Over-the-top Hearst Castle
Visitors to Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Calif., soon notice that it’s a little different from their own homes, said Christopher Reynolds in the Los Angeles Times. Apart from the 38 bedrooms, there are the 234 staffers. There also used to be a zoo. Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst built the 127-acre estate between 1919 and 1947. Casa Grande, the 115-room main house, looms over a trio of guesthouses. The cluster of buildings “gives the effect of a little hill town huddled around a twin-towered cathedral.” Other features include the outdoor Neptune Pool and the indoor Roman Pool; the zoo was dismantled before Hearst’s death, in 1951. Hearst also took a special interest in his gardens. One hilltop is still dominated by 1,000 rosebushes, and orange, grapefruit, and lemon trees.
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