Bakersfield Life

Off to the castle

larger view

     Nowadays, it can be tough for parents to find an adventure worthy enough to impress the kids.In an age of videogames, MP3s, DVDs, social networks, texts, tweets — you get the idea — the “plugged in” world seems to pique their interest more than the real world.But then you take them to a castle. Hearst Castle.Now you’ve got their attention!     That’s exactly what we did by combining our Central Coast vacation this summer with a visit to the not-so-modest home of newspaper mogul, William Randolph Hearst.I think our boys, ages 16 and 11, looked forward to the side trip.  But I don’t think they realized what they were about to see.     During several 1970-something years, my family and I spent the Thanksgiving holiday weekend with friends at San Simeon. Each stay, we took one of the four different tours of Hearst Castle — each one allowing for more access to this king of the publishing world’s palatial residence. (A fifth tour, conducted at nighttime on Friday and Saturday evenings during fall and spring for a slightly higher price, was added in 1989.)     Although the tourism aspect of the Hearst Castle experience remains much the same as when the tours officially began in 1958, there are now modern-day conveniences.     For instance, I was able to purchase Tour One: The Experience — recommended for first-time visitors — tickets online, so they would be waiting for us at the will call window inside the visitors center. Tickets are $24 for adults; $12 for kids 17 and younger.     In fact, when online, you can even see how many slots are left for a particular tour time (they’re scheduled every hour). This way, you know if you should snag the tickets right away, or if you have some more time to contemplate the best-laid plans.     Also, there’s an added bonus included with each tour ticket: a 40-minute film, “Hearst Castle, Building the Dream,” shown every 45 minutes on a giant, five-story screen at Hearst Castle Theater, which was added to the visitors center in 1995.    The tour group departures are run like a well-oiled machine. The times and tour numbers are announced on a PA system, giving ample notice for each bus boarding.     As your bus travels the windy, five-mile route, a pre-recorded tape offers some basic Hearst Castle history.     Hearst — an only child of George Hearst and Phoebe Apperson Hearst — spent some of his fondest boyhood times camping and hunting with family and friends on “Camp Hill,” the nickname given to the expansive wilderness on which he would one day build a mansion of all mansions.     George Hearst made his fortune in silver mining and purchased 40,000 acres of ranchland in the San Simeon area. He would continue to acquire additional property there as well.     Upon George Hearst’s death in 1891, Hearst’s mother inherited the land, which by that time, had grown to 250,000 acres — including 50 miles of coastline. And upon Phoebe’s death — in 1919 — William Randolph Hearst became its new owner.     At that time, he was 56.     Despite quite elaborate camping accommodations — such as large, separate dining and sleeping tents — Hearst wanted more comfortable surroundings on the beloved ranchland hills.     He wanted to build a house — though that would become quite the understatement.     Known to do things his way or no way, Hearst had previously hired trailblazing, female architect Julia Morgan to design his Mexican ranch and several of his newspaper offices.     The end result of the media baron and renowned architecture’s collaboration is an impressive feat: an estate of 56 bedrooms, 41 fireplaces and 61 bathrooms. There were also 19 sitting rooms and 127 acres of gardens, terraces, pools and walkways.    Tour One includes a walk-through (on the marked path, of course) of the three guest houses — 2,000-plus to 4,000-square-feet each — as well as the massive parlor and dining room in Casa Grande, the main part of the castle.    Hearst famously hosted the famous — entertainers, sports figures and political and business tycoons of the day — at his castle.After a late dinner, guests were known to visit the elaborate, indoor Roman pool for some evening water fun. Hearst often retired to his room, where he would work into the wee hours on final edits for his various newspapers.     Throughout their stay, guests were also welcome to use the many other amenities, including tennis courts, horse trails, or the magnificent and massive Neptune pool, which is one of the first outdoor stops on Tour One.Guests also loved to visit Hearst’s private zoo, though many other animals roamed free on the land. It would not be unusual for a visitor to spot zebras, camels or kangaroos on the drive up to the castle.         Our tour guide confided to us that the 345,000-gallon pool continues to be used — once a year, for one hour, for Hearst Castle employees only.      Hearst died in 1951, just four years after the completion of his European-inspired castle. He was 88.     In December 1957, the Hearst Corporation donated the castle and nearly all the surrounding land to the people of the State of California as a state historical park and historic house museum.     So for a fascinating and educational experience just a hop-skip away — hey, there’s a reason they call the Central Coast “Bakersfield West” — a visit to Hearst Castle gets four big thumbs up from this family.     And that includes a couple of impressed kid thumbs.Did you know?• William Randolph Hearst created the largest private zoo in the world on his San Simeon ranch. Inspired by a zoo he visited in Germany, one could see bears, lions, a leopard and a cheetah as well as many other animals.•During the Prohibition years, Hearst continued to serve alcohol to his guests. He supported temperance, but not Prohibition. In 1929, his newspapers conducted a nationwide contest with a $25,000 award for the best plan for the repeal of Prohibition. • The original airport/airstrip was located where the current visitors center is today. In addition to the stars, politicians and other influential members of society that were continually being flown in for extravagant parties, Hearst used the airstrip to have every one of his newspapers delivered to him for his review and critique.• Some of the famous guests to stay at Hearst Castle: Charlie Chaplin, Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, Winston Churchill, Howard Hughes, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and George Bernard Shaw.• Hearst Castle Estate total square footage: 90,080.• Castle tour guides receive 168 hours of training.• Trial tours were conducted in September 1952. They lasted two hours, but were pared down to one, plus the bus ride up and down the hill.• Hearst named the location on which his castle arose: "La Cuesta Encantada,” the enchanted hill.• Hearst ‘s vast publishing empire included 18 newspapers in 12 cities and nine successful magazines.Source: www.hearstcastle.com