Victoria Kastner, Author and Lecturer

Architectural historian Victoria Kastner will speak about her new book, Julia Morgan: An Intimate Biography of the Trailblazing Architect, which provides the first in-depth look at Julia Morgan’s fascinating private life, as well as her remarkable career. Julia Morgan was a lifelong trailblazer. In 1902 she became the first woman to graduate from the renowned architecture program at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1904 she became California’s first licensed female architect. And in 2014 the American Institute of Architects posthumously awarded her the Gold Medal, as its first female recipient. Best known as the designer of William Randolph Hearst’s lavish estate at San Simeon, she built an astonishing 700 additional projects throughout the west. Victoria will share new information about many of these buildings, as well as reveal the triumphs and tragedies that filled Julia Morgan’s inspiring personal life.