A. William Randolph Hearst was a successful American newspaper publisher who received over 1,000 km2 of land when his mother died in 1919. Initially, he had planned vĩ đại build just a small bungalow, so sánh he hired Julia Morgan, the first female architect in California. Together, however, they designed a magnificent castle which cost 10 million dollars and took 28 years vĩ đại build. The property, named La Cuesta Encantado (The Enchanted Mountain), has 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms and about 52,000 mét vuông of garden.
B. Hearst loved travelling vĩ đại Europe when he was a child and we can see this in the overall design of the house. He even included cathedral ceilings and Roman columns in his trang chính. Hearst was also a keen art collector and, during his lifetime, spent $3.5 million on his collection, which is displayed in the rooms at Hearst Castle. Today, his collection is worth much more, with one piece alone valued at $10 million.
C. One of the highlights of the estate is the Neptune Pool. It took 15 years vĩ đại build and includes the front of an ancient Roman temple. It is on top of a hill and has wonderful views of the mountains, ocean and main house. The pool was rebuilt three times until he was satisfied.
D. Although the inside of the house is very European, the outside is very Californian, with palm trees and water. Hearst loved trees and 70,000 were planted on the property during his lifetime. The castle was also trang chính vĩ đại the world’s largest private zoo, holding animals from every continent. Although the zoo is now closed, zebras can still be seen on the hillside.
E. As well as the Casa Grande (the main house), there are also three guest houses on the property: Caso Del Monte, Caso Del Sol and Caso Del Mor. Hearst entertained a great number of Hollywood stars and political leaders at the castle and many used his private airfield. Guests had vĩ đại attend formal dinners every evening, but were không tính tiền vĩ đại bởi what they liked during the day. They were invited vĩ đại stay as long as they wanted, but the longer they stayed, the further away they sat from Hearst at the dinner table.
F. When Hearst died in 1951, his family learnt how expensive maintenance would be, and the mansion was donated vĩ đại the State of California. Since then, it has been open for public tours and the site attracts millions of tourists every year. However, the Hearst family is still allowed vĩ đại use it when they wish. The castle was never completed and remains unfinished.