Hearst Castle
William Randolph Hearst
While America has no royal family, we do have a real castle. Hearst Castle was the dream home of William Randolph Hearst, the powerful media mogul, with 115 gilded rooms, including 38 bedrooms, which is over 68,000 square feet in the main house alone. Immortalized as “Xanadu” in Orson Welles’s 1941 movie Citizen Kane, and somewhat fictionalized, its true story falls squarely under the category, “you can’t make this up.”
Colorful History
Hearst used it as his home, living there with his mistress, the actress Marion Davies, from the Roaring 1920s through 1947 (Hearst was married, but his wife, Millicent, refused to grant him a divorce). Hearst’s extensive wine cellar was especially popular during the Prohibition years, and they entertained the biggest Hollywood stars of the day. There was a saying in Hollywood that there were two groups of stars: those who had been to Hearst Castle and those who said they had been to Hearst Castle.
Hollywood Legends
Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, and Charlie Chaplin were regular visitors. Cary Grant, Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Bob Hope, Mary Pickford, Jimmy Stewart, and Joan Crawford were among the guests at Hearst’s lavish parties, as were political figures like Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge, and notables such as George Bernard Shaw, P.G. Wodehouse and Charles Lindbergh. A prolific collector, among Hearst’s valuable treasures was a trove of furs stored in the basement. Legend has it that Harpo Marx raided the fur vaults late one night, and in the morning, guests were greeted by the sight of the garden statues draped in opulent mink coats.
Hearst Treasures
Eventually encompassing 250,000 acres, including a functioning ranch and the world’s largest private zoo, Hearst loved to show off the estate on horseback. These tours were dreaded by his famous guests, many of whom were not comfortable in the saddle. During one long trip, Clark Gable reportedly quipped, “When we get to the next brow of a hill, we’ll see L.A. over 200 miles away.” Hearst also loved to organize overnight camping expeditions on the vast grounds, trips so lavish they required more than a dozen pack mules to carry the supplies, which, in addition to the usual gear, included caviar and champagne. Perhaps Hearst was the OG of glamping.
Groundbreaking Female Architect
In 1919, Hearst commissioned architect Julia Morgan to design the Castle, originally called “La Cuesta Encantada,” or The Enchanted Hill. San Francisco-based Morgan was the first independent female architect to have her own practice in California, the first woman to study architecture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and the first female winner of the AIA Gold Medal.
The two spent over twenty years building Hearst Castle and the surrounding property and outbuildings, often incorporating European interiors and fixtures that Hearst saw on his travels and shipped to the U.S. The Castle also housed one of the world’s largest private art collections. In the 2,500-square-foot Assembly Room, four 16th-century tapestries hang on the walls. These are the originals, the only known set still in existence. The Louvre in Paris has copies. When Hearst died in 1951, he left the entire property to Marion Davies, but she returned it to his family for a reported $1.
Public Park on the California Coast
Located along the Pacific coast on scenic Highway One in San Simeon, California, the Castle is midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Perched on a hill more than a quarter of a mile above the ocean, today Hearst Castle is open to the public as part of the California State Park system and receives about 700,000 visitors per year. It’s a perfect and picturesque four-hour road trip from L.A. or San Francisco.
Tours, Magnificent Swimming Pools
The Castle is so vast that you can’t really see it all in one swoop. There are ten regular tours you can take, including the grand rooms, upstairs suites, cottages and kitchens, art, Hollywood, evening and holiday tours. The outdoor Neptune Pool reopened recently after a two-year, $10 million restoration. Built into a hilltop, the pool is surrounded by Italian-relief sculptures and Greco-Roman style marble colonnades. The indoor Roman Pool has been dubbed the “most sumptuous swimming pool on earth” for its shimmering blue and gold glass tiles, Greek and Roman statues and mosaic-tile patterns inspired by a 5th-century mausoleum in Ravenna, Italy.
Artworks
Hearst purchased a number of paintings, sculptures and antiquities to fill the house, outbuildings and grounds, and most of his enormous art collection is still there to see; the venue today functions as a museum. A few highlights include Venus Italica, a sculpture by Antonio Canova in Florence, once owned by Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother. Depicting an Italian Venus, the delicately detailed statue is considered a masterpiece. A grouping of four sculptures of Sekhmet, the Egyptian war goddess, date from the New Kingdom of Egypt, c. 1550-1070 BCE, and are the oldest works of art in the Castle collection. Hearst purchased them at different times from different sources, and architect Julia Morgan placed them together on an esplanade on the hill.
The Orchid Vase
A lamp made from the Tiffany “Orchid Vase” was commissioned by Hearst’s mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst. The silver vase won top prizes at the 1889 Paris Universal Exhibition, and after Phoebe purchased it, she had Tiffany & Co. convert it into a lamp and fabricate a shade. Decorated with enamel orchids, the vase is currently displayed in the visitor center, where you may study it closely.
Gardens & Grounds
All visitors are encouraged to explore more than 123 acres surrounding the estate, with its lush gardens overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Inspired by Spanish and Portuguese villas, the grounds are laid out to resemble the Alhambra in Spain, and colorful ceramic tile is found throughout.
The Hearst Castle Preservation Foundation
In 1958, Hearst Corporation donated Hearst Castle to the State of California, making it one of the greatest sources of revenue for the California State Parks system by attracting countless adventurers on their way up or down the coast to admire its unique majesty and extensive treasures. The 123-acre estate is still home to breathtaking gardens and four noteworthy buildings, as well as astonishing collections of Greek and Roman antiquities, European paintings, sculptures and tapestries, along with magnificent historic Italian and Spanish carved ceilings that William Randolph Hearst gathered during a lifetime of collecting.
As one of the world’s most popular historic castles, Hearst Castle requires constant upkeep and preservation. The non-profit Hearst Castle Preservation Foundation was established to help preserve and restore the collection’s 25,000 artifacts. Donors enjoy a fundraising weekend of festivities every year, where they can swim in the fabled outdoor Neptune Pool. Bragging rights, priceless. Members of the Hearst family, including Anne Hearst McInerney, her children, Amanda Hearst Rønning and Randy Hearst Harris, and their cousin Lydia Hearst, help run the foundation’s fundraising efforts. hearstcastlepreservation.org
Hearst Castle does issue special events permits for private events and weddings.
Tale of Two Castles
Amanda Hearst, the great-granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst, married movie director Joachim Rønning, whose credits include the Oscar-nominated “Kon-Tiki,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” with Johnny Depp and “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” starring Angelina Jolie. The three-day fairytale wedding began at Hearst Castle in San Simeon and ended with a dinner at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, where the couple first met. Thus, the duo dubbed their nuptials, “A Tale of Two Castles.” Amanda wore a white, pearl-encrusted, short dress by Viktor & Rolf to the rehearsal dinner in the Dairy Barn at the Hearst Ranch that had a Norwegian theme in honor of the groom’s native land. Event whiz Alison Mazzola brought in live deer with huge antlers for the guests to pose with before going into the barn that had two long tables for 150 guests. The ceiling was draped in blue silk, and the Norwegian flag was placed at one end of the space. The elaborate buffet was set up in front of the fireplace that was bedecked with greenery and flowers; the well-worn wooden tables were festooned with small vases of colorful field flowers.
The Deer & Dairy Barn
The bride’s chic mother, Anne Hearst, in a navy blue column by Alexander McQueen, and her husband Jay McInerney greeted guests, including Anne’s handsome son, Randy Hearst Harris, now married to Paula Porubcanova, her sisters, Victoria and Patricia Hearst, Sharon Bush and her daughters Ashley and Lauren Bush, who was with her husband David Lauren, the son of designer Ralph Lauren, Jerry Bruckheimer, Paula and Tony Peck, Hollywood legend Gregory Peck’s son, Hilary and Bobby Marx, the son of the comedian Zeppo Marx and the stepson of Frank Sinatra, Stellene Volandes, the Editor-In-Chief of Town & Country, George Farias, Robert Zimmerman, Luigi Tadini, Amanda’s business partner Hassan Pierre, Lady Liliana and Lord William Cavendish with their daughter Georgiana, Anne and Chris Barish, Cornelia Bregman, a group of Anne’s friends from San Francisco and a large contingent of Norwegians including Joachim’s brother and parents; his father charmingly played the guitar and sang as part of his remarks. There was also an amusing toastmaster who introduced twenty friends who gave toasts throughout the evening.
The Black Tie Ball
The black-tie ball, organized by event maestro David Monn, the following day started with a reception on the castle’s terrace overlooking the Pacific Ocean after the intimate wedding in one of the Castle’s smaller cottages. The bells in the twin towers rang out to announce the arrival of the bride and groom. Amanda was stunning in a white, sustainable dress with silhouetted flowers by Oscar de la Renta’s Fernando Garcia. The dinner was held on a second terrace, with the Castle’s magnificent façade as a backdrop. There were five tables laid with gold and white brocade tablecloths set with stunning china, centered by silver candelabra and bowls brimming with pastel-colored roses, fruit and dripping vines of grapes. My favorite course was the titanic slice of caviar pie that kicked off the sumptuous dinner. A highlight of the evening was when the groom sang a song he had composed to commemorate the occasion on the grand piano after giving a moving speech thanking the bride’s family for welcoming him into the clan. The seated dinner was followed by dancing to a live orchestra in a Moroccan-themed open-air pavilion adjacent to the legendary Neptune pool. After the first dance to the Disney classic, “When You Wish Upon A Star,” Amanda changed into an elegant sheath dress with a floating panel by Galvan; her chignon was secured by a wreath of diamond flowers. After the dessert buffet, Amanda slipped into her going-away dress, a short pale pink confection printed with flowers by Giambattista. After midnight, the radiant couple descended the Castle’s grand staircase while the guests tossed pink rose petals as they drove away in a cream-colored vintage convertible to the property’s private airfield, where they zipped off to Hollywood for their first night together as Mr. and Mrs. Rønning. But wait, there’s more; the wedding guests went on to the After-Party at the Hearst Ranch’s Senators House, below The Enchanted Hill, built by William Randolph Hearst’s father, Senator George Hearst, in 1878. We sat around bonfires, sipped more champagne and nibbled on sinfully delicious Mexican fare into the wee hours.
Honored at the Ball
Patricia Hearst was honored last October at the Hearst Castle Preservation Foundation Benefit Weekend. Director John Waters, who cast Patricia in five of his movies, drove up from LA for the occasion. “I said, ‘It’s great, I don’t have to give a speech.’” But Waters was called up before such other guests as “Talking Dead” host Chris Hardwick, his wife Lydia Hearst, Candace Bushnell, Ripple founder Chris Larsen, Patrick McMullan, Stephanie and Jeremy Bronfman, Janna Bullock and yours truly. “I don’t even know what I said,” Waters confided. The crowd loved it. The annual Hearst Castle Preservation Foundation benefit raises funds for the estate, which was donated to California in 1958. People still call her Patty. “She knows it’s a losing battle,” Waters said. One guest sitting next to Patricia revealed, “My family owned the Hibernia bank that she robbed.” Waters said, “Patricia looked very happy, and that’s what I like to see.” Her sister Anne Hearst McInerney, the foundation’s chair, said, “My grandfather was an exceptional collector, and it’s an honor to help restore and preserve the over 50,000 works of art and antiquities at the Castle for the public to enjoy.” Anne’s husband, Jay McInerney, who has a new novel, “See You on the Other Side,” that came out in April from Knopf, said the annual wine-tasting was postponed several hours this year. “In years past, everyone was too hungover to attend,” he laughed. hearstcastlepreservation.org.
Nearby Attractions
Located on a beautiful stretch of central California coastline, the San Simeon area is a great place to explore once you’ve seen the Castle. Outdoorsy folks will love hiking, biking, camping, walking and boating at the San Luis Obispo State Parks.
Elephant Seal Boardwalk
Almost 20,000 elephant seals frolic on the beach just south of the Piedras Blancas lighthouse, a few miles from the Castle, and it is definitely worth a visit. The seals are there year-round, but the best time to visit is from October to May, with the highlight being the birthing and breeding season in January and February. The Elephant Seal Boardwalk, open to the public and free of charge, is a great place to view the seals from a safe distance. Docents are on site to answer questions, and this is an especially delightful family outing. elephantseal.org
Piedras Blancas Lighthouse
Built in 1870 and still in operation today after a major restoration in 2010, the Piedras Blancas lighthouse offers tours and special events throughout the year, including whale-watching tours. piedrasblancas.org
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Covering 350 miles of California coastline, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is the largest national marine sanctuary in the U.S. There’s a Coastal Discovery Center offering interactive exhibits exploring the connection between land and sea. Year-round seasonal activities include seal birthing and breeding in winter, windsurfing and sailing in spring, kayaking and bird watching in the cool, foggy summer and diving and whale watching in fall. montereybay.noaa.gov
