Historical Marker · No. 640

Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument

San Simeon, San Luis Obispo County · California
Erected by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the citizens of San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties, 1958

The bronze gives the building dates as 1919 to 1947, and the second number is not a completion. Hearst left the hill in 1947 for his health and never came back, and La Casa Grande stopped where it stood. The Hearst Corporation gave the estate to California in 1958 as a memorial to him, donated in the name of his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst, from whom he had inherited the ranch in 1919, the year the building started.

What the plaque says

Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument Here, on the historic Piedra Blanca Rancho, William Randolph Hearst created La Cuesta Encantada(the Enchanted Hill) including La Casa Grande and adjacent buildings, with their rare art treasures and beautiful gardens, 1919-1947. Presented to the State of California in 1958 by the Hearst Corporation as a memorial to William Randolph Hearst, and donated in the name of his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 640 Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the citizens of San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties, June 2, 1958.

Where it stands

35.65102, -121.18613 · Directions

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