One of the days we were in Big Sur, we headed down to Hearst Castle. This mansion was built for William Randolph Hearst. The property was designed by the architect, Julia Morgan. It was quite strange for a woman to do that type of work in the 1920s.
Dining Room
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, Dolores Del Rio, 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.-Wikipedia
One of my favorite videos of the road trip so far. Shows the movie screen in action. You'll also see several famous friends of Mr. Hearst's and learn some of their stories.
The grounds at Hearst Castle
HOLY LORD!! Look at that pool!!!!! I know there are way too many pictures, but I like all of them! So bear with me...
Cool pool stairs
View out from the pool deck
Inside the castle, looking at some of the rooms/suites belonging to Mr. Hearst, or for his guests. (Even though he had several guest HOUSES for visitors!)
Love the ornateness (is that a word?) of all the furniture, doors and ceilings
Hearst was a SERIOUS collector. This castle is filled with art and collectibles.
View from an upstairs suite
The library
A lady's changing room
Some more cool furniture
Apparently, Mr Hearst would throw big dinner parties and after the fun (tennis, billiards, movies, the swimming pools) and food, the women would retire and the men would go up to his office (below) and do business until 3 or 4 in the morning. Beautiful bed backboard
Tennis courts
And my favorite!! The indoor pool. I have never seen anything so majestic.
And here are some similar photos I got online, by real photographers who can do the pool justice.....
-Hearst Castle, San Simeon, CA
Looking at the photos of the hanging tapestries and solid wooden tables took me back to the medieval architecture I saw in Spain. The exterior looks so southern Spanish- with the red roof tiles and stucco siding. Cypress trees are ubiquitous in southern Spain too- and are all over the gardens of the Alhambra and Generalife. Did you ever get down there? Bec! The video of Hearst’s friends showed John Gilbert. He was the one I told you about whose career ended when talking movies came into vogue, because he had a high-pitched voice. He was good-looking though, and people loved his movies with Greta Garbo. It’s interesting that Jimmy Walker, mayor or NYC was a frequent guest. His career as mayor ended in disgrace, as I recall, due to some corruption scandal. Oh, the library! I would kill for a room with that much space for books. (Liked the extra touch of the photo of books about Spain.) The pools really are just breathtakingly beautiful!
ReplyDeletePS. And to think that Hearst made his fortune in the NEWSPAPER business!! Those were the days.
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