During this period, William met and fell in love with a young actress, Marion Davies. Millicent, his wife and the mother of his five sons, including a set of twins, refused to dissolve the marriage, which obliged William to live in sin with the woman whom the tour guides refer to as his friend or companion.
With the death of his mother in 1919, William inherited the beloved quarter-million-acre ranch. At first, he planned to build modest ranch house on his favorite campsite but as he became more involved in the project, his vision of a monument to display his collections gained momentum. Working closely with family architect, Julia Morgan, William created a glorious and extraordinary castle-like structure, blending Spanish, European, and Californian architectural styles. Huge warehouses were built in San Simeon to store the shiploads of splendid antiques, including entire carved ceilings and walls hung with enormous tapestries. They could be installed in the completed rooms. Landscaping integrated exotic plants, hedges, and trees with native flora. As William was in his 60s, he had the insight to know he couldnt wait for them to grow, but he was optimistic. He ordered tons of fertile topsoil to cover the grounds to a depth of five feet and full-grown specimens of the plants were trucked up the mountain for planting.
With thousands of acres of land covered with grassland, trees, natural ponds, and man-made reservoirs available for use, William stocked the estate with herds of rare oxen and deer, and flocks of sheep and lambs. These animals flourished as they were allowed to wander freely. Larger, more dangerous beasts, including tigers, ostriches, buffalo, yaks, emus, kangaroos, llamas, zebras and giraffes were enclosed in the largest private zoo in the world.
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