00:00:07.540 - 00:00:54.130

E. If you had over $30 million to spend on your home, what would you include? A pool table, of course. A swimming pool, some shade trees on. Uhh, probably pets for Children with Well, our story concerns a home that included all this and much more. Ah,

00:00:54.130 - 00:01:14.310

home that for 30 years was one of great mystery visited only by the elite of world society on yet talked about and wondered about throughout the world. This is the story revealed in films taken from the 19 thirties to the present of the creation off one

00:01:14.310 - 00:01:50.950

of the marvels of the 20th century, Sam Simeon, built at an estimated cost of between 30 and $40 million holding Mawr Untold Millions in Art Treasures, San Simeon as fascinating and his complex as its builder, William Randolph Hearst. And no one was

00:01:50.960 - 00:02:09.240

closer to the builder that his son, William Randolph Hearst Jr. Ever since the early 18 seventies, when my father was nine years old, he loved the countryside. It sends him in and around there more than any place in the world. Pops, love of land on the

00:02:09.240 - 00:02:29.770

outdoors was inherited it from his father, Senator George Hearst, He was a California pioneer from Missouri who made his fortune in the silver mines of the Comstock Lode in Nevada, and much of his wealth went into that San Simeon property. He eventually acquired over 200,000 acres,

00:02:29.770 - 00:02:49.080

which extended some 30 miles along the Pacific Ocean waterfront way back then, it was just a family campsite on a Baron Hill. No roads, no fences, just some tense way up there on Camp Hill, they called it. And as these two father and son went there

00:02:49.080 - 00:03:09.870

on camping trips, Pop must have dreamed someday crown in this spectacular setting with an equally spectacular treasure field castle. As for the treasures that all started when, at the age of 10, he took a world tour with his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst. At that young age,

00:03:09.870 - 00:03:27.070

he developed a taste in a desire for the art treasures of the world. Dressing A Z grew to manhood, and as he developed his vast newspaper business, he became one of the world's most famous art collectors. In fact, for a while there he spent over a

00:03:27.070 - 00:03:50.220

million dollars a year collecting everything from rare statues and paintings, two tapestries to complete rooms and finally full edifices well. By 1919, these warehouses were bulging at the seams, with millions of dollars of art treasures on pop needed. A permanent showcase for them was ready for

00:03:50.220 - 00:04:13.590

it. Besides that, he needed a permanent residence on the West Coast. So in that year, 1919, he turned to the Baron campsite of San Simeon and decided to put into action his dream what he called La Cuesta Encantada. He's enchanted hair Pop needed a professional partner

00:04:13.590 - 00:04:33.750

in all this on engineer and architect and interior decorator in a landscape artist, preferably all rolled into one. He found such a person in San Francisco, and Julia Morgan, first woman graduate of the bows, are in Paris with an engineer's degree from the University of California.

00:04:36.740 - 00:04:52.700

Experts told him it simply couldn't be done, that you just couldn't build a foundation way up there on that steep wilderness. There were no adequate building materials available, no bricks, no lumber. There were no roads on. The weather in the wintertime was treacherous. Beyond that, it

00:04:52.700 - 00:05:10.250

was over a five mile haul up a 16 or 1800 ft grade from the highway to the tops. But poppers convinced it could be done, and that would be done. So the project was started once a week. A steamer arrived at the San Simeon Bay Pier,

00:05:10.740 - 00:05:32.740

bringing steel, iron bricks, lumber. Samantha tons of material loaded on to horse wagons made the long five mile climb upwards. But the workers had to fight everything from rattlesnakes, scorpions into Angela's to sudden flashed arms. Over 100 workers fighting both nature and the odds. Week after

00:05:32.740 - 00:05:54.360

week. Miss Morgan's nephew, Morgan North, as some of the original sketches for Pops Dream, and he recalls the 20 year collaboration between Pop and Miss Julia on this page of a 1920 issue of the Saturday Evening Post. My aunt sketched her original concepts for San Simeon.

00:05:56.140 - 00:06:16.690

She sketched the overall master plan for San Simeon, the three guest cottages in the castle itself. This is that original sketch she wrote on it. Rough sketch of house locations for last telegram. Some liberties taken with exteriors. How do you like the idea with the towers?

00:06:16.700 - 00:06:44.650

It might be very effective. Mr. Hearst Telegraphs sketches received house a wholly satisfactory proceed to complete. The master plan was launched. The guest cottages were begun my aunt devoted herself to creating a showcase for the medieval and Renaissance magnificence that Mr Hearst coveted and collected. For

00:06:44.650 - 00:07:12.110

25 years. She lived and braved architectures. She worked alongside the building crews, often working 16 18 hours straight. She sometimes took less than four hours. Sleep on often depended on a few chocolate bars to keep her going rather than time consuming meals. The first cottage, a

00:07:12.110 - 00:07:41.260

house to be Mr Hearst temporary home, is completed. It his name Casa del Mar, as it overlooks San Simeon Bay in the blue Pacific Be cottage named Casa del Monte with Cardinal Wish lose, hand carved bed imported from Paris Castle Del Monte, Facing the mountains on

00:07:41.260 - 00:08:06.910

C college heavy and Spanish Moorish tradition of the influence of the Orient named Casa del Sol. A zit faces the setting sun, but my aunt's work was not restricted to the main grounds. Among other projects, she had the design shelters for hundreds of animals for Mr

00:08:06.910 - 00:08:33.690

Hearst Zoo. Carrie Baldwin's now director of the San Francisco Zoo, spent many years at San Simeon in charge of the animals to help fill his nearly 275,000 acres that sends Simeon, Mr Hearst imported what became the largest private wild animal collection in the country on possibly

00:08:33.690 - 00:08:56.730

in the world. He's rare color films taken over 30 years ago give testimony to this fabulous collection, which included thousands of animals. He had over 30 species of pleasure in animals and about 70 types of grazing animals. He caged the dangerous animals but let dozens of

00:08:56.730 - 00:09:15.670

other animals room freely along the roadways. There were, of course, many incidents, both humorous and dramatic. The animals were always given the right of way, and it is reported that Louella Parsons once had to wait for over an hour when a moose decided to take a

00:09:15.680 - 00:09:35.090

siesta in the road in front of her car. Hearst boys got too close to Simba. The lion and the lion grabbed the youngster toward the cage. Fortunately, the boy tor away. But as I recall, the boy didn't sit down for a few days after that, he

00:09:35.090 - 00:09:51.940

had lost the seat of his pants, had been scratching a rather tender areas. But you could imagine what his dinner guests must have thought when the streak of a leopard would cross the dinner table for the roar of a lion would crash through a bedroom at

00:09:51.950 - 00:10:13.850

3 a.m. Besides collecting art treasures and animals, Mr Hearst turned the treeless hilltop into one of the most magnificent landscapes in the world. He sent Simeon Garden. He hired an Englishman, Nigel Keep, as his horticulturist, Norman wrote. Tansy, who went to work for Mr Hearst nearly

00:10:13.850 - 00:10:31.880

30 years ago, has for many years now been in charge of the sense immune grounds experts stole Mr Hearst that he would never be able to grow any kind of flowers here. So he had his crew of gardeners dig out 2 ft of soil from the

00:10:31.880 - 00:10:53.310

three acres around the castle, and he imported thousands and thousands of yards of rich soil, and one of the most beautiful gardens in the world came alive. Mr. Hearst heard that some Italian Cyprus were being cut down in Paso Robles, many miles away, so he had

00:10:53.310 - 00:11:13.550

the five ton Cyprus putting huge boxes on. Then he hauled them to Sansom in over a narrow, twisting mountain trail and down from Berkeley by steamer, he shipped these Mexican palms. The project took nearly two years. Eventually we were to plant over 125 trees for Mr

00:11:13.550 - 00:11:36.850

Hearst. He wanted San Simeon to be green the year round. I guess our most extensive project was the one on Fine Hill. Mr. Hearst didn't like the complete bareness of the hill. We built a road through the wilderness and we planted over 60 fine Crees on

00:11:36.850 - 00:12:01.210

that hill. Then there was a time we planted an entire mountain with wildflowers. Mr. Hearst did everything in his power to add color to San Simeon are five greenhouses were raising 600,000 annuals at one time a complete change of plants for the four seasons. On one

00:12:01.210 - 00:12:20.730

occasion, 20 gardeners worked all night under floodlights so that the next morning, Easter Sunday, the guests were amazed to see the castle surrounded by thousands of Easter lilies. On another occasion, Mr Hearst wired Mr Keep to plant a string of Daphne around the castle grounds. And

00:12:20.730 - 00:12:45.200

Mr Keep did it by cornering every Daphne in every California nursery when huge oak trees had to be moved for the Castle Foundation. Mr. Hearst, rather than kill the trees, have the hoax move the few yards out of the way of construction. William Randolph Hearst Jr

00:12:45.210 - 00:13:11.720

recalls Mr Hurst's main concern, his Grand Castle. But for all his interest in his collections of art of animals, floor pop is most dedicated to his Grand Castle, his La Casa Grande. The main house, which is to be the crowning jewel of San Simeon pop, sends

00:13:11.730 - 00:13:40.660

this sketch from New York. Miss Morgan sends this other sketch from San Simeon. They go over them and exchange ideas, and sketches soon start to become solid fact as the castle begins to rise. The original towers are not right there. Torrent down, too dark to severe,

00:13:43.040 - 00:14:07.870

literally no expenses spared for the 100 rooms of La Casa Grande, 14th century doorways, 15th century fireplaces, 16th century ceiling, 17th century carpets all blended into 1/20 century campsite, the like of which the world has never seen. In the 19 twenties and 19 thirties, much of

00:14:07.870 - 00:14:25.260

Hollywood society was divided into two classes. Those who had been to send him in and those who had not. One of those who had was Francis X. Bushman, one of the greatest screen idols in motion picture history and now celebrating over 65 years in show business.

00:14:25.330 - 00:14:57.060

Mr Bushman recalls the weekends at San Simeon Lower Quester Encantada, one of the architectural and horticultural wonders of the world. Often compared with Versailles, La Cuesta Encantada set in the Santa Lucia Mountains on properties equal to nearly half the size of Rhode Island. The Enchanted Hill

00:14:57.490 - 00:15:25.840

with treasures dating back from the time of Moses, the Enchanted Hill, the biographical, architectural and cultural representation of William Randolph Hearst. Oh, we would usually arrive late Friday afternoon or early evening. A plane or train or car average of 50 or 75 guests would spend the

00:15:25.840 - 00:15:46.810

weekend at San Simeon, a zai past the will. A Casa Grande, the magnificent front door. I was always intrigued by this mosaic in the entrance, the mosaic dating from the days of the Roman Empire, discovered in the ruins of Pompeii, a zai entered the assembly hall.

00:15:46.990 - 00:16:06.630

I was always staggered by its side. 83 ft long, 31 ft wide and 22 ft high, the largest of the castle's 100 rooms. It was like a huge movie said, Come to life. Uh huh. Waiting for our host. We would relax for the game of bridge

00:16:06.630 - 00:16:32.770

or poker, or perhaps Monopoly, but Somehow Boardwalk and Park Place lost their significance in this massive haul. We're often than not. The guests were from the entertainment world andan these chairs at the A lead of Hollywood. John Gilbert. Buster Keaton went Garbo, Samuel Golden, Charlie Chaplin,

00:16:33.290 - 00:16:58.260

Louis B. Mayer, my friends and contemporaries. In both silent and sound film history, we marveled at the poor, huge tapestry surrounding the assembly hall, woven in Brussels in the bid 15 hundreds, depicting the Punic wars. These wants the property of the Spanish royal family on down

00:16:58.260 - 00:17:17.860

behind this wall. Our host would descend from the upper floors on the special elevator. He would, it seemed, emerges out of the wall through an opening in the 16th century choir stalls, which surround the room, usually around nine o'clock. Servant would bring the cow bell for

00:17:17.860 - 00:17:43.850

dinner, and we'd entered the beautiful refectory, the main dining hall. I always expected to see King off his night setting at the 17th century dining cables, but rather the giants of the 20th century. Dime there. Winston Churchill, Charles Lindbergh, George Bernard Shaw, Douglas MacArthur, Calvin Coolidge.

00:17:44.540 - 00:18:06.260

Uh huh. Well, the menu announced the meals, which were prepared in the 65 ft long kitchen pantry meals, which feet of meat, poultry and fruit grown and raised right there at San Simeon. Many of the dinners were under the direction of Mrs Andrew Pansy, head housekeeper

00:18:06.260 - 00:18:33.200

at San Simeon. You were served at the table bare of tablecloth. Cats of mustard steak sauce were placed on the table in their original containers. Paper napkins lay beside lovely gold bordered English, blue willow and fine crystal. Often, while Mr Hearst and guests were dining, the

00:18:33.200 - 00:18:52.280

butler would put on a juggling act with the costly English Blue Willow Dishes. Menu would also announce the movie for the evening, and after dinner we'd go to the 75 seat theater, which is big enough to sleep in everything like the picture bill. Hers, a pioneer

00:18:52.280 - 00:19:29.520

in the infant movie making business, would preview his own productions here. All right, no one can understand. On a given night, you might have seen me racing Raymond Navarro in the chariot scene of the original Ben Hur. After the movies, we were on arrow. Believe me,

00:19:29.520 - 00:19:56.440

we had a nice selection of pastime. Men could play billiards in the game room where the faded 20th century felt ashamed with the colors produced 550 years ago. In this 14th century tapestry, it's estimated value is $150. These hunters, once hanging on ancient castle walls, toe

00:19:56.440 - 00:20:22.350

help protect nights from foul weather. Now watch the eight ball go into the side pocket. I mean, personally, I always enjoyed one of the Enchanted Hills fringe benefits. Midnight dip in the indoor Roman swimming pool. As you can see, we weren't cramp a room. 24 karat

00:20:22.350 - 00:20:44.980

gold tile sparkle from the bulls floor. The walls were done in mosaic tile imported from Italy as where the workmen from Italy who installed it in spite inch after the movies or swim bill would take the elevator, which, by the way, was once a confessional box.

00:20:45.090 - 00:21:03.890

He would take the elevator to the third floor, always stopping to get the latest edition from his chain of newspapers, one of the largest of course in the history of generalists. He would enter his Gothic library, from where he ran his multimillion dollar empire of newspapers,

00:21:03.900 - 00:21:26.550

broadcasting stations, movie companies and magazine topped by a magnificent vaulted ceiling. This rarely visited Gothic library was considered by many to be the most beautiful in LaCosta Grant. Many of the Castle of 70 books were here, and even the lampshades were made from monastic book pages

00:21:32.240 - 00:21:55.700

and from his desk in the alcove toe, the Karthik Library. Historic decisions were made for over two decades decisions which affected not only the Hearst Enterprises but the nation itself. A phone call from this desk to John Nance Garner at a deadlocked Democratic presidential nominating convention

00:21:55.700 - 00:22:20.550

in 1932 ah, phone call. Throwing the California votes controlled by Garner and Hirst to a New Yorker. The phone call broke the deadlock, and as California cast 44 votes for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, history was reshaped. And finally, in the early hours of the morning, Mr Hurstwood

00:22:20.550 - 00:22:50.370

retire to his bedroom, or perhaps to one of the two celestial sweets situated in the top of the castle's twin towers. On on the following morning, one could look out on a commanding view of the ocean, the valleys and the mountains, the enchanted heal itself. Sweets

00:22:50.370 - 00:23:45.770

also overlooked the most breathtaking sight of ball. The Neptune pool, in a setting like Mount Olympus itself on Neptune pool, is considered by many to be the most beautiful pool in the world. I couldn't. I have played some beautiful love scenes here, and

00:23:45.770 - 00:24:07.480

after a morning plunge in the Neptune pool, we could take a horseback ride along the vine, covered my long particular or bridle path. Or perhaps going on when it builds famous picnics at the beach. Or perhaps just roam around the San Simeon Gardens and watch a

00:24:07.480 - 00:25:09.480

young Charlie Chaplin eat the flowers for breakfast. Yeah, everywhere. San Simeon. Very symbolism. Lingering reminders of a man who built a monument to something. Perhaps the symbolism is best illustrated by this 3500 year old Egyptian cat. Once it saw the pyramid built by pharaohs

00:25:09.490 - 00:25:35.540

along the Nile. Inscrutable. Now, gazing out at the California coastline, it seems to ponder the ways of men and their monuments. SAN Chimney In the Casa Grande, La Cuesta Encantada, William Randolph, first Enchanted Hill