Sunnylands
Visitor center Sunnylands
Sunnylands (formerly Annenberg Estate ) is a 0.81 km ² large estate in Rancho Mirage, California. It is now operated by "The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands ', a foundation of the Annenberg family. Until 2009 it belonged to Walter and Leonore Annenberg, who used the 1966 completed villa as a retreat in winter. Located on the Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope Drives, Sunnylands served many celebrities and public officials as a resort.
History
With the construction of the site began in 1963. The famous interior designer William Haines and Ted Graber his assistant were charged with the design of the rooms. The 2323 square meter building was designed by A. Quincy Jones, a professor at the University of Southern California. It was designed in the mid-20th century modern style and is known for its pink roof. It was once the largest house in Riverside County. The entire property Sunnylands is composed of the main building, a guest house, three guest cabins, a private 9- hole golf course and 11 artificial lakes. When the couple Annenberg Sunnylands inhabited, was housed their large art collection in the main building. Among the paintings were about 50 works by Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Andrew Wyeth and Claude Monet. After Walter Anne 's death in 2002, much of the collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art was donated. The property is separated from the public by a pink river stone wall and is hidden by hundreds of eucalyptus trees and olive trees as well as a wide belt made of tamarisk.
Prominent visitors
Many politicians and celebrities have made in Sunnylands holiday. U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower us golften his wife Mamie and fished in Sunnylands. President Richard Nixon wrote here his State of the Union Address for 1974, and was also after his term in Sunnylands guest, as he apologized to his successor, Gerald Ford for the errors in the Watergate affair. Ford himself was with his wife Betty Ford also often in Sunnylands to visit. President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy Reagan had with Annenberg family, the owners of the property, close friends and they visited 18 times in the New Year. President George HW Bush addressed in 1990 in Sunnylands a dinner for the Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu from. The U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush visited Sunnylands. The current President Barack Obama met here with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in 2013.
After the Islamic revolution in Iran in the late 1970s the deposed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi fled to the U.S. and was placed in Sunnylands. Queen Elizabeth II visited Sunnylands once for lunch, her son Charles was several times present at the weekend visits. Other prominent visitors were Frank Sinatra ( married in Sunnylands ), Bob Hope, Fred Astaire, Gregory Peck, Ginger Rogers, Bing Crosby, Mary Martin and Sammy Davis Junior.
It was the desire of Annebergs that Sunnylands for national and international dignitaries of all parties to a place for summits and private recoveries should be.
Access to the public
Before her death in 2009, laid down Leonore Annenberg that on a 0.061 km ², bordering on the real estate plot of land a visitor center should arise. The architectural firm " Frederick Fisher & Partners ' designed the 1600 square meter building, The Office of James Burnett of the surrounding gardens. The center is regularly open to visitors and offers insights into the history of the Annenberg family and their property Sunnylands. In addition, exhibits of their collections are on display. After the death of Walter Annebergs in 2002 and his wife in March 2009, Sunnylands was passed into the hands of the foundation " The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands '. The couple Annenberg was buried on the grounds. Because according to Walter Anne 's death, much of his art collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City was passed, are now presented copies of these works in the visitor center Sunnylands.
Since March 1, 2012 guided tours are limited for those interested, organized around the grounds.