Hearst Castle By: Jess & Bennett

Where is it? Hearst Castle is on the West Coast of California in San Simeon. It’s near Cambria, but not any near any big BOOMING cities, like Hollywood, which is 190 miles away! It is in the ranchlands of CA. San Simeon is about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. *Fun Fact!* San Simeon is home to a lot elephant seals.

History In 1865, George Hearst, a wealthy miner, purchased 40,000 acres of California ranchland that included San Simeon, and Santa Rosa. In1919 his son, William Randolph Hearst inherited the land from his mother Phoebe Apperson Hearst. By then the land grew to 250,000 acres. It was known as Camp Hill it had places for family members, and friends to stay on trips. William and his mom went on the Great Tour of Europe, and William loved the style of the Mediterranean, Italian, Spanish, and many more styles. This inspired him to dream of a castle on his Father’s land. In his 50s Hearst Castle was born.

Who helped him do this? In 1919 William hired Julia Morgan, to design Hearst Castle. Julia, with her back round she knew this job would be fit for her. Over the 28 long years Julia worked hard to make it the best it could be.

A Zoo? That’s right! The Hearst Castle has a zoo! Guests past through a zoo full of many exotic animals, lions, tigers, zebras, giraffes, polar bears, and many more. You can still see zebras in that area TODAY!

Cocktail Room The Cocktail Room was where William Hearst and his guests would sit down and have a nice cocktail and chat.

There were 2 different pools at the Hearst Castle. The Neptune Pool, and the Roman Pool. Right now we’ll talk about the Neptune Pool. t was built, rebuilt, and rebuilt again! This was all because of the family size. It was going to be called Temple Garden. It was finally finished in 1936.Willaim did this in the same style as the Greeks.

The next pool is the Roman Pool. It is an indoor pool. It is decorated with statues of Roman Mythology. It was finished in This pool looks like where a Roman Empire would swim.

Recreation Room The Recreation Room was where William and his guests played pool and hung out until dinner was served. There even was a stuffed owl there.

So Many Bedrooms The Hearst Castle has 56 bedrooms!!!!!!! Each one is fancy and unique each for a special guest. Shown below is a Guest House Exterior. Also shown below is a guest view of the Neptune Pool.

Hearst Castle Theater The Hearst Castle has a 5-screen movie theater! It shows a film telling how William Randolph Hearst dreamt of building Hearst Castle. The film is called “Building a Dream.” The film lasts 45 minutes. Guests that come enjoy the movie. The theater is not in the castle.

Gardens The Hearst Castle has many gardens. These gardens have trees, bushes, and flowers that include: hyacinths, tulips, Coastal Live Oaks, California Bays, lilies, bougainvillea, pansies, hollyhocks, and much more. There are greenhouses that grow the plants from baby seeds to adults in which they are moved outside. Visitors have great views of many gardens.

Quiz  How many screens are in the Hearst Castle Theater?  How many bedrooms are in Hearst Castle?  What is the picture in the upper corner of?  What animal is known to live in San Simeon?  What was William Hearst’s mother’s name?  What inspired him to build Hearst Castle?  What is the movie called?  What wild animal still lives in the area of Hearst Castle?  How many miles away is Hollywood from San Simeon?

Bonus Who helped William Hearst build Hearst Castle, what year did he hire that person, and how long did it take her to build it?

Answers 5 56 Bottom of the Roman Pool Elephant seals Phoebe Apperson Hearst European structures ( The Great Tour ) Building a Dream Zebras 190 miles away Bonus Answer! Julia Morgan, 1919, 28 years

Hope you visit Hearst Castle!