Hearst Castle

My trip to Hearst Castle can best be compared to a child's first visit to Disneyworld. I was mesmerized by the mansion on the hill. San Simeon is a town that serves no purpose other than to house the castle.

The similarities to Xanadu from Citizen Kane were remarkable. No surprise since Orson Wells character was not too loosely based on William Randolph Hearst. Something about the architecture which mimicked the ancient in a modern era(built in the 1920s) scratched me right where I never knew I had an itch. The collection of art he amassed, though gaudy, deserves kudos not just for being thorough and expensive but more for the care taken in the collection of it. A conquistador of the artistic and a contradiction in terms.

The gardens and land were even more impressive than the buildings themselves in their preservation and historic value. I could envision politicians, artists, musicians, and celebrities of all sorts from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s being invited to visit the recluse--the king of the castle.

I'm not sure if Patty Hearst spent any part of her childhood in this castle but her famed kidnapping was another incident that rang a bell in the context of the castle.

So moved was I by this visit and the builder behind the structures I've taken to reading his biography by David Nasaw.