Earthquake Spares Hearst Castle

December 23, 2003

Earthquake Spares Hearst Castle
December 23, 2003 – The central California coastal earthquake that occurred Monday is believed to have originated on the San Simeon fault not far from the Hearst Castle, but the famed mansion sustained no structural damage.

The earthquake, which registered a preliminary magnitude when it hit about 11:15 a.m. (Pacific Time) Monday, killed two people in Paso Robles, Calif., and sent tremors from Los Angeles to San Francisco and beyond, according to CNN.com.

The Hearst Castle, the palatial home built by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, is now a state historic site. Park rangers ordered the castle’s evacuation Monday, and while no structural damage was reported, some artifacts from Hearst’s extensive collection may have been damaged.

Read more about the earthquake at http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/12/22/ca.earthquake/index.html.