Current Photo Friday theme: Escape.
A distant view of Hearst Castle from Highway One on California’s central coast, approximately a four-hour drive from either Los Angeles or San Francisco. Shot on film in August 1998.
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Comments are appreciated and answered.
Ha! Call that a castle! ;o)
Maybe you can virtually wander it via this site. I’ve never been there, but Jim has. Here’s AI’s take on the name, etc.:
The name “Hearst Castle” wasn’t given by William Randolph Hearst himself, but rather, he called the estate “La Cuesta Encantada” (Spanish for “The Enchanted Hill”).
Here’s a more detailed explanation:
William Randolph Hearst, the media tycoon, conceived and built the estate, which is now known as Hearst Castle, between 1919 and 1947.
He called the estate “La Cuesta Encantada” (Spanish for “The Enchanted Hill”).
The name “Hearst Castle” became more commonly used after the estate was donated to the State of California in 1958.
A dedicatory plaque at the castle reads: “La Cuesta Encantada presented to the State of California in 1958 by the Hearst Corporation in memory of William Randolph Hearst who created this Enchanted Hill, and of his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst, who inspired it”.
The estate was designed by Julia Morgan, a renowned architect, and it became a place for lavish parties and celebrity visits.
The estate is now a California State Park and an accredited museum.
I liked Hearst Castle, but my favorite mansion was The Breakers in Rhode Island. It is a Vanderbilt “cottage”. I went when I was about six and began saving my allowance in a jar labeled “mansion money”. My mom got mad at my sister for borrowing my mansion money and not paying me back. After several years, I bet I didn’t have 10 dollars, so it’s not like she dashed my dreams.
lol, I love your stories. Probably why I always enjoy your writing. The homes I’ve toured that come to mind at the moment are the Mary Todd Lincoln house in Lexington, KY; Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Little White House in Warm Springs, GA; Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis’s home in Biloxi, MS; and Earnest Hemingway’s home in Key West, FL.