We’re heading to Big Sur next week for Thanksgiving with my family, and I can’t stinking wait. I took my first overnight trip there just over a year ago, and thanks to my wonderful friends, I also got to go back for my bachelorette (and stay in a dome, no less).
While camping there last year, a friend and I visited Hearst Castle, which is absolutely stunning. Touristy, yes, but entirely worth it. so it was with particular pleasure that I read this Curbed article on Julia Morgan, who designed Hearst Castle over the course of decades in conjunction with newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.
Morgan sounds like an all-around cool lady: a pioneer in her field, wildly productive (she designed over 700 buildings!), spry into her 70s. I hadn’t realized that she focused on communal spaces, particularly communal housing for women. The increased independence women experienced in the early 1900s led them to the cities, where they needed safe and comfortable places to stay. Morgan designed housing that was functional, but also beautiful. Yay Julia!