Hearst's San Simeon: The Gardens and the LandWith its spectacular views and unsurpassed setting, Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California, was always more than a grand country house. Many of its finest features were outside, not inside. Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst and architect Julia Morgan created La Cuesta Encantada (the Enchanted Hill), as they called the estate, from 1919 to 1947. The long construction history of the hilltop complex is well known, but the story of Hearst's attachment to the landscape at San Simeon - encompassing 120 acres of luxuriant gardens and 450 square miles of pristine coastland - is examined here for the first time. Julia Morgan, the first woman to study architecture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, had no formal training in landscape design, but for nearly thirty years she presided over a small army of construction workers who executed every element of the hilltop's plan, creating the single greatest project ever designed by a woman. Hearst determined the remote site, a sunny slope at sixteen hundred feet in elevation where he had camped since boyhood. Collaborating on every aspect of the design, Hearst and Morgan devised formal terraces and garden areas to frame sweeping views of the mountains and coastline, relocating several centuries-old oaks to accomodate the buildings, and filled the gardens with both ancient and contemporary sculpture. They imported hundreds of exotic animals to stock the largest private zoo in America. And they conceived two majestic, classically inspired swimming pools to crown the entire scheme. Hollywood celebrities, literary figures, and politicians effervescent hostess, the film star Marion Davies. In her lively text, Victoria Kastner draws on many anecdotes from famous visitors reminiscing about "the ranch," where trail rides and pool parties were frequent events. Kastner also examines the varied artistic influences contributing to San Simeon's design, citing previously unknown sources from Julia Morgan's private papers, and includes numerous excerpts from correspondance between Hearst and Morgan concerning the myriad details of the project, from the selection of plants to ideas for water features. Hearst Castle has been a California State Park for fifty years. Recently its surrounding eighty thousand acres of land were also protected from commercial development. Thus the matchless site will forever remain as Hearst and Morgan last saw it. Featuring stunning color photographs, historic photographs, and original drawings, Hearsts's San Simeon: The Gardens and the Land celebrates one of California's most beautiful and unspoiled treasures. -- from dust jacket. |
Common terms and phrases
acres American Dynasty architect Architectural Azalea Berkeley Bernard Maybeck Boutelle built Calif campus Casa coast coast live oaks color construction cottages Cuesta Encantada cultivars Ecole des Beaux-Arts fountain gardens George Hearst guests Hacienda Hearst and Morgan Hearst Castle Hearst Corporation Hearst ranch Hearst San Simeon Hearst to Morgan Hearst wrote hill hilltop Historical Monument History Project San Interview Italian John Galen Howard Julia Morgan Kennedy Library land landscape Loorz Luis Obispo County main building Marion Davies Maybeck Michelle Hachigian Mission Morgan to Hearst Neptune Pool Nigel Keep Oral History Project orchards Park Pavlik Pergola Phoebe Apperson Hearst Phoebe's Piedra Blanca plants Project San Simeon Randolph Hearst Jr road Rose Rotanzi San Francisco San Luis Obispo San Simeon Bay Santa Simeon State Historical Spanish style telegram terraces tion trees University of California W. R. Hearst William Randolph Hearst wrote to Morgan York