In the late 1920s, invitations to Hearst Castle were coveted treats. Hollywood's elite — a mainstay at newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst's estate — took a train from Los Angeles at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and arrived at San Luis Obispo around midnight. After breakfast, limousines arrived to shuttle them 45 miles northwest to San Simeon, a small town along California's Central Coast.
From there, the journey continued on a dirt road that climbed through the foothills near the Santa Lucia Mountains. Depending on the clouds, guests might glimpse the “castle” on a hill overlooking San Simeon Bay, but they were just as likely to see American bison, white fallow deer, kangaroos, and other herbivores roaming the hills. More animals, including cougars and chimpanzees, appeared in a roadside zoo as the drive continued.
It was Hearst's version of shock and awe, and the animals were just the beginning. At the estate, classical art greeted visitors at every turn
