Hearst Castle
two and half hours north of Santa Barbara
is the tiny town of San Simeon (pop 462)
home to what was once
one of the largest private homes in America.
formally know as La Cuesta Encantada
(the enchanted hill),
its creator, William Randolph Hearst,
referred to it as The Ranch
and today, being part of the California Park System
(since soon after his death in 1951)
it's commonly known as Hearst Castle.
view of the castle
from Pacific Coast Highway 1
Hearst, an only child, inherited the 250,000 acre property
which included 13 miles of California coast line
from his mother .
he immediately set out
to create a home more comfortable
than the tents he normally used
while visiting the site for his entire life.
organized tours of the property now take you
to the castle by bus,
1600' above the pacific
on five miles of switchback road.
the property is still a working ranch
producing wine and grass fed beef
(available at California Whole Foods stores).
zebras and African antelope, decedents of Hearst's one time private zoo
can be seen grazing alongside the ranch's cattle.
the front of the (generally) Mediterranean Revival castle
(with it's Gothic facade appointments)
the entire structure was built
of steel reinforced concrete
the entry hall
with it's 1800 yr old
Roman mosaic floor.
the 750,000 tourists a year
are no longer allowed to come through the front door
as to preserve the tile.
the estate costs $12M annually to maintain
with no endowment left by Hearst
the receiving hall
with it's Renaissance treasures
and Flemish tapestries.
most of the architectural elements
were purchased from cash-strapped European countries
after WW1.
a mantle-over-mantle fireplace
from a French Chateau
the Gothic dining hall
with it's coffered Renaissance ceiling
depicting Mary and the twelve saints.
there are basically three tours offered
one for the grand rooms
one for the upstairs suits
and one for the cottages and kitchen.
(at $25 per tour)
we only took the grand rooms tour
so we'll have something to go back and see
at another time.
with the lighting being so low
it was hard to photograph the other rooms properly :(
the three guest cottages
were the first buildings built on the hill.
ranging in size from
2500 to 5300 sq feet
and four to eight bedrooms
each was named for it's view
casa del mar
casa del monte
casa del sol
in it's heyday
visiting guests had their trip paid for,
door to door,
by Mr Hearst.
even with abundant staff,
it was not run as a hotel.
there was no breakfast in bed
and guests were expected to participate
in daily activities:
horseback riding, tennis, swimming to mention a few.
and sometimes, at a moment's notice
Mr Hearst would request
his guests to perform an original play.
there is a in-home theater
with a stage (and for movies)
and since he owned a movie production company
(with abundant costumes)
and a number of his guests were
famous entertainers,
his request didn't seem too far off the mark.
did I mention swimming?
the infamous Neptune pool
highlighting the 4c. Roman temple.
it was heated.
this is the third pool to be built on the site,
Mr Hearst liked to change his mind.....
the pool is currently drained of water
due to leaks of 3,000-7,000 gallons of water per day
(depending on the docent you talk to).
the marble tiles will be removed,
cracks repaired, a membrane installed
and the tiles relaid
by the end of next year.
then there's the indoor Roman pool
(with the tennis courts above)
a ceiling of painted cork
that resembles the ocean's sandy bottom
marble ladder head
and diving platform in the alcove
thousands of mosaic tiles on the deck
and the same tiles line the inside of the pool,
to represent the starry heavens.
after leaving the property
a short drive further north
takes you to the breeding and calving grounds of
elephant seals
by this time of year
most of the breeding and calving are finished,
and what's left laying around are this season's pups.
who after being born at 70lbs
are weaned four weeks later at
close to 300lbs.
at the time of weaning
the mom is bred again
and she abandons her pup to go back to sea.
the pup will then make their first foray into the water,
building muscle and skill
and loosing some of their buoyant fat
before heading out to sea on their own.
an adult male
(only males grow the large proboscis)
these guys come ashore in November
to establish territory and
to wait for the females' arrival in January.
they arrive weighing upwards of 5,000 lbs
and leave, once all of the females have gone,
having not eaten in close to three months,
2,000 lbs lighter.
a youngin
reminds me of Phineas....
a happy tourist feeding the squirrels in the parking lot
such a fun day!
