imagine inheriting hundreds of millions of dollars what would you do with it would
you donate it to charity or build your dream home hi everyone my name is ken
welcome to this house today we are exploring the history of the hearst castle george hurst
william randolph hearth's father had purchased the original 40 000 acre estate in 1865 along with
camp hill the site for the future hearst castle it was used for family vacations during hearst youth
in 1919 hearst inherited some 11 million dollars or the modern equivalent to over 165 million
he also inherited estates including the land at san simeon he used his fortune to further develop
his media empire of newspapers magazines and radio stations the profits from which supported
a lifetime of building and collecting he had commissioned julia morgan to build something
a little more comfortable up on the hill these words would become the genesis of the
present castle julia morgan was an architectural pioneer many referred to her as america's first
truly independent female architect she was the first woman to study architecture at the school
of beaux arts in paris the first to have her own architectural practice in the state of california
and the first to ever become the winner of the american institute of architects gold medal
working in close collaboration with hurst for over 20 years the castle at san simeon would become her
best known creation in the roaring 20s and into the 1930s hurst castle reached its social peak
originally intended as a family home for hearst his wife millicent and their five sons
by 1925 he and millicent had effectively separated and he held court at san simeon with his mistress
the actress marion davies their guest was comprised mostly of hollywood stars of the period charlie
chaplin carrie grant the marx brothers greta garbo buster keaton mary pickford gene harlow and
clark gable all visited some on multiple occasions political luminaries encompassed calvin coolridge
in winston churchill while other notables included charles lindbergh pg woodhouse and bernard shaw
visitors gathered each evening for drinks in the assembly room dined in the refectory and watched
the latest movies in the theater before retiring to the luxurious accommodations provided by the
guest houses during the days they admired the views rode horses played tennis golfed and swam in
what was called the most sumptuous swimming pool on earth while hurst entertained morgan built the
castle was under almost continual construction from 1920 until 1939 with work resuming after
the end of world war ii until her final departure in 1947 hearst his castle and his lifestyle were
satirized by orson welles and his 1941 film citizen kane in the film which hers sought to
suppress charles foster kane's palace xanadu is said to contain paintings pictures statues the
very stones of many other palace a collection of everything so big it can never be catalogued or
appraised enough for 10 museums the loot of the world wells illusion referred to hearst mania for
collecting the dealer joseph devine called him the great accumulator with a passion for acquisition
almost from childhood he bought architectural elements art antiques statuary silverware and
textiles on an epic scale shortly after starting san simeon he began to conceive of making the
castle what he called a museum of the best things that i can secure foremost among his purchases
were architectural elements from western europe particularly spain over 30 ceilings door cases
fireplaces and mantels entire monasteries paneling and a medieval tithe barn were purchased shipped
to hearst brooklyn warehouse and then transported onto california much was then incorporated into
the fabric of hearst castle in addition he built up collections of more conventional
art and antiques of high quality his assemblage of ancient greek faces was one of the world's largest
in may 1947 hearst health compelled him and marian davies to leave the castle for the last time
he died in los angeles in 1951 the hersh family gave the castle and many of its contents to the
state of california it has since operated as the hearst san simeon state historical monument
the hearst family retains ownership of the majority of the 82 000 acre estate and under
a land conservation agreement reached in 2005 has worked with the california state
parks department and american land conservancy to preserve the undeveloped character of the area
thank you all for watching i really hope that you enjoyed this video
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