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{{short description|Estate-retreat in Rancho Mirage, California}}
{{other uses|Sunnyland (disambiguation){{!}}Sunnyland}}
{{Primary sources|date=February 2016|article}}
 
{{Infobox building
| name = Sunnylands
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| caption = Sunnylands, 2014.
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| current_tenants =
| landlord =
| location = 37977 Bob Hope Drive<br />Rancho Mirage, California<br />United States
| address =
| location_town =
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| urlwebsite = = {{URL|sunnylands.org}}
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'''Sunnylands''', is the former '''Annenberg Estate''', located in [[Rancho Mirage, California]],. is aThe {{convert|200|acre|km2|adj=on}} estateproperty is currently run by '''The [[Annenberg Foundation]] Trust at Sunnylands''', a not-for-profit organization.<ref name="tours"/><ref name="pe">{{cite news|url=http://www.pe.com/localnews/desert/stories/PE_News_Local_D_annenberg27.4254012.html|title=Estate to feature Annenberg Education Center at Sunnylands|date=April 26, 2008|accessdateaccess-date=2009-04-13|author=Moore, Steve|work=The Press Enterprise}}</ref> The property was owned by [[Walter Annenberg|Walter]] and [[Leonore Annenberg]] until 2009 and had been used as a winter retreat by the couple frombeginning in 1966, when the house was completed. The propertycity isof "richRancho withMirage historicalconsiders significance,"the accordingproperty to thebe city“rich ofwith Ranchohistorical Mirage,significance” whichand declared Sunnylands ana historic site in 1990.<ref name="trust">{{cite web|url=http://www.sunnylandstrust.org/about/about_show.htm?doc_id=431558|title=About Sunnylands|accessdateaccess-date=2009-04-13|publisher=The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands}}</ref> Located at Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope Drives,<ref name="pe"/> the property has been the vacation site of numerous celebrities and public officials. Sunnylands is tosometimes somereferred extent regardedto as the "[[Camp David]] of the West."
 
==History==
Construction on the Sunnylands estate began in 1963.<ref name="trust"/> 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]].<ref name="trust"/> designed the 25,000-square-foot<ref name="Adam Nagourney">{{cite news |first=Adam |last=Nagourney |date=January 23, 2012 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/us/annenberg-estate-sunnylands-to-open-to-the-public.html |title=A Retreat for the Rich and Powerful Is Opening Its Doors to the World |publisherwork=New York Times}}</ref> midcentury modern house known for its pink roof.<ref name="times">{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article5913688.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=1972202|title=Leonore Annenberg: philanthropist|date=March 16, 2009|accessdateaccess-date=2009-04-13|work=[[The Times]]}}</ref> At one time, the house was the largest in [[Riverside County]].<ref name="pe"/> Renowned interior designer and former screen actor [[William Haines]] and assistant Ted Graber were the interior designers on the project.

The property includes the main house, guest quarters, three guest cottages, a private 9-hole golf course, and 13 man-made lakes.<ref name="trust"/> When the Annenbergs were in residence, the main house hosted a significant art collection acquired by the couple, with about 50<ref>{{cite news |first=Valerie J. |last=Nelson |date=March 13, 2009 |url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/2009archives/la-xpm-2009-mar/-13/local/-me-leonore-annenberg13-story.html |title=Leonore Annenberg dies at 91; philanthropist, widow of publishing magnate |publisherwork= [[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> 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.<ref name="tours" /><ref name="Adam Nagourney" />

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 [[Tamarix|Tamarisktamarisk]] trees]].
 
==Famous guests==
[[File:Queen Elizabeth and prince Phillip visit Sunnylands.jpg|thumb|left|[[Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince PhillipPhilip]] visit Walter and Leonore Annenberg at Sunnylands, February 1983.]]
 
Walter and Leonore Annenberg frequently hosted both political leaders and famous entertainers at Sunnylands. During the Annenbergs' lifetime, eight U.S. presidents, including [[Dwight Eisenhower|Eisenhower]], [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]], [[Gerald Ford|Ford]], [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]], [[Bill Clinton|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 [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|Shah of Iran]] was invited to seek refuge at Sunnylands. [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince PhillipPhilip]] visited for lunch, and [[Charles III|Prince Charles]] made occasional weekend visits.<ref name="times"/> U.K. Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] was also a visitor.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/08/us/politics/an-expansive-setting-for-obamas-talks-with-chinas-leader.html|title=Expansive Setting for Obama's Meeting With Xi|date=June 7, 2013|accessdateaccess-date=2014-04-04|last=Calmes|first=jackie|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>
 
Other notable people who have visited the property include [[Frank Sinatra]] (who was married there),<ref name="times"/> [[Bob Hope]], [[Fred Astaire]], [[Gregory Peck]], [[Ginger Rogers]], [[Bing Crosby]], [[Truman Capote]], [[Mary Martin]], and [[Sammy Davis Jr.]]<ref name="times"/> Presidential visitors include Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, George W. Bush, and Obama. First ladies such as [[Pat Nixon]], [[Betty Ford]], [[Mamie Dowd Eisenhower]], [[Rosalynn Carter]], [[Laura Bush]], [[Nancy Reagan]], and [[Hillary Clinton]] have also visited Sunnylands. Royal visitors include Prince Charles of Wales, [[Prince Andrew, Duke of York|Prince Andrew]], [[Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex|Prince Edward]], Queen Elizabeth II, [[Princess Grace of Monaco]], and [[Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands]]. Other visitors include British prime ministers [[Margaret Thatcher]] and [[John Major]], Israel's prime minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], and Secretary of States including [[George Shultz]] and [[Henry Kissinger]]. Other notable visitors include [[John Kerry]], [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], [[Elizabeth Dole]], [[Colin Powell]], along with a number of celebrities such as [[Dinah Shore]], [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Merv Griffin]], [[Rosalind Russell]], [[Red Skelton]], [[Helen Hayes]], [[Mary Martin]], [[Bob Hope]], [[Kitty Carlisle]], [[Hal Wallis]], [[Art Linkletter]], [[Mike Nichols]], [[Truman Capote]], [[Oscar de la Renta]], and [[Eppie Lederer]].<ref>Gilson De Long, David (2010). ''Sunnylands: Art and Architecture of the Annenberg Estate in Rancho Mirage, California''. University of Pennsylvania Press. Page XI. ISBN 9780812241617.</ref>
Other notable people who have visited the property include [[Frank Sinatra]] (who was married there),<ref name="times"/> [[Bob Hope]], [[Fred Astaire]], [[Gregory Peck]], [[Ginger Rogers]], [[Bing Crosby]], [[Truman Capote]], [[Mary Martin]], and [[Sammy Davis, Jr.]]<ref name="times"/>
 
==Sunnylands Center & Gardens==
[[File:Sunnylands visitor center.jpg|thumb|Sunnylands Visitor Center, 2012.]]
 
Prior to her death in 2009, Lenore Annenberg identified {{convert|15|acre|km2}} adjacent to Sunnylands as the location for a visitor center. [[Frederick Fisher & Partners]] designed the {{convert|17000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} building,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gluck|first1=Marissa|title=Frederick Fisher: L.A.'s Maverick Architect|url=http://www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/counties/los-angeles/frederick-fisher-architecture-los-angeles.html|website=KCET Los Angeles|accessdateaccess-date=24 February 2016}}</ref> which is open to the public on a regular basis and offers educational and historic information about the Annenbergs, Sunnylands, and the various Sunnylands collections. Nine acres of desert gardens surround Sunnylands Center. Designed by landscape architect James Burnett, the gardens include more than 53,000 individual plants.<ref name="ASLA-Gardens">{{cite web|title=ASLA 2012 Professional Awards|url=https://www.asla.org/2012awards/576.html|website=American Society of Landscape Architects|accessdateaccess-date=24 February 2016}}</ref>▼
 
After Ambassador Walter Annenberg's death in 2002 and his wife's death in March 2009, ownership was transferred to The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands. Both Annenbergs are interred on the property.<ref name="tours">{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mydesert/access/1699215001.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+13%2C+2009&author=Bruce+Fessier&pub=The+Desert+Sun&edition=&startpage=A.4&desc=Sunnylands+Estate+will+open+for+public+tours|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201012542/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mydesert/access/1699215001.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+13,+2009&author=Bruce+Fessier&pub=The+Desert+Sun&edition=&startpage=A.4&desc=Sunnylands+Estate+will+open+for+public+tours|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 1, 2013|title=Sunnylands Estate will open for public tours |last=Fessier |first=Bruce |work=[[The Desert Sun]] |date=13 March 2009|accessdateaccess-date=4 November 2012 |format=fee required}}</ref>▼
▲Prior to her death in 2009, Lenore Annenberg identified {{convert|15|acre|km2}} adjacent to Sunnylands as the location for a visitor center. [[Frederick Fisher & Partners]] designed the {{convert|17000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} building,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gluck|first1=Marissa|title=Frederick Fisher: L.A.'s Maverick Architect|url=http://www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/counties/los-angeles/frederick-fisher-architecture-los-angeles.html|website=KCET Los Angeles|accessdate=24 February 2016}}</ref> which is open to the public on a regular basis and offers educational and historic information about the Annenbergs, Sunnylands, and the various Sunnylands collections. Nine acres of desert gardens surround Sunnylands Center. Designed by landscape architect James Burnett, the gardens include more than 53,000 individual plants.<ref name="ASLA-Gardens">{{cite web|title=ASLA 2012 Professional Awards|url=https://www.asla.org/2012awards/576.html|website=American Society of Landscape Architects|accessdate=24 February 2016}}</ref>
 
The Annenbergs' collection of Impressionist paintings was donated to the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in New York upon Walter Annenberg’sAnnenberg's death.<ref name="NYT-Art-donation">{{cite web|last1=Russell|first1=John|title=Annenberg Picks Met for $1 Billion Gift|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/12/arts/annenberg-picks-met-for-1-billion-gift.html|website=The New York Times|accessdateaccess-date=24 February 2016|date=12 March 1991}}</ref> Digital reproductions created by the Metropolitan Museum now hang in the historic house.<ref name="Adam Nagourney"/> Much of the Annenbergs' collection of modern sculpture, including works by [[Auguste Rodin|Rodin]], [[Alberto Giacometti|Giacometti]], [[Jean Arp|Arp]], and [[Yaacov Agam|Agam]] remained on the estate as part of the Sunnylands Collection. The collection also includes works by [[Pablo Picasso]], [[Andrew Wyeth]], and [[Romare Bearden]], as well as important works of Chinese porcelain, Meissen vases, Chinese [[cloisonné]] objects and furniture, [[Tang Dynastydynasty]] funerary sculpture, [[Flora Danica]] china, [[Steuben Glass Works|Steuben glass]], and [[Silver-gilt|English silver-gilt]] objects.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunnylands.org/page/20/art-collection |title=Sunnylands |publisher=Sunnylands |date= |accessdateaccess-date=2014-08-23}}</ref>▼
▲After Ambassador Walter Annenberg's death in 2002 and his wife's death in March 2009, ownership was transferred to The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands. Both Annenbergs are interred on the property.<ref name="tours">{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mydesert/access/1699215001.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+13%2C+2009&author=Bruce+Fessier&pub=The+Desert+Sun&edition=&startpage=A.4&desc=Sunnylands+Estate+will+open+for+public+tours|title=Sunnylands Estate will open for public tours |last=Fessier |first=Bruce |work=[[The Desert Sun]] |date=13 March 2009|accessdate=4 November 2012 |format=fee required}}</ref>
 
Several sculptures, including [[Auguste Rodin]]'s ''Eternal Spring'' and Giacometti's ''Bust of Diego on Stele III'', are on permanent display at Sunnylands Center. The Centercenter also features a rotating exhibition related to the art or history of the property. Limited, guided public tours of the house and estate grounds began on March 1, 2012. However, tours have been suspended since early 2020 due to [[COVID-19]].▼
▲The Annenbergs' collection of Impressionist paintings was donated to the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in New York upon Walter Annenberg’s death.<ref name="NYT-Art-donation">{{cite web|last1=Russell|first1=John|title=Annenberg Picks Met for $1 Billion Gift|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/12/arts/annenberg-picks-met-for-1-billion-gift.html|website=The New York Times|accessdate=24 February 2016|date=12 March 1991}}</ref> Digital reproductions created by the Metropolitan Museum now hang in the historic house.<ref name="Adam Nagourney"/> Much of the Annenbergs' collection of modern sculpture, including works by [[Auguste Rodin|Rodin]], [[Alberto Giacometti|Giacometti]], [[Jean Arp|Arp]], and [[Yaacov Agam|Agam]] remained on the estate as part of the Sunnylands Collection. The collection also includes works by [[Pablo Picasso]], [[Andrew Wyeth]], and [[Romare Bearden]], as well important works of Chinese porcelain, Meissen vases, Chinese [[cloisonné]] objects and furniture, [[Tang Dynasty]] funerary sculpture, [[Flora Danica]] china, [[Steuben Glass Works|Steuben glass]], and [[Silver-gilt|English silver-gilt]] objects.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunnylands.org/page/20/art-collection |title=Sunnylands |publisher=Sunnylands |date= |accessdate=2014-08-23}}</ref>
 
<span id="Camp David West"></span>
▲Several sculptures, including [[Auguste Rodin]]'s ''Eternal Spring'' and Giacometti's ''Bust of Diego on Stele III'', are on permanent display at Sunnylands Center. The Center also features a rotating exhibition related to the art or history of the property. Limited, guided public tours of the house and estate grounds began on March 1, 2012.
 
=="Camp David of the West"==
The Annenbergs envisioned Sunnylands becoming the "Camp David of the West,"<ref name="Camp David West">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/us/annenberg-estate-sunnylands-to-open-to-the-public.html|title=A Retreat for the Rich and Powerful Is Opening Its Doors to the World|date=January 23, 2012|accessdate=2014-04-04|last=Nagourney|first=Adam|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> a place for national and foreign dignitaries and diplomats to gather for summit meetings and retreats in a relaxed setting, available to leaders from all political parties.,<ref name="Adam Nagourney"/> President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] and his wife, [[Mamie Eisenhower|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. President Ford and his wife [[Betty Ford|Betty]] were frequent guests as well. President [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Nancy Reagan]] were close friends of the Annenbergs and visited every New Year's for 18 years.<ref name="Adam Nagourney"/> President Reagan also delivered one of his final radio addresses to the nation and signed the intent to pursue [[NAFTA]] from Sunnylands in January 1989.<ref name="Sunnylands Timeline">{{cite web|url=http://www.sunnylands.org/page/341/sunnylands-time-line |title=Sunnylands |publisher=Sunnylands |date=1993-12-17 |accessdate=2014-08-23}}</ref> President [[George H. W. Bush]] hosted a [[state dinner]] at the house for Japanese Prime Minister [[Toshiki Kaifu]] in 1990.▼
 
[[File:President Richard Nixon's 61st birthday at the Annenberg residence in Palm Springs, California.gif|thumb|President Nixon celebrated his 61st birthday at Sunnylands in 1974. Leonore Annenberg is at left.]]
President [[Barack Obama]] used the site to meet with Chinese President [[Xi Jinping]] in 2013,<ref name="jinping">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/world/asia/obama-and-xi-try-to-avoid-a-cold-war-mentality.html?hp&pagewanted=all|title= Obama and Xi Try to Avoid a Cold War Mentality|date=June 9, 2013|accessdate=2013-06-09|last=Sanger|first=David E.|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>▼
 
[[Abdullah II of Jordan|King Abdullah II of Jordan]] in 2014,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-obama-sunnylands-20140214,0,5231390.story|title=Obama is turning Sunnylands estate into Camp David West|date=February 13, 2014|accessdate=2014-02-14|last=Parsons|first=Christi|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>▼
▲The Annenbergs envisioned Sunnylands becoming the "[[Camp David]] of the West,"<ref name="Camp David West">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/us/annenberg-estate-sunnylands-to-open-to-the-public.html|title=A Retreat for the Rich and Powerful Is Opening Its Doors to the World|date=January 23, 2012|accessdateaccess-date=2014-04-04|last=Nagourney|first=Adam|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> a place for national and foreign dignitaries and diplomats to gather for summit meetings and retreats in a relaxed setting, available to leaders from all political parties.,<ref name="Adam Nagourney"/> President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] and his wife, [[Mamie Eisenhower|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. President Ford and his wife [[Betty Ford|Betty]] were frequent guests as well. President [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Nancy Reagan]] were close friends of the Annenbergs and visited every New Year's for 18 years.<ref name="Adam Nagourney"/> President Reagan also delivered one of his final radio addresses to the nation and signed the intent to pursue [[NAFTA]] from Sunnylands in January 1989.<ref name="Sunnylands Timeline">{{cite web|url=http://www.sunnylands.org/page/341/sunnylands-time-line |title=Sunnylands |publisher=Sunnylands |date=1993-12-17 |accessdateaccess-date=2014-08-23}}</ref> President [[George H. W. Bush]] hosted a [[state dinner]] at the house for Japanese Prime Minister [[Toshiki Kaifu]] in 1990.
and [[ASEAN Summit]] leaders in 2016.<ref>https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/16/joint-statement-us-asean-special-leaders-summit-sunnylands-declaration</ref>▼
 
▲President [[Barack Obama]] used the site to meet with Chinese President [[Xi Jinping]] in 2013,<ref name="jinping">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/world/asia/obama-and-xi-try-to-avoid-a-cold-war-mentality.html?hp&pagewanted=all|title= Obama and Xi Try to Avoid a Cold War Mentality|date=June 9, 2013|accessdateaccess-date=2013-06-09|last=Sanger|first=David E.|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>
▲[[Abdullah II of Jordan|King Abdullah II of Jordan]] in 2014,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-obama-sunnylands-20140214,0,5231390.story|title=Obama is turning Sunnylands estate into Camp David West|date=February 13, 2014|accessdateaccess-date=2014-02-14|last=Parsons|first=Christi|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>
▲and [[ASEAN Summit]] leaders in 2016.<ref>[https://wwwobamawhitehouse.whitehousearchives.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/16/joint-statement-us-asean-special-leaders-summit-sunnylands-declaration www.whitehouse.gov]</ref>
 
==References==
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* [http://www.annenbergfoundation.org/about/directors-activities/annenberg-retreat-sunnylands The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands webpage on the Annenberg Foundation website]
* [http://www.iconichouses.org/houses/sunnylands Iconic Houses website]
 
{{Authority control}}
 
[[Category:Historic house museums in California]]
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[[Category:Annenberg]]
[[Category:1966 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Houses completed in 1966]]
[[Category:Rancho Mirage, California]]
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