Hearst Zoo at San Simeon

February 21, 2024

Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument. Zebras, remnant of Hearst's once-fabulous private zoo, can often be seen near the entrance to Hearst Castle.

Halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, you come across San Simeon where, in 1923, wealthy newspaper magnate William Hearst started the world’s largest private zoo: Hearst Garden of Comparative Zoology. Nestled on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Highway 1, Hearst Castle is now a monument and museum, open to public tours. Hearst Castle used to be a meeting-place for tout Hollywood and it featured a feudal zoo. In addition to the menagerie more than 300 animals roamed freely over the sunny hillsides around the castle: a herd of zebras, antelopes, camels, ostriches, sheep, yaks and even an elephant. When Hearst Zoo was dismantled between 1939 and the early 1950s, a few animals were left to roam free. 

Tag: Zoo tag
Date: Feb 10

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