 In 1940 , Hearst decided to give the monastery away . The government of Francisco Franco requested that it be returned to Spain , but Hearst refused . In August 1941 , Herbert <unk> , director of the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum , convinced Hearst to give the stones to the City of San Francisco in exchange for the city 's payment of his $ 25 @,@ 000 storage debt . Hearst stipulated the stones be used to construct a group of museum buildings adjoining the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park . The city moved the crates from the warehouse to store them outdoors behind the museum and the Japanese Tea Garden , allotting only $ 5 @,@ 000 for trucking and for building rough sheds and protective covers . The museum plan was estimated to cost $ 500 @,@ 000 , but that amount was not available . Morgan prepared several layouts for the city to approve , each with a different arrangement of the buildings than in Spain . However , in December 1941 , the U.S. was drawn into World War II and the museum plans were shelved . Picking up the project in 1946 , the city paid Morgan to construct a scale model of the complex of buildings which was to be the Museum of Medieval Arts , a West Coast version of The Cloisters in New York . 
