Hearst Castle Passes 50 in 2008

Hearst Castle will celebrate its 50th year as as a California State Park in 2008.  Recently, I had an opportunity to encounter Hearst Castle again as part of a look at San Luis Obispo County.  My full writeup, photos, and audio slideshow about the area is now online.  It is remarkable to realize that more than 30 million people have visited Hearst Castle as a State Park.  There is no other State Park in California with such an attendance figure as far as I am aware.  Hearst Castle was the palatial hillside home of newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst. Hearst parlayed a mining fortune into a publishing, art-collecting, and movie-producing empire. At a time when Americans identified culture and grandeur with things European, Hearst purchased just about all the cultural artifacts, from monastery facades to tapestries, which were not nailed down in Europe. He brought them to California and installed them in his castle. Encountering Hearst Castle is a half day experience, at least, and by guided tour only. Allow time to see the big-screen movie "Hearst Castle, Building the Dream" to get a background perspective on the motivations and personality of Hearst, starting with his romantic look at European castles as an impressionable young boy. From San Simeon you could head north on Highway 1 to savor the scenic Big Sur Coast.