Hearst Castle
On a hill overlooking the California coast, newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst spent three decades building his version of paradise. Hearst Castle - he called it 'the ranch' - is a 165-room Mediterranean Revival palace stuffed with European antiques, ancient artifacts, and Hollywood memories. Hearst hosted Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, Winston Churchill, and countless others at weekend parties legendary for their excess. The Neptune Pool, modeled on ancient Roman baths, features a colonnade from a real Roman temple. The indoor Roman Pool is covered in gold leaf and Venetian glass. The private zoo once held the world's largest private collection of exotic animals; zebras from that herd still roam the surrounding hills. Hearst ran out of money during the Depression and never finished the castle. He died in 1951. California turned his estate into a state park, where tourists now walk the halls where Hollywood's golden age played out.
The Builder
William Randolph Hearst inherited a fortune from his mining-magnate father and multiplied it through newspapers, creating a media empire that at its peak included 28 major papers, numerous magazines, and early ventures into radio and film. He was immensely powerful and immensely controversial - his papers were accused of yellow journalism, warmongering, and editorial manipulation. Hearst was also a compulsive collector. He bought European castles, Egyptian antiquities, medieval armor, and Renaissance paintings. When he ran out of places to put his collections, he started building his own castle. Orson Welles based 'Citizen Kane' on Hearst; the Xanadu in that film is a barely disguised Hearst Castle.
The Construction
Hearst began construction in 1919 with architect Julia Morgan, one of America's first prominent female architects. The project consumed 28 years. The main building, Casa Grande, is a twin-towered Spanish cathedral in the style of a Renaissance church. Three guest houses surround the main building. The estate includes the Neptune Pool (345,000 gallons, heated), the indoor Roman Pool (over a million tiles of blue and gold Murano glass), gardens spanning 127 acres, and the former zoo. Hearst was a demanding client who changed his mind constantly; Morgan accommodated him with patience and ingenuity. The project was never completed - the Great Depression reduced Hearst's fortune, and construction stopped in 1947.
The Parties
Hearst's weekend parties were legendary. Guests arrived by train to San Luis Obispo, then drove the winding road to the castle. They dined in the Refectory, a medieval-style hall with 500-year-old choir stalls and flags hanging from the ceiling. After dinner, they watched first-run Hollywood films in Hearst's private theater. The guest list read like a Hollywood directory: Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Joan Crawford, Cary Grant. Writers included George Bernard Shaw, P.G. Wodehouse, and Aldous Huxley. Politicians, industrialists, and European royalty visited. Alcohol was served sparingly (Hearst disliked drunkenness), but the setting was intoxicating enough.
The Zoo
Hearst's private zoo was once the world's largest. He collected exotic animals as obsessively as he collected art: lions, tigers, leopards, bears, elephants, giraffes, ostriches, and zebras roamed large fenced enclosures across his vast estate. When Hearst's fortune declined, most animals were sold or donated to public zoos. The zebras remained - and their descendants still roam the ranch lands visible from Highway 1. Visitors often spot them grazing alongside cattle, an improbable sight: African zebras on California hillsides, the last remnant of Hearst's menagerie.
Visiting Hearst Castle
Hearst Castle is located off Highway 1 in San Simeon, California, about 250 miles south of San Francisco and 230 miles north of Los Angeles. The castle is a California State Park; tours are required and must be booked in advance. Multiple tour options explore different areas of the estate. The Grand Rooms Tour covers the main floors; the Upstairs Suites Tour includes bedrooms; the Evening Tour offers a twilight experience. Tours depart from the visitor center; buses transport visitors up the hill. Allow at least half a day. San Luis Obispo (45 miles south) has the nearest airport with limited commercial service. The drive on Highway 1 is spectacular. Watch for zebras.
From the Air
Located at 35.68°N, 121.17°W on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean in San Simeon, California. From altitude, Hearst Castle is visible as a complex of Spanish-style buildings with twin towers, surrounded by landscaped grounds on a prominent hill. The Neptune Pool is visible as a blue rectangle. Highway 1 winds along the coast below. The Pacific Ocean stretches west. The terrain is coastal California - brown hills, scattered oaks, the ocean edge. San Luis Obispo is 45 miles south. The zebras may be visible as white-striped animals amid the cattle.