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Until Julia Morgan applied, no woman had ever been admitted to the exclusive and prestigious L'Ecole des Beaux Arts school of architecture. Julia succeeded in 1898 and in 1902 received the certification of graduation. She then returned to San Francisco and began work as an architect. She designed beautiful buildings well matched to their environments. The beautiful and rustic Asilomar Convention Center in Monterey, California exemplifies her vision. By 1919 she had designed over 1,000 buildings in California and was hired by William Randolph Hearst to build the San Simeon estate now known as the Hearst Castle. It took twenty-eight years to build. Her honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of California in 1929 read in part
Distinguished alumna of the University of California; Artist and Engineer; Designer of simple dwellings and stately homes, of great buildings nobly planned to further the centralized activities of her fellow citizens; Architect in whose works harmony and admirable proportions bring pleasure to the eye and peace to the mind.