Sunnylands, the Annenberg Estate, located in Rancho Mirage, California, is a 240-acre (0.97 km2) compound which is currently in possession of an Annenberg family trust.[1][2] 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.[3] Located at Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope Drives,[2] the property has been the vacation site of numerous celebrities and public officials.
Construction on the Sunnylands estate began in 1963.[3] 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.[3] It was designed using Spanish-desert styles.[4] At one time, the house was the largest in Riverside County.[2] The property includes the main house, guest quarters, servant quarters, a private 18-hole golf course, and 12 man-made lakes.[3] Inside the main house is a significant art collection acquired by the Annenbergs.[1] 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.[2]
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.[3] Following the Islamic Revolution in Iran in the late 1970s, the family of the Shah of Iran was invited to seek refuge at Sunnylands.[3] Queen Elizabeth II visited for lunch, and Prince Charles made occasional weekend visits.[4] The property required such privacy for world leaders that it earned restricted air space status.[1] Other notable people who have stayed on the property include Frank Sinatra (who was married there),[4] Bob Hope, Fred Astaire, Gregory Peck, Ginger Rogers, Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr.[4]
An education facility is currently being built on the property, and will be known as the Annenberg Education Center at Sunnylands.[2] 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.[1]