Xanadu (Citizen Kane)

Xanadu is the fictional estate of Charles Foster Kane, the title character of the film Citizen Kane. The estate gets its name from the real ancient Mongolian city, Xanadu, known for its splendor. Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California is the obvious inspiration for Xanadu, due to the Hearst/Kane comparison that is central to the film.Epstein, Michael and Thomas Lennon. PBS, 1996. Retrieved: January 14, 2008.

Appearance in the film

Built on an immense "private mountain" located on the "deserts of the Gulf coast" in Florida, Xanadu is described as being the world's largest private estate; "cost: no man can say" according to the newsreel at the beginning of the film. The newsreel also states that Kane specifically conceived the estate for Susan Alexander, his second wife. Ironically, however, Susan grew to hate Xanadu, calling it "forty-nine thousand acres of nothing but scenery and statues." The newsreel's pompous description of Xanadu (a pastiche of the "Timese" style of March of Time films of the period), is as follows:



The estate also boasts a championship-quality golf course and a Venetian-style canal with gondolas. The extensive zoo and aquarium were stocked with a...
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