I’ve always looked at preservation as a very personal passion. Whether you are interested in preserving old houses, keeping family memories alive, revitalizing your downtown, helping the sick, feeding the hungry, rescuing animals, or looking after our vast natural resources, everybody has a “passion”—although they may not know it. That passion lies deep within your heart and it fuels your day-to-day travels through life, even when you’re not aware of it. Some of us may have just one passion; some of us have many. Whatever drives you to be the caretaker of a cause becomes your passion. And it doesn’t have to be on a grandiose scale. The tiniest bit of what’s in your heart will do it!

Growing up in Pasadena, I became fascinated early-on with the grand homes and mansions throughout the area—large Mediterranean estates, grand Craftsman bungalows, sprawling ranchers, and ultra-modern mid-century structures. I did not live in one of these houses. I grew up in a modest house built by my dad’s own hand after WWII, when the only lumber available was green and plumbing fixtures and appliances were second-hand. My dad even built me a playhouse out of scrap wood from a refrigerator packing crate. It was rustic, but to me it was a castle and made me feel like a princess.

Princess Evelyn standing in the doorway of her “packing crate” castle. (Pasadena, CA 1952.)

My dad worked as a milkman for a local dairy. His delivery route took him to the prestigious estates of Pasadena’s wealthy upper-class, where he would interact with maids and butlers up before dawn, long before their employers stirred. Dad’s stories about his milk delivery adventures gave me a glimpse into a life I would have otherwise not known about. His stories left an impression on my adventurous imagination and I began to see far beyond the confines of my little world. Imagine living in a real castle… or a palace. Imagine being a real princess!

When I grew up, I went to college, where I studied art and found I was particularly interested in architectural history. I became fascinated with one particular style of architecture abundant throughout Pasadena—the imposing, shingle-style, American Craftsmans that stood in the older neighborhoods. I was saddened to see so many of them demolished and replaced with big, blocky apartment houses or strip malls. These old homes were solid structures designed by architects who meant for them to last. They had survived earthquakes, wildfires, multiple owners, and being chopped up into rundown boarding houses with peeling paint and iron bars across the windows. But the “bones” of these once grand structures were still there, solid and strong. 

What stories could they tell? How could we hear them? How could we preserve them?

Evelyn’s Dad Walter and his Supreme Dairy milk truck (Pasadena CA, circa 1952.)

Years later, I moved to the Central Coast of California… and there it was! A mansion, in fact a Castle, perched on a hilltop overlooking an 18-mile stretch of Pacific coastline in a place called San Simeon. One man’s dream—one man’s passion—brought to fruition by a diminutive woman architect: La Cuesta Encantada, the Enchanted Hill. Hearst Castle was once home to media mogul William Randolph Hearst and the diminutive woman architect was the incomparable Julia Morgan. 

As I visited Hearst Castle, awestruck at every sight I encountered, I kept remembering the modest house I grew up in, complete with my own little “castle” made from a packing crate. How vastly different these two places were, yet they both had stories to tell. It ignited within me a passion to preserve these treasures, whether modest or magnificent. They all had stories to tell and it is important to keep those stories alive so they can be heard by future generations.

The more I learned about architect Julia Morgan, the more I admired her. To this day, I cannot fathom how she did what she did in just one lifetime—breaking barriers by being the first woman accepted into the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, surviving the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, holding the record for total completed structures designed by a single American architect with more than 700 buildings in all. Morgan was the first woman to receive the American Institute of Architects’ highest award, the AIA Gold Medal, posthumously in 2014. 

Evelyn’s childhood home, built by her father after WWII, when the only lumber available was green and plumbing fixtures and appliances were second-hand. (Pasadena CA, circa 1940s.)

And, oh yes, that “castle” on the hilltop she designed grew into an opulent estate not rivaled anywhere else on earth. That little castle accommodates 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, 41 fireplaces, a grand assembly room, a dining room fit for kings, and two swimming pools (one large enough to float the Mayflower), plus three guest houses—and every square inch filled with priceless art. 

What stories could be told here? How could we ensure they are heard? How do we preserve them?

It all comes back to our personal passion for preservation and how we choose to fulfill it. The passion is there within each one of us, whether we realize it or not. I urge you to find it and do what you can with it—however you choose, whatever cause tugs at your heartstrings. I think you’ll find that whatever you do, you will be greatly enriched as someone who found their passion and acted upon it.

By saving places, we can honor the past. We can strengthen our communities in the present. And we can protect stories that will carry into the future.

– Elizabeth Bruns, National Trust for Historic Preservation

I am happy to report the house my dad built in the 1940s exists today and its current owner takes good care of it. Of course, Hearst Castle still exists, too—a monumental estate built by people with passion. It is now up to us to keep that passion alive and to preserve it for those who will come long after we are gone. 

About the Author

Evelyn Plemons is a retired entrepreneur living in the Pismo Beach dream home she built with her late husband. She channels her passion for preserving art and architecture into her role as Secretary for the Board of Directors at The Foundation at Hearst Castle, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Learn more about Evelyn.

***