The Ancient Spanish Monastery is not a "venue" or a business; it still operates as an active Church. At times when not in use, the Church allows photographers to take photos on the property for a fee and the monies collected are used for the maintenance and preservation of the property. Construction of the Monastery began in the year 1133 AD in Sacramenia, near Segovia in northern Spain. In 1925, William Randolph Hearst purchased the Cloisters and the Monastery's outbuildings. The structures were dismantled stone by stone, bound with protective hay, packed in more than 11,000 wooden crates, numbered for identification and shipped to the United States. It took 19 months and the equivalent of nearly $20 million dollars (in today’s currency) to put the Monastery back together. In 1953 Time magazine called it “the biggest jigsaw puzzle in history.” The property's ancient architecture provides a unique and beautiful backdrop for photos.