February 3-5, 25- 28, 2025

With rain and cold forecast for the next morning we loitered in the room and then around noon got some coffee at a nearby Starbucks and headed west on Highway 46 over the Santa Lucia Coastal Mountains to the coast highway, then turned north at Cambria to make our way to San Simeon and Hearst Castle, known formally as La Cuesta Encantada (Spanish for “The Enchanted Hill”).  Conceived by William Randolph Hearst, the publishing tycoon, and his architect Julia Morgan, the castle was built between 1919 and 1947.  Today, it is a museum open to the public as a California State Park and registered as a National Historic Landmark and California Historical Landmark.

George Hearst, William Randolph’s father, had purchased the original 40,000-acre (63 sq mi) estate in 1865 and Camp Hill, the site for the future Hearst Castle, was used for family camping vacations during Hearst’s youth.  In 1919, William Randolph inherited some $11,000,000 (equivalent to $199,000,000 in 2024) and estates including the land at San Simeon.  He used his fortune to further develop his media empire of newspapers, magazines and radio stations, the profits from which supported a lifetime of building and collecting.

Within a few months of the death of his mother, Phoebe Hearst, he had commissioned Julia Morgan to build “something a little more comfortable up on the hill”, the genesis of the present castle. Morgan was an architectural pioneer; “America’s first truly independent female architect”, she was the first woman to study architecture at the School of Beaux-Arts in Paris, the first to have her own architectural practice in California and the first female winner of the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal.  She worked in close collaboration with Hearst for over twenty years and the castle at San Simeon is her best-known creation.

In the Roaring Twenties and into the 1930s, Hearst Castle reached its social peak.  Originally intended to be a family home for Hearst, his wife Millicent and their five sons, by 1925 Hearst’s marriage was effectively over and San Simeon became his domain and that of his mistress, the actress Marion Davies.  Their guest list included many of the Hollywood stars of the period; Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, the Marx Brothers, Greta Garbo, Buster Keaton, Mary Pickford, Jean Harlow and Clark Gable all visited, some on multiple occasions.  Political luminaries encompassed Calvin Coolidge and Winston Churchill while other notables included Charles Lindbergh, P. G. Wodehouse and Bernard Shaw.

Shortly after starting San Simeon, Hearst began to conceive of making the castle “a museum of the best things that I can secure”.  Foremost among his purchases were architectural elements from Western Europe, particularly Spain; over thirty ceilings, doorcases, fireplaces and mantels, entire monasteries, paneling and a medieval tithe barn were purchased, shipped to Hearst’s Brooklyn warehouses and transported on to California.  Much was then incorporated into the fabric of Hearst Castle.  In addition, he built up collections of more conventional art and antiques of high quality; his assemblage of ancient Greek vases was one of the world’s largest.

We’ve visited here more than once and so instead of taking the Grand Rooms tour (an overview of Hearst Castle that covers the main building called Casa Grande: the Assembly Room, Refectory, Morning Room, Billiard Room and Theater), we opted to enjoy the Upstairs Suites tour which highlights rooms on the upper floors of Casa Grande.  We’d travel through guest suites on the way to the Library where Hearst housed a collection of 2000 year old Greek pots.  Then on to Hearst’s private third floor suite including his bedroom and private study where he held business meetings and oversaw his media empire, while we learned about the genius of architect Julia Morgan and the way she incorporated Mr. Hearst’s art collection into the design.

In May 1947, Hearst’s health compelled him and Marion Davies to leave the castle for the last time. He died in Los Angeles in 1951 and Morgan died in 1957.  The following year, the Hearst family gave the castle and many of its contents to the State of California and the mansion was opened to the public in June 1958.  It has since operated as the Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument and attracts about 750,000 visitors annually.  The Hearst family retains ownership of the majority of the wider estate of 82,000 acres (128 sq mi); the setting for the castle which Bernard Shaw is said to have described as “what God would have built if he had had the money”.

It was a delightful tour and as we were the only participants, a private one at that.  We finished and rode back down the hill in the park bus, dawdled a few moments at the Visitor Center, managing to escape without buying anything from the gift shop and drove back over the mountains to J Dusi Winery for our scheduled tasting.  Its head winemaker and owner is Janell Dusi, who was born and raised on the Dusi Vineyard where her grandfather Dante taught her the old-world Italian style of winemaking is involved in all aspects of the winery’s operation. 

Starting in the 1920’s the sustainable farming practices that were implemented by Janell’s great-grandparents are still the standard that followed today.  We thoroughly enjoyed are tasting here, finding the two staff members, a mature woman and younger male, perhaps a student up in San Luis Obispo, friendly and informative.  Known for their Zinfandels, we would taste them and buy a couple of bottles to take with us.

Soon enough it was time to head to downtown Paso for our dinner reservation at Hatch Rotisserie and Bar, another of Keith’s recommendations.  Seated, we each started with a cocktail, the Up in Smoke for Joanna, a special margarita with Mezcal and the Barre Aged Old Fashioned for me (Four Roses Yellow Label, bitters, orange) to accompany the best food best food item of the night, the Hot Skillet Cornbread with Browned butter, black pepper honey, and flake salt.

For entrees It was the Shrimp and Grits (Tomato broth, white cheddar grits, braised greens) for Joanna and the Seabass (Beurre blanc, crispy potatoes) for me, enjoyed with a glass of the Lone Madrone Blend featured on tap.  It was all good and very filling, so much so that dessert was out of the question.  Our only quibble would be the cost, tapping out at $172 including tax and tip, more than likely par for the course for the area. 

That would finish up our second day in town, one full of a couple of highlights and a fine meal.  The next morning we’d get in a bike ride before heading back to Oakland.  We’ll continue with that in the next post. 

Links

Hearst Castle: https://hearstcastle.org/

J Dusi Winery: https://www.jdusiwines.com/

Hatch: https://www.hatchpasorobles.com/