Victoria Kastner presents Julia Morgan: An Intimate Biography of the Trailblazing Architect

The Orange County Chapter of CSI is pleased to announce that our keynote speaker for our April 12th Trade Show is author and lecturer Victoria Kastner. She spent three decades as the official historian at Hearst Castle. Her presentation will be about the Hearst Castle’s enigmatic architect, Julia Morgan.

Victoria Kastner has always been intrigued by historic buildings and the talented designers and clients who create them. Victoria Kastner took a tour of the Hearst Castle property back in the 1970’s and was told, “A woman built this, but we don’t know anything about her.”

Victoria Kastner wrote, Julia Morgan: An Intimate Biography of the Trailblazing Architect. The biography draws on interviews, letters, and newly discovered diaries to reveal Julia Morgan’s inspiring private life. This is the first volume to reveal the story of Julia’s private life–which was as remarkable as the career she forged as the world’s most prominent female architect. This biography also includes never before-seen reflections on Morgan’s faith, art, and life experiences. Morgan’s friendship with Hearst, her passion for California’s landscape, her struggles with familial dementia, and her devotion to architecture reveal her to have been a singularly brilliant and determined artist.

Victoria Kastner authored the definitive trilogy on San Simeon’s history: Hearst Castle: The Biography of a Country House, with a foreword by George Plimpton; Hearst’s San Simeon: The Gardens and the Land; and Hearst Ranch: Family, Land, and Legacy. Hearst Castle is the most iconic work of her remarkable portfolio. She spent thirty years constructing this opulent estate on the California coast for the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Together, they built a spectacular residence that once hosted the biggest stars of Hollywood’s golden age, and that now welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Victoria Kastner authored “William Randolph Hearst: America’s Maverick Collector” for Oxford University’s Journal of the History of Collections, and “Morgan and Associates: Julia Morgan’s Architectural Practice as Design Metaphor” for the AIA publication 20 on 20/20 Vision. She has a master’s degree in Public History with a specialty in architectural history from UC Santa Barbara, and a master’s degree in museum management from George Washington University.

We’ll See You at the Trade Show!

A robust product showcase, the latest construction industry innovations and more await you at the annual Orange County Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute Trade Show.  This is an invitation only event.  Please click here for more information.