Evening Museum Tour

The Evening Tour is a special tour that is offered seasonally and allows visitors to travel back in time and experience the historic California mansion and attraction in the evening hours as one of Mr. Hearst’s own visitors might have during the 1930s when Hearst Castle was in its heyday. Many socially prominent guests including politicians, journalists and Hollywood movie stars visited the estate. Hearst Castle glitters at night against spectacular sunsets and the evening sky. This tour visits one of the guest houses, Casa del Mar, and many rooms in the main house, Casa Grande, including several of the large rooms on the ground floor, as well as upstairs rooms including guest rooms, the Main Library and Mr. Hearst’s private Gothic Suite. Visitors will also glimpse guests and staff dressed in 1930s period attire throughout the estate as part of the Living History Program. Visitors will also walk through the gardens and enjoy the spectacular Neptune and Roman Pools sparkling like jewels in the twilight and evening light.

Casa del Mar

Casa del Mar (House of the Sea) was used as a Hearst family residence in 1924 before the main house was completed. It overlooks California Central Coast ocean views to the south that stretch one hundred miles on clear days. The most formal and most elaborately decorated of the Estate’s cottages, Casa del Mar features a different gold-leafed plaster ceiling in every room. Mr. Hearst moved to the main building in 1928, but this guest house still remained dear to him. At age eighty-two in the late 1940s, he returned there to live for his last two years on the hilltop – before retiring to Beverly Hills, CA where he died in 1951.

Assembly Room

Every evening, W. R. Hearst’s vacationing guests gathered in the Assembly Room, the grand social room on the ground floor of Casa Grande. The Assembly Room was where guests met after a day of vacation activities for cocktails, conversation, and a chance to meet their host. Its walls are lined with walnut paneling and vivid tapestries, all dating back to the 16th century. Neoclassical marble statues brighten the corners and fine bronze sculptures sit atop the large tables. But the jigsaw puzzles, poker table, and comfy overstuffed chairs indicate that the Assembly Room was also a large living room for socializing and fun.

Refectory

All meals were served in this magnificent dining room of the mansion. Mr. Hearst and his architect Julia Morgan named it the Refectory, the term for a monastery dining hall. Its high windows, bright silk banners, and gleaming silver candlesticks convey the atmosphere of a church from the middle ages. The mustard and ketchup bottles sitting on the long tables, however, remind us that Mr. Hearst liked to keep things informal at the ranch while enjoying the sparkling conversations.

Kitchen

View the historic property’s large kitchen where all meals were prepared for Mr. Hearst and his guests. Its long pantry holds silver and nickel-topped tables where food could be kept warm before being wheeled into the Refectory. Many of the practical items in the kitchen still seem familiar including stock pots, pressure cookers, bread ovens, huge mixers, and early refrigerators. Beef, poultry, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products were all raised at the ranch. The fare was fresh and delicious, and there was always at least one dessert – often two – because Mr. Hearst loved cakes, cookies, pies, and ice cream. The dinner menu also listed the name of the movie that guests of the California mansion would enjoy following the evening meal.

Library

Guests of the mansion were welcome to browse through the Library’s four thousand books. This imposing architectural space also showcases one of Mr. Hearst’s most treasured collections: one hundred and fifty ancient Greek vases, all more than two thousand years old. These fragile clay vessels are displayed throughout the room and provide fascinating glimpses of daily life in ancient Greece. At eighty feet in length and filled with precious objects, the Library is truly a place to get lost in.

Gothic Suite

W. R. Hearst’s private quarters occupied the entire third floor of the historic California mansion and attraction. Here he displayed many sacred objects, including paintings, statues, textiles, and metalwork. Mr. Hearst was not a formal churchgoer, but he treasured these precious late-medieval pieces. He and his companion Marion Davies occupied the suite’s two bedrooms and private sitting room. Its soaring Gothic Study evokes a church, with its high windows and painted arches. But three thousand books and an imposing conference table show that this was actually Mr. Hearst’s personal library and executive board room.

Billiard Room

Guests who made the trip to Hearst Castle could play both billiards and pool in this impressive game room, which is also decorated with gaming themes. Its 15th-century Spanish ceiling is painted with scenes of courtly life, including bullfighting and jousting. And the Flemish tapestry from 1500 shows an early-morning hunting scene.

Theater

W. R. Hearst and his companion, Hollywood film star Marion Davies, joined the guests every night at 11 p.m. for a full-length movie, preceded by a newsreel. Today, visitors can recreate the experience of viewing a film in Mr. Hearst’s beautiful theater.

Schedule

The Evening Tour of the mansion and popular California attraction is scheduled seasonally in the spring and fall. Evening Tours for the spring of 2012 will be offered on most Friday and Saturday evenings from March 2nd through May 19th, with additional selected evenings during Spring Break in April.  The tour takes approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes including the bus trips to and from the hilltop estate. Visitors should be aware that the Evening Tour entails a large amount of stairs. There is also an Accessibly Designed Evening Tour available as well.

Tour Requirement

Consists of approximately 308 stairs (up and down) and 3/4 mile route to walk. Duration is 1 hour and 40 minutes with a considerable amount of standing. Visibility conditions include daylight, twilight and darkness with both exterior and interior artificial lighting, ranging from dim to very bright.