Cars jammed U.S. Highway 1 on a June day 53 years ago as the gates of Hearst Castle first opened to the public. Some 40 million visitors have since marveled at the castle’s spectacular location, collections, and history. I was privileged to know and work with Bob Doyle, a guide who began leading tours there that first year, 1958. He recounted memories of visits by William Randolph Hearst’s widow Millicent and teaching his children how to swim in the Neptune Pool during the early years when he lived on the hilltop. Many such anecdotes and experiences have been woven into the tour presentations in a way that could never be duplicated for the visitor with a CD and a headset.
As the years progressed, more areas of the hilltop estate were included in tours. Guides were trained extensively to respond to visitor questions about the antique furniture, Persian carpets, Flemish tapestries, plant varieties in the gardens, construction history, and much more. Each tour included about a dozen stops where guides related anecdotes about Hearst’s many guests, pointed out building details, and described the art and antiques. This interactive approach has been popular and effective. Many visitors have returned numerous times, often commenting on the quality of the tour experience. Travel reviews have frequently echoed their sentiments.
As many as 4,500 people a day visit the hilltop, necessitating a large guide staff. There were about 120 guides 15 years ago; most of them worked 1,500 hours or less annually. State cutbacks and hiring freezes during the fiscal crisis of recent years have diminished the guide staff to fewer than 60. It has been emphasized repeatedly in recent years that cutting costs is paramount, with various across-the-board strategies employed, including furloughs. Ironically, the castle has paid its own way, with most day-to-day costs covered by revenue from ticket sales, the visitor center, and other income. Additional funding is provided by Friends of Hearst Castle, a nonprofit group that has helped fund many projects on the hilltop, including the recent restoration of the 15th century Spanish ceiling in the Billiards Room.
I come from a coastal California family that spans six generations and grew up when California led the nation in education and placed high value on the instructive and artistic opportunities parks and museums provide. Our small rural school delighted in field trips to the De Young Museum and the planetarium. But these traditional California values have eroded to the point that education on every level has suffered drastic cutbacks and 70 state parks are scheduled to close, with services reduced in many others. Perhaps this is a sign of the times, of lowered expectations and a shrinking middle class.
Attrition in the guide staff has always been high. The job includes benefits, but the pay is modest—essentially a half-time position for most of the staff. Guides are needed mostly in the summer months, and on weekends and holidays in the off-season. Most guides commute long distances. The drive from my San Luis Obispo home to the Castle hilltop is 100 miles round trip, for example. But many guides love the job and the place so much they conduct tours for decades. A friend just retired after 32 years, still enthusiastic.
For one reason or another, it has always been necessary to have a new training class each year to replace departing guides. With a hiring freeze in place, the decision was made this spring to change the way tours are presented, removing some elements from the experience and adding others. The guide-interpreted tours that typically take 75 minutes are reduced to 45 minutes. Visitors can now wander outside through the gardens and around the pools at their leisure after tours, to take photographs and enjoy the stunning views. The four tours previously offered have been reduced to three, with some areas now closed to public view. It is not unusual for several hundred people to be on guided tours at the same time, with the various tours following 10- or 20-minute intervals. All visitors will be free to stroll the grounds at the end of the tours, with guides strategically placed to answer questions.
Some of the many visitors who return will no doubt be surprised by the changes. A kiosk dispensing bottled water and tickets to additional guided tours will service the many visitors who stroll the stairways and garden paths: a change from the relative tranquility long enjoyed on William Randolph Hearst’s “Enchanted Hill,” La Cuesta Encantada.
Jeffrey Schultz, who teaches communication studies at Cal Poly, has been an interpretive guide at Hearst Castle since 1998. He wrote and performs a one-man show based on George Hearst, and wrote a master’s thesis in 2008 about the construction of the San Simeon estate. Send comments via the opinion editor to econnolly@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 7, 2011.