Sunnylands
Encyclopedia
Sunnylands, the Annenberg Estate, located in Rancho Mirage, California
, is a 240 acre (0.9712464 km²) compound which is currently in possession of an Annenberg family trust. The property was owned by Walter
and Leonore Annenberg
until 2009 and had been used as a winter retreat by the couple since 1963. The property is "rich with historical significance," according to the city of Rancho Mirage, which declared Sunnylands an historic site in 1990. Located at Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope Drives, the property has been the vacation site of numerous celebrities and public officials.
Construction on the Sunnylands estate began in 1963. Renowned interior designer William Haines
and assistant Ted Graber were in charge of the project, which included University of Southern California
professor A. Quincy Jones
. It was designed using Spanish-desert styles. At one time, the house was the largest in Riverside County. The property includes the main house, guest quarters, servant quarters, a private 18-hole golf course, and 12 man-made lakes. Inside the main house is a significant art collection acquired by the Annenbergs. It is largely hidden from public view; a pink-brick wall surrounds the estate, next to hundreds of eucalyptus and olive trees and thick belts of oleander
.
Sunnylands has been the vacation site of a wide range of celebrities. President Dwight D. Eisenhower
and his wife, Mamie
, joined the Annenbergs to golf and fish. President Richard Nixon
wrote his 1974 State of the Union Address
at the house and, after leaving office, was a guest at Sunnylands when President Gerald Ford
pardoned him for any wrongdoing in the Watergate scandal. Ford and his wife Betty
were frequent guests as well. President Ronald Reagan
and Nancy Reagan
were close friends of the Annenbergs and visited every New Year's. President George H. W. Bush
hosted a state dinner
at the house for Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu
in 1990.
Presidents Bill Clinton
and George W. Bush
have stayed at the house as well. Following the Islamic Revolution in Iran in the late 1970s, the family of the Shah of Iran
was invited to seek refuge at Sunnylands. Queen Elizabeth II
visited for lunch, and Prince Charles made occasional weekend visits. The property required such privacy for world leaders that it earned restricted air space status. Other notable people who have stayed on the property include Frank Sinatra
(who was married there), Bob Hope
, Fred Astaire
, Gregory Peck
, Ginger Rogers
, Bing Crosby
, Mary Martin
, and Sammy Davis, Jr.
An education facility is currently being built on the property, and will be known as the Annenberg Education Center at Sunnylands. After Ambassador Walter Annenberg's death in 2002 and Mrs. Annenberg's death in March 2009, ownership was transferred into a family trust and limited, guided public tours of the sprawling facilities will be offered. Both Ambassador and Mrs. Annenberg are interred on the property.
Rancho Mirage, California
Rancho Mirage is a resort city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal population can exceed 20,000. In between Cathedral City and Palm Desert, it is one of the eight cities of the Coachella...
, is a 240 acre (0.9712464 km²) compound which is currently in possession of an Annenberg family trust. The property was owned by Walter
Walter Annenberg
Walter Hubert Annenberg was an American publisher, philanthropist, and diplomat.-Early life:Walter Annenberg was born to a Jewish family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 13, 1908. He was the son of Sarah and Moses "Moe" Annenberg, who published The Daily Racing Form and purchased The Philadelphia...
and Leonore Annenberg
Leonore Annenberg
Leonore Cohn Annenberg , also known as Lee Annenberg, was an American businesswoman, government official, and philanthropist. She is former Chief of Protocol of the United States . Annenberg was married to Walter Annenberg, who was an Ambassador to the United Kingdom and a prominent businessman...
until 2009 and had been used as a winter retreat by the couple since 1963. The property is "rich with historical significance," according to the city of Rancho Mirage, which declared Sunnylands an historic site in 1990. Located at Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope Drives, the property has been the vacation site of numerous celebrities and public officials.
Construction on the Sunnylands estate began in 1963. Renowned interior designer William Haines
William Haines
Charles William "Billy" Haines was an American film actor and interior designer. He was a star of the silent era until the 1930s, when Haines' career was cut short by MGM Studios due to his refusal to deny his homosexuality...
and assistant Ted Graber were in charge of the project, which included University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
professor A. Quincy Jones
A. Quincy Jones
Archibald Quincy Jones, FAIA was a prolific Los Angeles-based architect and educator known for innovative buildings in the modernist style and for urban planning that pioneered the use of greenbelts and green design.-Childhood and early career:...
. It was designed using Spanish-desert styles. At one time, the house was the largest in Riverside County. The property includes the main house, guest quarters, servant quarters, a private 18-hole golf course, and 12 man-made lakes. Inside the main house is a significant art collection acquired by the Annenbergs. It is largely hidden from public view; a pink-brick wall surrounds the estate, next to hundreds of eucalyptus and olive trees and thick belts of oleander
Oleander
Nerium oleander is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the dogbane family Apocynaceae, toxic in all its parts. It is the only species currently classified in the genus Nerium. It is most commonly known as oleander, from its superficial resemblance to the unrelated olive Olea, but has many other...
.
Sunnylands has been the vacation site of a wide range of celebrities. President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
and his wife, Mamie
Mamie Eisenhower
Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower was the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and First Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961.-Early life:...
, joined the Annenbergs to golf and fish. President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
wrote his 1974 State of the Union Address
State of the Union Address
The State of the Union is an annual address presented by the President of the United States to the United States Congress. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the president to outline his legislative agenda and his national priorities.The practice arises...
at the house and, after leaving office, was a guest at Sunnylands when President Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
pardoned him for any wrongdoing in the Watergate scandal. Ford and his wife Betty
Betty Ford
Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren Ford , better known as Betty Ford, was First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977 during the presidency of her husband Gerald Ford...
were frequent guests as well. President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
were close friends of the Annenbergs and visited every New Year's. President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
hosted a state dinner
State dinner
A state dinner is a dinner or banquet paid by a government and hosted by a head of state in his or her official residence in order to renew and celebrate diplomatic ties between the host country and the country of a foreign head of state or head of government who was issued an invitation. In many...
at the house for Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu
Toshiki Kaifu
is a Japanese politician who was the 76th and 77th Prime Minister of Japan from 1989 to 1991.- Career :He was born in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, and was educated at Chuo University and Waseda University. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party , Kaifu ran successfully for the Diet in 1960 and...
in 1990.
Presidents Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
have stayed at the house as well. Following the Islamic Revolution in Iran in the late 1970s, the family of the Shah of Iran
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
was invited to seek refuge at Sunnylands. Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
visited for lunch, and Prince Charles made occasional weekend visits. The property required such privacy for world leaders that it earned restricted air space status. Other notable people who have stayed on the property include Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
(who was married there), Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
, Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
, Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
, Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Mary Martin
Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989...
, and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
An education facility is currently being built on the property, and will be known as the Annenberg Education Center at Sunnylands. After Ambassador Walter Annenberg's death in 2002 and Mrs. Annenberg's death in March 2009, ownership was transferred into a family trust and limited, guided public tours of the sprawling facilities will be offered. Both Ambassador and Mrs. Annenberg are interred on the property.