Julia Morgan: An Intimate Biography of the Trailblazing Architect

When a young Victoria Kastner visited the famous Hearst Castle in Cambria, California many years ago, she was told, "An architect named Julia Morgan built this entire estate, but we don't know anything about her." From that moment, Kastner was hooked. Since then, she has spent more than three decades as Hearst Castle's official historian and recently authored the book, "Julia Morgan, Architect of Beauty, An Intimate Biography of the Trailblazing Architect."

Architect Julia Morgan was indeed a lifelong trailblazer. She was the first woman admitted to study architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was also the first woman licensed to practice architecture in the state of California. During the early twentieth century, she left an indelible mark on the American West. Of her remarkable 700 creations, the most famous and iconic is Hearst Castle in Cambria, California.

Julia Morgan also designed numerous buildings in northern California: The Saratoga Foothill Clubhouse, the Saratoga Federated Church Chapel, the Saratoga Hayfield House, the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, the Mills College Bell Tower, located across the bay from San Francisco, (which survived the 1906 earthquake unscathed) and Asilomar's Merrill Hall in Pacific Grove. She was also the first female architect to receive (posthumously) the American Institute of Architects' Gold Medal award in 2014.

Join us at the Saratoga Foothill Club to hear author and historian Victoria Kastner offer her depth of knowledge and insights into Julia Morgan's life, including Morgan's life-long friendship with William Randolph Hearst, her love for California's landscape, her struggles to succeed as a female architect in a male-dominated field, and her passionate devotion to the field of architecture.

Event to be followed by a reception with the author. Books will be available for purchase.

Host or Publisher Saratoga Foothill Club