Hearst Castle's indoor pool  by Gili Orr
Gili Orr

Hearst Castle's indoor pool by

“Hearst Castle’s indoor pool” was featured in the groups (6)
Reflectivity
AMERICAS ~ Rural, Urban, Wild, Free – Expressions of Artists
ImageWriting
American Southwest
Northern California Style
and Light in the Darkness
3864 views (10 March 2012)

Photo taken in 2005, in Hearst Castle, California with a Canon PowerShot S70 camera. This indoor pool was modeled after Roman baths, with gold mosaic tiles.

Hearst Castle is the palatial estate built by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. It is located near San Simeon, California, on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Donated by the Hearst Corporation to the state of California in 1957, it is now a State Historical Monument and a National Historic Landmark, open for public tours. Hearst formally named the estate “La Cuesta Encantada” (“The Enchanted Hill”), but he usually just called it “the ranch”. The castle and grounds are also sometimes referred to as “San Simeon” without distinguishing between the Hearst property and the unincorporated town of the same name.

The estate is a pastiche of historic architectural styles that Hearst admired in his travels around Europe. For example, the main house is modeled after a 16th century Spanish cathedral, while the outdoor swimming pool features an ancient Roman temple front transported wholesale from Europe and reconstructed at the site. Hearst furnished the estate with truckloads of art, antiques, and even whole ceilings that he acquired in their entirety from Europe and Egypt.

Hearst Castle featured 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, 127 acres (0.51 km2) of gardens, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a movie theater, an airfield, and the world’s largest private zoo. Zebras and other exotic animals still roam the grounds. Morgan, an accomplished civil engineer, devised a gravity-based water delivery system from a nearby mountain. One highlight of the estate is the Neptune Pool, which features an expansive vista of the mountains, ocean and the main house.
(Wikipedia)

Favorite

Tags

architecture, california, gili orr, hearst castle, swimming pool

Comments

  • Sensiworld
    Sensiworldover 3 years ago

    Lovely shot, like all the colours in here !
    Would love the swim there and relax.

  • Thanks, Sylvia! I like these colors too ;-)

    – Gili Orr

  • mompaq
    mompaqover 3 years ago

    Great reflections!

  • Thanks! Te reflection was indeed amazing.

    – Gili Orr

  • RoxyLust
    RoxyLustover 3 years ago

    great capture xx

  • Thanks! It was very beautiful, the colors and reflections… not very easy to get good photos inside houses, though… most of the photos I took in Hearst Castle aren’t worth anything, but I feel good about this one myself ;-)

    – Gili Orr

  • dwcdaid
    dwcdaidover 3 years ago

    Wow.

  • Thanks!! ;-)

    – Gili Orr

  • Cora Wandel
    Cora Wandelover 3 years ago

    Beautiful, Gili. This is one of the wonders of California I have yet to see, someday I will get there. – Cora

  • Stzar
    Stzarover 3 years ago

  • Thanks, Karon!!

    – Gili Orr

  • Cora Wandel
    Cora Wandelover 3 years ago

    Gili, this is a favorite of mine, it is spectacular. – Cora

  • I am flattered:-) Thanks so much!

    – Gili Orr

  • blondiegirl
    blondiegirlover 3 years ago

    OMG!! this looks like it would be bigger than my house!!!

  • If you are an American, I guess not;-) American everything is sooo big…

    – Gili Orr

  • Cora Wandel
    Cora Wandelover 3 years ago

    Congratulations Gili!

    Your Hosts,

    Anne-Marie & Cora

  • Thanks so much, Cora!

    – Gili Orr

  • Joanne  Bradley
    Joanne Bradleyover 3 years ago

    Wow, what great color and wonderful capture of reflection! Congrats on ImageWriting feature!

  • Thanks a lot, Joanne!!

    – Gili Orr