Neverland Ranch

Neverland Valley Ranch is a developed property in Santa Barbara County, California, located at 5225 Figueroa Mountain Road, Los Olivos, California 93441, first opened in 1988. It is most famous for being the home of the American entertainer Michael Jackson. Jackson named the property after Neverland, the fantasy island in the story of Peter Pan, a boy who never grows up. Michael's first encounter with the ranch came when he visited Paul McCartney, who was staying there during their filming of the "Say Say Say" video. According to La Toya Jackson, Michael expressed interest to her in someday owning the property at that time.Today, the ranch is owned by the Estate of Michael Jackson, with Colony NorthStar maintaining a 12.5% undivided stake in the property.The ranch is located about 5 miles north of unincorporated Los Olivos, and about eight miles north of the town of Santa Ynez. The Chamberlin Ranch is to the west, and the rugged La Laguna Ranch, is to the north. The Santa Barbara County Assessor's office says the ranch is approximately 3,000 acres .Residence of Michael JacksonThe estate was originally known as the Zaca Laderas Ranch at the time of its purchase by the property developer William Bone in 1977. Bone renamed the estate the Sycamore Valley Ranch and moved there with his family. Bone commissioned the architect Robert Altevers to design the principal buildings on the ranch, and the pair spent two and a half years researching potential designs and ideas. The 13,000 sq ft main house was completed in 1982 with formal gardens, a stone bridge, and a four acre lake with a five foot waterfall. Bone later said that in building the house he had "...a desire to express everything I had learned in 15 years of home building...I achieved here all the things I wanted to do in my business but could not".