What is William Hearst's Wyntoon?

when we think of william hearst we imagine his  castle in california but what about his other   homes hi everyone ken here welcome to this house  today we are exploring wyntoon a bavarian style   fantasy village in mccloud california make sure  to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an   exciting episode of this house william hearst was  best known for growing a media empire in building   the hearst castle which we covered in a previous  video but the story of his bavarian village   in mccloud california starts with his mother  phoebe hearst after her husband passed away she   was looking for a fresh start somewhere secluded  and relaxing with natural beauty surrounding her   she found an extraordinary attractive land in the  cascade mountain range and signed a 99-year lease   immediately she began building a seven-story  castle which would be completed in 1904 which   perhaps inspired william to build his own castle  later on phoebe employed two architects to realize   her vision julia morgan and bernard maybach they  drew inspiration from the nearby conifer trees   covering the house and shingles exaggerating its  height with long vertical elements it sat right in   the bend of the river with trickling water echoing  from its blue volcanic stone the interior of the   home boasted exposed timber beams gothic arches  and massive stone fireplaces it was accented by   flemish tapestries hung on the walls as we can see  here in the assembly room the dining room was more   rustic with exposed stone walls set below timber  crossbeams the floors were finished out with   oversized wood planks the walls were decorated  with tapestries trophies and artifacts from the   waiting tribe who once lived on phoebe's land and  became the namesake of the estate in 1919 phoebe   passed away from the spanish flu while visiting  her hacienda she left wyntoon to her niece   ann flint this enraged her son william hearst who  tried to buy it for man but she refused to sell   william attempted withholding artwork from her but  still she would not sell finally william tasked an   entire team of lawyers with taking the estate for  man which they did in 1925 and received 198 000 as   compensation or the modern day equivalent of about  3.3 million dollars in hindsight this was actually   really good for anne because the castle and all  of its contents were lost to fire in 1929 without   a house on the scenic property william began  planning a 61-bedroom castle to take its place   but the great depression was just starting and  the man with a seemingly endless fortune had to   cut back on spending he hired julia morgan to come  back to the site and reimagine the land without   a castle he sent her to germany to research  architecture for one year and when she came back   she proposed a bavarian-style village consisting  of four homes following the riverbend they would   all be arranged in a semicircle around a central  fountain with a lawn growing between the conifers   in 1934 the village was completed and william was  offered the chance to purchase the land instead of   leasing it so he did of the houses on his estate  was the half-timbered brown bear house which was   covered in colorful murals between the timbers in  this photo we can see a fountain featuring a brown   bear with her cub climbing on her back as well as  bears worked into the murals decorating the facade   walking inside the door was ornately carved with  pointed arches receding in layers above it all   set below hand-carved beams the staircase rounded  out along the wood paneled walls leading to a bay   window at its landing bisque statuary decorated  the new post with niches set in the room's corners   for displaying larger statues on the other side  of the circular drive was the cinderella house   containing a clock in its central gable with  bay windows transitioning into pointed towers   as they rose from the second to third floors the  cinderella house was also decorated with murals   between its timbers depicting fairy tales as we  can see cinderella below the clock racing to her   carriage while wearing just one glass slipper  the outbuildings on the property included the   senior staff swiss chalet and a river house which  had been built with a cantilevered deck above   the river the bridge house an homage to phoebe's  original home was covered in shingles and set on   the opposite side of the river the smallest house  was known as the nerve center where telegraphs   and telephone calls would be received by three  full-time staff members as the great depression   raged on william lost control of his company and  wyntoon was assigned to a board of trustees who   charged william rent when he wanted to stay there  visiting only a few times before his death in 1951   today wyntoon continues to be controlled by the  hearst corporation and is enjoyed by william's   descendants as private property thank you all for  watching i really hope that you enjoyed this video   make sure to hit that subscribe button so  you never miss an exciting episode of this   house i would also like to take a moment to say  a special thank you to our this house supporters   whose names you can see on screen right now if  you would like to see your name on the screen   please consider joining our membership program  today i'll see you next time on this house!

Channel: This House

Views: 66,803

Keywords: hearst castle, hearst, castle, wyntoon, william randolph hearst, phoebe hearst, mansion, history, history shows, historical photos, famous, interesting, original, this house, what is this, what is This, history tour, architecture, historic architecture, american castle, us history, architectural history, lost architecture, luxury, palace, home tour, house tour, richest, what is wyntoon, california, bavarian

Id: 2sZnj09VEAU

Length: 5min 4sec (304 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 07 2022