Garden
Restoration Project at Hearst Castle
San Simeon, CA - William Randolph Hearst's
fabled Hearst Castle is famous not only for
its architecture and art collection, but also
for its gardens. They were designed by Hearst
and his architect Julia Morgan in a Mediterranean
style, with oak trees and palm, roses and
brilliantly colored bougainvillea, colored
tiles and splashing fountains. They formed
the background for gatherings of the famous
and the wealthy in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s.
Today Hearst Castle is part of California
State Parks and is visited by almost a million
people each year. The gardens are beautifully
maintained and as enchanting today as they
were years ago.
However, as with all gardens, they have
changed over the years; old trees have blown
down in storms; others have grown to huge
size and shade areas once sunny; changes
have been made to accommodate the many visitors;
and small incremental changes have accumulated
over the 50 years since W.R. Hearst has
died.
The staff of Hearst San Simeon Historical
Monument is planning to restore the gardens
and make them more historically accurate.
In order to do this, we need accurate information
about what the gardens were like in William
Randolph Hearst's time.
In short, we need your help. We need old
photographs of the Hearst Castle gardens
taken in the 1940s and 50s - especially
color, but black and white photos are useful
also. Old film footage or personal reminiscences
would be of interest as well.
Friends of Hearst Castle supports the
historic restoration of the Monument’s
formal gardens. If you'd like to help, visit
the
Friends of Hearst Castle website for more information, call 805-927-2138, or send an
email to friends@hearstcastle.com.
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