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American Morning
Original Hearst Castle Drawings Found
Aired April 27, 2001 - 11:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A enormous mansion built nearly 75 years ago by William Randolph Hearst in San Simeon, California has long been a monument to glamour and intrigue. The estate, known to many of us as Hearst Castle, is now officially designated a museum. And what's more, a rare find was made recently: original drawings of the mansion.
Here's Bianca Solorzano, of our affiliate KCRA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIANCA SOLORZANO, KCRA REPORTER (voice-over): They say you never know what you'll find when you start cleaning. And recently, John Blodger made a find of a lifetime.
JOHN BLODGER, SENIOR LAND SURVEYOR: We pulled these out and I knew immediately what they were. And I knew they were significant.
SOLORZANO: In preparation for the California Department of Parks and Recreation's move, John was cleaning out old maps and drawings, deciding what to keep and what to toss. But he never expected to find these: four original pencil drawings by Julia Morgan of Hearst Castle in San Simeon, dated 1926 and 1927.
BLODGER: Julia Morgan and William Randolph Hearst probably stood and looked at these drawings and talked about doing this and doing that how would this work and how would that work.
SOLORZANO: And the plans show more of what we see today of the castle and acres or gardens and walkways. The drawings also show Morgan's original concepts and designs that were never built.
BLODGER: This particular drawing shows a pool, reflecting pools and different features out here to the west of the castle, but these were never built.
SOLORZANO: It's believed 10 years ago the plans were sent to archives, placed in plastic for preservation and basically forgotten.
(on-camera): Now that the drawings have been found, they will definitely not disappear again. They will soon be hand-delivered to their permanent home: the Hearst Castle archives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What makes this even more interesting is, she had a lot of her drawings destroyed shortly before she died. She didn't think that people would want to keep them unless -- except for the original clients.
SOLORZANO (voice-over): One of the world's most famous female architects was definitely wrong. Experts say these original drawings are priceless.
And as for the man who found this piece of the past, he says he'll never throw anything away without looking at it twice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: I bet he won't.
Joining us on the phone right now from Meadow Vista, California, John Blodger, the land surveyor who stumbled upon these priceless drawings.
John, good morning.
BLODGER: Good morning.
KAGAN: What a thrill of a find for you.
BLODGER: It would have to be called a thrill of a lifetime, it really was.
KAGAN: When did it dawn on you? I'm sure you looked at tons of paper and tons of stuff as you were cleaning this out -- that you really had these priceless drawings here.
BLODGER: Practically immediately, because I saw Julia Morgan's name and I was familiar with the layout of the castle, so I just knew immediately what they were. And it was just really a thrill.
KAGAN: By looking at the drawings -- and I'm sure you've visited Hearst Castle, how much of it was built compared to the drawings in the plans?
BLODGER: Oh, I would say most of the information shown on the plans was built. But there's a lot of features that were shown that were never built. But the majority of it reflects what the castle looks like today. But there are various features that were never done.
KAGAN: You mentioned something in the piece there. What was the thing that struck you the most of what would have been thrilling to see come to life?
BLODGER: I'm sorry, I didn't...
KAGAN: From what you've seen of the drawings that has not been built, what would you like to have seen built?
BLODGER: Oh, I really couldn't say. The place is so incredible that it's hard to imagine anything else being built there, really. It's such a tremendous structure and feature up there on top of the hill. If you haven't seen it, it's really special.
KAGAN: I actually have been there...
BLODGER: Oh?
KAGAN: ... as a native Californian.
BLODGER: Oh good.
KAGAN: It's a -- it's a treasure, yes. And I would urge other people to go along the coast there, near San Luis Obispo.
Also, a historical note here -- Julia Morgan, a female architect-- in this day and age that we're talking about -- that's not something you would expect.
BLODGER: No. She was ahead of her time. She was a very powerful, strong woman working in a man's world at the turn of the century. And she certainly made her mark. And, as the years go by, she seems to be more and more recognized for her work and the quality of her work.
KAGAN: And these papers on their way to a very safe place, I would imagine?
BLODGER: They are being hand-carried to Hearst Castle, almost as we speak. They will be moved down there and be part of their permanent collection. Hopefully, they'll be on display for the public to enjoy.
KAGAN: That would be great to see.
John Blodger, congratulations on the great find and thanks for sharing it with us.
BLODGER: Well, thank you.
KAGAN: Very good, and once again -- Hearst Castle -- you can buy tickets and go when you drive up the California coast.
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