[00:12.78]The Man and His Castle (Ⅰ)
[00:15.52]La Cuesta Encantada (The Enchanted Castle)
[00:21.86]is one of the most
[00:25.69]remarkable displays of power
[00:28.10]and passion in the world.
[00:30.07]This marvelous tourist site
[00:32.25]now known as
[00:33.68]Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument
[00:37.51]is better known as
[00:39.70]Hearst Castle. It is
[00:42.76]located six hours south of San Francisco
[00:46.04] and five hours north of Los Angeles.
[00:49.44]Sheltered by the mountains
[00:51.73]in northern San Luis Obispo County,
[00:55.56]the complex of 165 rooms
[00:58.19]and 127 acres of gardens, terraces,
[01:03.87]pools, fountains and footpaths
[01:06.94]draws approximately 800 000 visitors
[01:11.20]annually. To understand the castle,
[01:14.59]you have to understand the man
[01:17.00]who built it, William Randolph Hearst.
[01:20.50] And to understand the man,
[01:22.80]you have to understand the land
[01:25.10] upon which he built his dream.
[01:27.39]Born on April 29, 1863,
[01:31.34]William Randolph Hearst
[01:35.16]was the only child of George Hearst
[01:37.57] and his wife, Phoebe.
[01:40.20]who amassed his fortune
[01:45.23]through partnerships in three of
[01:49.50]the everlargest mining discoveries
[01:51.68]of copper, silver, and gold ores.
[01:54.09]In 1865, George began to
[01:57.38]accumulate parcels of land
[01:59.34]by obtaining 46 000 acres
[02:02.51]of the Piedra Blanco Ranch
[02:04.81]on California’s Central Coast.
[02:08.53]There he began a successful cattle ranch,
[02:11.27]eventually enlarging it to 250 000 acres
[02:15.42]stretching 50 miles along the coast |