We’ve all heard of spoiled children, but can you imagine a child building a house without
their parents permission?
Hi everyone, ken here, welcome to this house.
Today we are exploring Phoebe Hearst’s hacienda.
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house.
Phoebe Hearst had humble beginnings.
Growing up in St. Clair, Missouri she aspired to be a teacher in her small town.
All of this changed when George Hearst came to town to take care of his dying mother.
George had grown up in Sullivan, Missouri and had never completed his elementary school
education, perhaps he felt drawn to Phoebe for her intellect.
Phoebe on the other hand, was perhaps drawn to George for his wealth.
He had struck it rich while mining and reinvested his money by purchasing shares of other mines.
His net worth at the time was equivalent to 3,000,000 dollars today.
The two were quick to marry, and within ten years had expanded George’s business, making
their combined net worth around 17 million dollars, or the modern day equivalent of about
412 million dollars.
Meanwhile, they had been raising their only child, William Randolph Hearst.
Phoebe educated him in the arts, wanting a cultured son, but ended up with possibly the
country’s most spoiled child.
George and Phoebe found a beautiful tract of wilderness in Pleasanton California and
had intended to build a home for orphans, but George passed away before they could get
started on their philanthropy.
Phoebe took some time for herself, traveling and visiting their other properties, leaving
William with a hefty allowance to do as he pleased.
William had heard about his parents plans to build an orphanage and decided to visit
the property in Pleasanton, falling in love with the natural beauty of the landscape.
Without his mother’s permission nor her consent, he hired architect AC Schweinfurth
to design him a mansion.
The 53 room Hacienda drew inspiration from various architectural styles including Moorish,
Pueblo, and Mission style.
After four years of building, Phoebe decided to visit Pleasanton to get started on the
orphanage only to discover that her son had desecrated the land and had selfishly built
an obscene mansion instead of giving homeless children shelter.
She was furious.
She banned William from the property, not allowing him to live in the home he had built
for himself using her money.
She never forgave him either, as punishment, William would not receive enough money to
build a dream house until it was willed to him upon Phoebe’s death.
Phoebe hired her favorite architect, Julia Morgan to try to make sense of the architectural
nightmare her son had created.
Through a series of renovations and expansions, Julia was able to transform the jumbled maze
of a house into a more cohesive mansion.
Phoebe was able to make it her own, with an artistic flair.
She displayed Navajo baskets in the rafters with 16th century European tapestries hung
below as we can see here in the music room.
The strange configuration and styling of the home gave her a chance to experiment with
various styles and furniture arrangements.
The drawing room was just as eclectic in it’s own right with damask wallpaper set below
exposed beams and European, Asian, and native American art sharing the same walls.
The entire house became a collectors paradise, even the library was filled with antiques
from every inhabited continent with custom chandeliers strung from beads and seashells
with fireplaces covered over by tropical plants.
Guests sometimes referred to this room as the Hall because of the lack of books, questioning
whether it could actually be called a library.
The dining room was a more intimate space with a more cohesive European style.
Though there were some oddities.
The fabric chandelier hung over the center of the table and in lieu of pocket doors there
were curtains hung between the door frames.
Phoebe’s bedroom would fit right in with the current boho chic trends.
With dark walls covered in clustered picture frames, ornate furniture from each continent,
and assorted knick knacks, all set above persian rugs, her style was uniquely her own for the
time period.
She entertained, threw huge parties, and thoroughly enjoyed the property while fulfilling her
philanthropic dreams donating huge sums into education and establishing the National Congress
of Mothers which became the National Parent Teacher Association.
She passed away in her hacienda in 1919, leaving only 10 million dollars or the modern day
equivalent of 171 million dollars to her son William who immediately sold the hacienda.
The house became a country club for a short while before being reinvented as a dude ranch
though it eventually was turned back into a country club.
Unfortunately, all the work of Julia Morgan was lost in 1969 during a fire.
Only the music room survived the embers.
Today, the lot has been redeveloped as a country club, though the building you see is not the
original, nor was it constructed to be a copy.
What are your thoughts on the Hacienda?
Did you like the eclectic style?
Or do you think Phoebe should have just torn it down and started over?
Let me know down below in the comments section.
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exciting episode of this house.
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