Sunnylands

Sunnylands
Sunnylands, 2014.
General information
Status	Complete
Location	37977 Bob Hope Drive Rancho Mirage, California United States
Coordinates	33°46′38″N 116°24′39″W / 33.7771°N 116.4107°W / 33.7771; -116.4107Coordinates: 33°46′38″N 116°24′39″W / 33.7771°N 116.4107°W / 33.7771; -116.4107
Construction started	1963
Completed	1966
Renovated	2012
Owner	Annenberg Foundation
Design and construction
Architect	A. Quincy Jones
Renovating team
Architect	Frederick B. Fisher
Renovating firm	Frederick Fisher and Partners Architects
Other designers	Office of James Burnett
Website
sunnylands.org

Sunnylands, the former Annenberg Estate, located in Rancho Mirage, California, is a 200-acre (0.81 km²) estate currently run by The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, a not-for-profit organization and 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 from 1966, when the house was completed. 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. Sunnylands is to some extent regarded as the "Camp David of the West."

Construction on the Sunnylands estate began in 1963. Renowned interior designer and former screen actor William Haines and assistant Ted Graber were the interior designers on the project. University of Southern California professor A. Quincy Jones. designed the 25,000-square-foot midcentury modern house known for its pink roof. At one time, the house was the largest in Riverside County. The property includes the main house, guest quarters, three guest cottages, a private 9-hole golf course, and 13 man-made lakes. When the Annenbergs were in residence, the main house hosted a significant art collection acquired by the couple, with about 50 works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Andrew Wyeth, and Monet. Many of their paintings were donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art following Walter Annenberg's death in 2002. The house is hidden from public view; a pink-brick wall surrounds the estate, as do hundreds of eucalyptus and olive trees and a thick belt of Tamarisk trees.

Walter and Leonore Annenberg frequently hosted both political leaders and famous entertainers at Sunnylands. During the Annenbergs' lifetime, eight U.S. presidents, including Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Clinton, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush and Barack Obama visited the estate. 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 and Prince Phillip visited for lunch, and Prince Charles made occasional weekend visits. U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was also a visitor.