One of the things I'm gonna miss a lot about being a tour guide at the Winchester Mystery House is the questions I get from guests. I've heard so many in the year and a half (well, just about a year and a half!) that I've worked here. Some are really intriguing - I have no idea how people come up with these things, but it really keeps me on my toes.
For example, on Saturday - my very last Saturday working at the mansion I've come to love so dearly - after one of my tours, two of my guests came up and asked me this:
"In today's real estate market, which would go for more money - this place, or Hearst Castle?"
(I'm paraphrasing, I don't remember their exact words, but that's the question.)
I was completely unprepared for such a question. And yet, I was fascinated. We actually discussed it, the three of us. We compared multiple factors and came up with what is - I hope - the definitive answer and not some cop-out like "well the right real estate agent could make either sell for big bucks" (which was my first answer).
(By the way, I'm sorry for anyone who wanted this to be a "who would win in a fight" type entry. I guess the answer to that is technically William Randolph Hearst because the lack of arthritis would give him an advantage, but I feel like if anyone fought dear old Mrs. Winchester then they both lose. Because who tf would punch an old lady? A loser, that's who. Then again, maybe she'd have her foreman fight for her. I'd pay good money to watch John Hansen beat the shit out of Hearst, wouldn't you? Anyway, I digress...)
Factor # 1: Age.
The Winchester Mystery House is older. And Victorian homes are so in right now. Now I admit that I don't know a lot about real estate. And I know that older homes come with their own unique issues. (Like for this house, the lack of air conditioning in the hot California summers.) But I'm thinking of it the way one would with antiques - the older something is, the more it goes for, especially if it retains older period details. Like parquet floors, beautiful stained glass windows, and Lincrusta-Walton wallcovering.
So the winner for this round?
Factor # 2: Aesthetics.
This one is a lot harder to gauge. Both buildings are big and beautiful. Both have around the same amount of rooms. (Our official count is 160, and if I'm remembering correctly I think Hearst has 165? But I think they count their outbuildings in their official count; we don't) And Winchester - or as Sarah W called it, "Llanada Villa"- has some beautiful rooms. Sarah Winchester's main bedroom, the front parlour, the Grand Ballroom, and the Venetian Dining Room are all showstoppers.
But... as attached as I am to this place, even I have to admit that Hearst Castle - or as Mr. Hearst called it, "La Cuesta Encantada" (what was it with these two and the Spanish?) - has far more showy rooms. The indoor pool themed after Roman baths, the medievalesque dining room, the Moorish-style bedroom, and the indoor movie theatre all come to mind, but honestly naming only those four barely scratches the surface. Every room is objectively beautiful - something I sadly can't say about Winchester. I mean, obviously, I love every room at my work, but the unfinished rooms and the earthquake-damaged ones are not everyone's idea of beauty.
And I get the reason for this. Sarah Winchester was rather reclusive, and was building this house to her taste and her taste alone. Hearst, however, was building his house to entertain. And entertain he did - guests of his included Charlie Chaplin, Franklin Roosevelt, Charles Lindbergh, Greta Garbo, and Winston Churchill. So of course he wanted his house to impress.
Thus, the winner for this round?
Factor # 3: Location.
With the two homes neck in neck, there was a good few minutes when I thought I would have to tell my guests my least favourite answer to any question - "I don't know". But then, an important point dawned on me, and one that I think is more important than any of the other factors...
The Winchester Mystery House is in the middle of San Jose.
That alone bumps it up to the winning spot. Real estate in the Silicon Valley is unreal. Even the prices on shitty apartments with rats and not enough room for a big bed are through the roof. I mean part of why we don't have all of Mrs. Winchester's original property is that land here is so valuable. People who have lived in San Jose all their lives are being pushed out because the land is so valuable that no one can afford to live here anymore. And where is Hearst Castle? On a hill in San Simeon that you have to climb up to. I'm pretty sure it's the only thing to do in San Simeon. (No offense to any San Simeonites, but am I wrong?) The location of the Winchester Mystery House is prime real estate - it's right across the street from Santana Row, and very close to downtown San Jose.
Screw the other factors. Based on location alone, the house that would go for more money if they were to go up on the market is definitely the Winchester Mystery House and I am definitely not biased at all, no way no how.
Thankfully, neither house is going on the market anytime soon, and hopefully neither will. I prefer them as they are, open for anyone to enjoy. But I am willing to entertain any arguments anyone may have about whether I'm right or wrong in this hypothetical assessment...
-Nym
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