Hearst Castle
Feb. 10th, 2013 04:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
So this is not a post about something I made... but it is about a castle, and that should make up for it. Hearst Castle, to be precise; California has an inexplicable dearth of medieval stone fortresses, but this 1930s Spanish-esque mansion has a few treasures from those days in Europe. Hearst had whole ceilings bought, shipped, and installed in his home, straight from Italian palazzos.
The compound sits on a hill overlooking the endless acres of Hearst Ranch, where cows roam freely (apparently in harmony with zebras and other remnants of the old zoo he kept).

The cows are indifferent to mere tourists.


The view from Hearst Castle is in a way more spectacular than the various treasures contained inside. Rolling hills of ranch land and oak trees as far as the eye can see, in all directions except for the sea.

This is peeking from the Doge's bedroom into the sitting room next door, upstairs. Through the far door is another bedroom, with an ancient tapestry. The walls were covered in silk fabric, hanging loose, and the jars on that table are majolica.

The ceiling in the sitting room. So nice of Europe to spare it.

One of the bedrooms in the Cloisters, where young women who visited the Castle stayed. On either side of the rooms were long open air hallways with arches that showed the views of hills and sea.

Views like this.

This was the gothic style bedroom - appropriately, with gothic medieval furniture, ceiling, and decor.

The iron latch on the room's wardrobe.

A detail from the ceiling. I took the picture as research for medieval garments.

Another dress.

In Marion Davies's bedroom, there were pink rock crystal lamps that matched this statue... I believe the guide said they were from the Ming Dynasty? They were beautiful.

One of the lampshades made from medieval songbooks, the giant kind they had for choirs. The pages were cut out, hole punched, and strung together with what looked to me like rawhide. I kind of think Mr. Hearst would have been thrown in jail if he'd tried that nowadays.

A small statue on a table in one of the sitting rooms. Just a little knicknack, probably older than my country.

This is from the library. There were lots of books, and lots of Grecian urns. Apparently he had the largest collection in the world at one point. This decorative scrollwork is nice, but it makes pulling out a book to read somewhat annoying, doesn't it?

I want to say this is his office, based on what the guide was saying, but it looks more like a dining room to me. Still on the upper floors, though.

The door to one of the cottages outside. A separate tour, or we would have explored them too. The gold screen is just a touch opulent, isn't it?

Of course no visit to Hearst Castle is complete without seeing the Neptune Pool. It was just as startlingly blue as I remembered from when I saw it before as a child. The design of the pool is so striking one almost has to remind oneself to look at the temple-y bits on the far side.... They're only something like 3000 years old.

Just a quiet path going somewhere... The orange trees were hard at work. When I have a mansion, I'm copying the orange tree pathway idea.

The Roman pool. It's pretty, with all the tiny blue and gold tiles even under the water, but it still reminds me a bit of a gym in high school. He must have loved to swim, to have two pools.

One of the four statues in the Roman Pool. You can see the detailed mosaic behind her.
And on that note, it's time for a cup of tea.

The compound sits on a hill overlooking the endless acres of Hearst Ranch, where cows roam freely (apparently in harmony with zebras and other remnants of the old zoo he kept).
The cows are indifferent to mere tourists.
The view from Hearst Castle is in a way more spectacular than the various treasures contained inside. Rolling hills of ranch land and oak trees as far as the eye can see, in all directions except for the sea.
This is peeking from the Doge's bedroom into the sitting room next door, upstairs. Through the far door is another bedroom, with an ancient tapestry. The walls were covered in silk fabric, hanging loose, and the jars on that table are majolica.
The ceiling in the sitting room. So nice of Europe to spare it.
One of the bedrooms in the Cloisters, where young women who visited the Castle stayed. On either side of the rooms were long open air hallways with arches that showed the views of hills and sea.
Views like this.
This was the gothic style bedroom - appropriately, with gothic medieval furniture, ceiling, and decor.
The iron latch on the room's wardrobe.
A detail from the ceiling. I took the picture as research for medieval garments.
Another dress.
In Marion Davies's bedroom, there were pink rock crystal lamps that matched this statue... I believe the guide said they were from the Ming Dynasty? They were beautiful.
One of the lampshades made from medieval songbooks, the giant kind they had for choirs. The pages were cut out, hole punched, and strung together with what looked to me like rawhide. I kind of think Mr. Hearst would have been thrown in jail if he'd tried that nowadays.
A small statue on a table in one of the sitting rooms. Just a little knicknack, probably older than my country.
This is from the library. There were lots of books, and lots of Grecian urns. Apparently he had the largest collection in the world at one point. This decorative scrollwork is nice, but it makes pulling out a book to read somewhat annoying, doesn't it?
I want to say this is his office, based on what the guide was saying, but it looks more like a dining room to me. Still on the upper floors, though.
The door to one of the cottages outside. A separate tour, or we would have explored them too. The gold screen is just a touch opulent, isn't it?
Of course no visit to Hearst Castle is complete without seeing the Neptune Pool. It was just as startlingly blue as I remembered from when I saw it before as a child. The design of the pool is so striking one almost has to remind oneself to look at the temple-y bits on the far side.... They're only something like 3000 years old.
Just a quiet path going somewhere... The orange trees were hard at work. When I have a mansion, I'm copying the orange tree pathway idea.
The Roman pool. It's pretty, with all the tiny blue and gold tiles even under the water, but it still reminds me a bit of a gym in high school. He must have loved to swim, to have two pools.
One of the four statues in the Roman Pool. You can see the detailed mosaic behind her.
And on that note, it's time for a cup of tea.
