary on Hearst here.
To read about his influence in journalism, especially ‘yellow journalism’, check out this short article here:
building a castle in california
building a castle in california
William inherited the land in San Simeon in 1919 from his mother. His father had died in 1891 and left the bulk of the fortune to his wife. By the time William inherited from his mother, the San Simeon property had grown from 40,000 acres to 250,000 acres. William decided to build a small home on what the family called “Camp Hill”. William contacted Julia Morgan, California’s first licensed female architect for help. Julia had worked on his mother’s home in San Francisco and William liked her work. But once Julia and William put their heads together to plan the house, “La Cuesta Encantada” or ‘the Enchanted Hill’, grew by leaps and bounds.
Julia and William worked on Hearst Castle for 28 years, spending $6.5 million on the building itself, then filling it with $3.5 million in art from around the world.
To watch a 45 minute presentation on the creation of Hearst Castle, check out this video here:
To read some more fun facts about the castle, check out this article here:
Tune in this week to learn about the amazing architect, Julia Morgan, and the building of this unique Californian Castle! We will start right on time at 9:30! See you then!
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