Yet Another Year of Choices
By Barbara Dahlgren
In December 2003, a big earthquake hit central California. It was the biggest earthquake to hit the area since 1952 and one of the most widely felt in California history. The jolt stemmed from a fault line near San Simeon where the famed Hearst Castle is located. Buildings as far away as San Francisco swayed and many in nearby Paso Robles collapsed including their historic Clock Tower, causing two deaths. Paso Robles was 24 miles from the epicenter. Oddly enough Hearst Castle, which was only 11 miles from the epicenter, sustained very little damage. One might ask, “Why?”
The answer could be because of Julia Morgan who designed the famed Hearst Castle. She was a woman way ahead of her time. Born in San Francisco, Morgan was the only woman to complete a civil engineering degree from the University of California in 1872. While other ladies dreamed of marriage and babies, Morgan dreamed of building the houses they would live in. She traveled to Paris to study architecture but was refused admission for two years because she was a woman. They eventually were forced to accept her after she won almost every prestigious architecture competition in Europe.
After returning to San Francisco, she opened her “Julia Morgan: Architect” office and never lacked for business. In 1919, William Randolph Hearst chose Julia Morgan to design the “ranch,” his affectionate term for Hearst Castle, in central California’s sleepy hamlet of San Simeon. Morgan’s engineering and architectural background as well as her experience using reinforced concrete made her well suited for the enormous task. She spent the next 25 years working closely with Hearst on every detail of the Castle. They discussed everything from structure design to purchasing and placing antiques and works of art – even which vacuum cleaner to buy.
Rumors would have us believe that Hearst plucked Julia from obscurity and took a chance by giving her this golden opportunity but not so. Julia Morgan had a 20 year, well established career by the time she met him. Some Hearst Castle tour guides say that Morgan was chosen because her buildings withstood the 1906 earthquake. That is not documented but may be closer to the truth. In any case, her Hearst Castle withstood the 2003 earthquake which adds to her legacy.
Let’s contrast that to the collapse of the 111-year-old historic Clock Tower of Paso Robles, which was renovated just 12 years before the 2003 earthquake. Unfortunately, during the renovation no one took the time, effort, or expense to reinforced it so it would withstand an earthquake, even though Paso Robles is located near a well-known fault zone.
It reminds me of the old biblical parable about the wise man and foolish man. (Matthew 7:24-27) The foolish man built his house on the sand and when the rains came, it collapsed. The wise man built his house on the rock and when the rains came, it stood firm. A good foundation can make all the difference in the world. Do we have one? God makes a mighty good foundation. In fact, Matthew 7:24 says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
Consider this… If we want to withstand the earthquakes in life, we need a good, spiritual foundation.
One final thought…
You can’t build a great building on a weak foundation. It will eventually collapse.
