Fireside Meeting - January 2025

Designing for the Hearsts: The Fearless Magnates and Their Unconventional Architects

William Randolph Hearst and his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst, were architectural patrons, and not just any patrons but highly courageous ones. They commissioned unusual and often groundbreaking architectural designs from a select group of remarkable individuals who would put their lasting stamp on California’s built environment.

In her presentation, Architectural historian and Hillside Club member Daniella Thompson will show examples of both public and private commissions by the Hearsts. While some of the buildings are widely known, others can now be seen only in photographs and are bound to surprise the viewer.

Daniella Thompson

Club member Daniella Thompson is a writer, editor, historian, photographer and lecturer. Having spent her career in filmmaking, publishing, and advertising, she retired to concentrate on what she loves, namely architectural history and Brazilian music, two areas in which she has been intensively active and published widely for the past quarter century.

Daniella is a former president of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, a non-profit organization for which she built a website and created the bulk of the editorial content, with hundreds of illustrated articles on Berkeley’s history and built environment.