Sprawling across some 2,700 acres in California’s Santa Barbara County, Michael Jackson’s Neverland Valley Ranch was one of the most extraordinary celebrity homes ever created. Incorporating a zoo, an amusement park, a movie theater, an “Indian Village”, a basketball court and dozens of other amenities, it came to mirror the lavish lifestyle led by the man known forever as the “King of Pop”.
The fate of Neverland was inextricably linked to the fate of Michael Jackson. As his career scaled unimaginable heights, Neverland became ever more luxurious. As scandal hit and his fortunes declined, so Neverland fell into decay, abandonment and ultimately financial ruin.
To Jackson’s fans, Neverland represents the lost youth that Michael Jackson sought to reclaim after childhood stardom robbed him of much of it. It was a place where thousands of children, many of them desperately unwell or underprivileged, enjoyed a wonderful time at no cost. To others, of course, it was a “honeypot” designed to lure unsuspecting kids into a web of abuse.
Many thousands – probably millions – of words have been written about Michael Jackson’s life, his career and the accusations of child molestation that dogged him in the final years before his death in 2009. But, surprisingly, few have attempted to fully document the story of the Neverland Valley Ranch itself.
Though the story of Neverland and the story of Michael Jackson are in some ways inseparable, this article won’t attempt to cast judgment on his lifestyle, or his guilt or innocence of the charges made against him. You can form your own opinions on that, if you haven’t already.
Instead, we’re going to explain how Neverland came to be. We’ll take you on a tour of the extraordinary grounds, as well as into the interior of Michael Jackson’s home. We’ll share, in their own words, the experiences of children and adults who visited the ranch during Jackson’s lifetime. We’ll explain how, and why, it began to decay, and show you stunning images of its abandoned state prior to Jackson’s death. Finally, we’ll explain what’s happened in the years since 2009, and how the former Neverland could soon be set to pass into new hands.
Are you ready? Then let’s learn how Michael Jackson attempted to recreate a land where children never grow up…
The childhood home
In May 1971, when Michael Jackson was twelve years old and already well established as the star member of the Jackson 5, his family moved into a large home on a two-acre estate in Encino, California.
A decade later, boosted by the success of his Off the Wall solo album (which sold 20 million copies worldwide), Michael was flying high. His father, Joseph, however, was struggling badly with financial problems. Seeking a buyer for the Encino estate, he found the perfect candidate. In 1981, Michael Jackson paid his dad $500,000 for a half-stake in the property. Eventually, Joseph sold his remaining 25 percent stake to Michael as well, leaving Michael’s mother, Katherine, holding the final 25 percent.
The house held bad memories, so Jackson opted to demolish it entirely. He had been impressed by the Tudor-style mansions that he had seen during tours of the UK, so he replaced it with a mock version, complete with a stunning three-tiered white fountain out front.
The remainder of the estate would be a small-scale version of what Jackson would eventually create at Neverland – a children’s wonderland. Peacocks, deer, llamas, a boa constrictor and even a giraffe lived on the site, while swans swam in attractive ponds. An enormous swimming pool featured fountainheads carved to resemble bearded Neptunes, and the house itself boasted a 32-seat movie theater, a trophy room lined with gold and platinum albums, and a private Jacuzzi exclusively for Jackson’s use.
Jackson loved to visit Disneyland, but couldn’t do so without wearing a disguise and receiving VIP treatment to attempt to avoid being mobbed. At Encino, he built a miniature version of the park’s Main Street, USA, incorporating a candy store and a replica of the Abraham Lincoln audio-animatronic from the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln attraction (which could speak, just as Disney’s version did). On one occasion, Jackson even hired the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs characters from Disneyland to make a private visit to his home.
It was a first step towards creating his own private playland, safe from the prying eyes of the outside world. But it wasn’t enough. Most importantly, it wasn’t nearly big enough.
Finding Neverland
In 1983, Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney released the duet Say Say Say, which rocketed to the top of the charts in the US and many other countries. The video for the single was recorded in Santa Ynez, California, and during its filming Jackson stayed with McCartney and his wife Linda at the ranch the couple had leased for the duration of their stay.
The property was owned by William Bone, who had earned a fortune by establishing the Sunrise Colony Company, a golf course and property development firm. Bone had spent huge sums on the development of the ranch, building a main house (architected by Robert Altevers) that covered some 12,000 square feet. At the time, it was known as the Sycamore Valley Ranch, and it sprawled across a huge 2,700 acres, nestled in the picturesque Santa Ynez Valley.
Jackson was entranced by the beauty of the ranch, and immediately recognized its potential to be converted into the home of his dreams – a playground shielded from the outside world.
The Disneyland Resort, which Jackson adored, currently occupies around 510 acres. Here was a property that covered more than five times that area. Whereas Disneyland was surrounded by urban sprawl and overlooked by hotels and motels, the Sycamore Valley Ranch must have felt refreshingly remote. Two other huge ranches, the Chamberlin Ranch and the La Laguna Ranch, were situated to the west and north. And with so much land to work with, Jackson could always ensure that there was considerable space between himself and whoever lay outside the gates. It was also a fair distance from Encino, allowing him to keep his family at arm’s length.
It would be five years before Jackson finally had the opportunity to buy the ranch, when Bone made it available for $35 million furnished, or $32.5 million unfurnished. While the pop star intended to offer just half that, he was advised that the ranch would not be a good investment by lawyer John Branca. According to biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli, Jackson stood his ground, insisting that “My guests expect something grand. It’s gotta look like I’ve made it big, because I have.”
Lengthy negotiations between Branca and Bone followed over the proposed purchase – so lengthy that they led to friction between Jackson (desperate to secure the ranch) and his lawyer (desperate to secure the best possible price). Finally, a price of $17 million was agreed in May 1988. This was subsequently reported as being as high as $30 million, but Bone had apparently accepted a significant price-cut.
Jackson left the family home in Encino, with his parents only discovering news of the move while watching Entertainment Tonight. It was time to get started on building his own version of paradise.
The motivation
Having taken ownership of the Sycamore Valley Ranch, Jackson’s first action was to rename it as the Neverland Valley Ranch. The name was inspired by the fictional location depicted in the works of J. M. Barrie, which is most famous for having been the home of Peter Pan – “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up”.
Michael Jackson’s childhood had been anything but normal, with his father frequently waking him unexpectedly in the middle of the night to be transported to some venue or other to perform with his brothers. He wanted to make Neverland not just into a place where he could rediscover his own lost childhood – but also somewhere he could be surrounded by actual children at play.
“People wonder why I always have children around,” he said. “I find the things that I never had through them…Disneyland, amusement parks, arcade games. I adore all that stuff because when I was little it was always work, work, work.”
“What inspired me [to create Neverland]?” explained Jackson in 2002. “It was so easy, because it was me being myself, creating things that I love. And what I love, kids happen to love, or the child that lives inside the adult happens to love…you know? It is so easy, because I’m just creating behind the gate what I never got to do when I was a kid.”
“When I was really little, you know, 11 or 12, I was in the contract with Motown and I would have to go to the recording studio, I had to go…and make these albums…because the summer tour was right around the corner, and right across the street from the recording studio was a ball park. And I could hear the kids, you know, the roar of the crowd and playing and catching ball and having fun and playing tennis And some of those times I so passionately wanted to just go over there and just play a little bit, and not go to the recording studio and sing…And I couldn’t.”
“We worked, we worked, we worked – there was no Christmas, there’d be no birthdays. So I’m compensating, nature made sure that I compensate for the loss. So, when you come behind my gates, you’ll see an amusement park, you’ll see animals, you’ll see everything that I never got to do, there’s candy everywhere…it’s fun.”
“Everything that I love is behind those gates. We have elephants, and giraffes, and crocodiles, and every kind of tigers and lions. And we have busloads of kids, who don’t get to see those things. They come up, sick children, and enjoy it.”
But the creation of Neverland wasn’t just about compensating for a lost childhood and providing enjoyment for sick kids. It was also about keeping the rest of the world out, and keeping Jackson safe behind its gates.
“I create my own world behind the gates because I can’t go to the local movie theatre down the street or the local park down the street, or go pick up ice cream at the market down at the corner store,” Jackson told Geraldo Rivera in 2005. “So you want to create that world behind the gates.”
“I didn’t go to a state school. We tried it for two weeks and it didn’t work. It was very difficult.”
“Neverland appeals to the child inside every man, woman and child. It’s a place where I feel like you can return to your childhood. You find grown-ups, you know, doing things they hadn’t done since they were like 10 years old…it’s just a fun place, I love it. And I will always love it. And I will never ever sell Neverland. Neverland is me…you know? It represents the totality of who I am. It really does…I love Neverland.”
This proclamation, from 2003, that Jackson would never sell Neverland was tested to the limit as his finances deteriorated in the years following that interview. But if Neverland really did “represent the totality” of Michael Jackson, then we should be able to learn something about him by going on a tour of the estate, just as it was when he lived there.
Join us on the next page as we go through the gates into Neverland…
In search of Neverland…
To reach Neverland, guests drove up Figueroa Mountain Road, which weaves its way up the Santa Ynez Valley. Around five miles from Los Olivos, and eight miles from Santa Ynez itself, they would come across the property at number 5225. The home of Michael Jackson.
Just like any other theme park, Jackson had maps produced for Neverland. Let’s take a look at one from around 2004, which features Neverland’s distinctive logo in the top left corner:
As you can see, the scale of the Neverland Valley Ranch matched that of any other amusement park. In fact, it exceeded it – the map focuses only on the main entertainment areas, and doesn’t come close to covering the enormous ranch as a whole.
Not much was visible from the road. The entire complex was surrounded by a wooden fence with “no trespassing” signs posted at regular intervals.
The only clue as to the playland within was a small yellow sign, visible just beyond the entrance, stating simply: “Caution: Children at Play”.
Michael Jackson himself would enter through the now-iconic main gate, complete with gold “Neverland” letters on its archway. His own name sat above it, along with a king’s crown and an imitation royal coat of arms (with the motto “Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense” – “Evil to him who evil thinks”).
While the King of Pop swept through the gate in a stretch Rolls-Royce, most other guests would be admitted via a less glamorous side gate. After driving down a side road with a high fence to block the view of everything inside, they’d arrive at a sentry post. One visitor, renowned writer Paul Theroux, recalls: “This gate did not have a footman in Neverland livery but rather a fierce, khaki-shirted guard with a visual record of possible threats – the wall of the post was plastered with mug shots of people suspected of stalking Michael or otherwise threatening him or, in certain cases, believing they were married to him.” Captions included “Might be armed” and “Has been loitering near gate”.
As they entered, guests would begin to appreciate the grandeur of Neverland. There was a five-acre, man-made lake, complete with a soothing five-foot waterfall and an imposing stone bridge. The paths were lined with dozens of life-sized bronze statues of children, animals and fantasy figures. In the lawns and flower beds, loudspeakers were disguised as grey rocks, filling the area with music (including some of Jackson’s own tunes, alongside Disney classics). Plants were molded into animal forms, and twinkling white lights were attached to many of the oak trees that were spread throughout the valley. Flower beds were completely replanted three times per year.
The most recognizable element of Neverland is one of the first that guests came across. Katherine Station, named after the star’s mother, was an impressive faux-Victorian railway station, complete with a topiary Neverland clock outside. A snack bar was located in the station lobby, and a small spiral staircase led up to a sort of crow’s nest, complete with a fireplace, from which Jackson could watch the train in action.
The design was clearly based on Disneyland’s own Main Street Station, and just as Walt Disney had built a narrow-gauge steam railway in his own back yard, so had Michael Jackson. The 36” gauge Neverland Valley Railroad’s circuit covered around a quarter of mile, linking the main residence to the movie theater, amusement park and zoo. The engine, Katherine, was also named for Jackson’s mother, and had been built by Crown Metal Products in 1973.
The rides
The funfair rides occupied the heart of the Neverland “theme park” area. Although they were situated in attractively-landscaped surroundings, they were very much standard midway rides – there were no Disney-style, elaborate dark rides here. That doesn’t mean they were strictly “off-the-peg”, though – the Bumper Cars’ control panel featured a prominent label that proclaimed: “Designed especially for Michael Jackson.”
To help him develop his personal amusement park, Jackson hired Rob Swinson, who was then working as National Sales Manager for Chance Rides, Inc. Swinson recalls that a small team came together in the early fall of 1990 to begin working building the funfair and zoo.
The Sea Dragon was one of the most prominent attractions. It’s a classic swinging ship ride, capable of holding up to 50 passengers at a time. As recently as 2013, second-hand Sea Dragons could change hands for as much as $670,000.
Not far away was the Ferris Wheel, which Jackson reportedly acquired for $215,000 in 1990. It stood at some 65 feet tall, offering views across the Neverland grounds.
The Carousel was fully customized to Jackson’s wishes. Rob Swinson recalls that Jackson initially ordered a 36-foot carousel with two chariots and 30 jumping animals. However, he could not whittle down his selection of animals to a mere 30. Instead, Swinson suggested opting for a larger 50-foot Grand Carrousel, with space for 60 such animals. Each was hand-painted and hand-decorated. Brad Sundberg, who worked with Jackson on the Captain EO attraction for Disneyland, provided the music and sound systems. Among other tunes, these played Childhood, Jackson’s theme song for Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home.
A second train, with an engine named C.P. Huntington, ran on a smaller 24” gauge circuit and was supplied by Chance Rides. Like the carousel, the ride was heavily customized. The Neverland Valley Ranch logo was prominent on the engine and on each seat of the coaches. Strings of small lights were strung around the coach tops, and Sundberg installed a custom sound system.
The Zipper was another Chance Rides creation. It featured a long, rotating oblong boom with a cable around its edge to pull each of its 12 cars. The free-flipping cars were pulled around the perimeter of the boom, with the “flip” at the end of the oblong causing a sudden burst of speed and an unpredictable ride.
The Wave Swinger was a classic “chair-o-plane” attraction, decorated with paintings of alpine cabins, Victorian women and bouquets.
Other rides that were installed at various times included an Octopus (with spinning cars attached to the ends of arms that rotate around a central axis), a Balloon Samba (eight balloons that rotate gently and rise up in the air), Jeeps (a mini-carousel featuring jeep-themed vehicles) and Dinosaurs (a Dumbo the Flying Elephant-style ride with “flying” beasts).
Obtaining permission to install new rides from County zoning officials was an ongoing challenge, and that probably prevented Jackson from installing a major attraction such as a roller coaster. Despite this, a Pinfari Looping Star (featuring a vertical loop) was installed temporarily for the 1995 Christmas holiday. The smaller Dragon Wagon was a permanent installation, and featured a basic oval circuit. The train was fronted by a grinning dragon, which looped behind a grey castle complete with gargoyles resembling dancers from Jackson’s Thriller video.
A huge Jumbotron screen overlooked the area, constantly showing cartoons.
Power for the funfair rides was provided by a large, silent-running generator that was located underneath a large oak tree. To conceal it, a castle-style treehouse was constructed, complete with copper turrets and two upper floors of rooms.
The Neverland movie theater
Jackson’s Encino home had included its own movie theater, but the one at Neverland upped the ante. It was approached via a “Yellow Brick Road” (actually made of concrete that was designed to resemble cobblestones), which featured embedded lights that brought it to life in the evenings.
Candy was freely available and abundant from a counter inside the theater, along with ice cream, popcorn and soft drinks. The theater itself featured 50 plush red seats, each capable of reclining. State-of-the-art projection and sound systems were on hand to play the latest movies, and the stage included trapdoors for magician’s assistants.
On either side of the projection room were two bedrooms. These featured adjustable hospital beds, and were isolation rooms. This meant that children with suppressed immune systems could enjoy a movie without being exposed to other kids’ germs. A private dance studio was connected to the rear of the theater.
The Neverland Zoo
Towards the rear of the valley was Neverland’s zoo. Over the years, this hosted a variety of exotic species, including a crocodile, elephants, giraffes, orang-utans, chimpanzees, tigers and a bear. A rustic red barn was converted into a herpetarium, containing displays for a dozen snake species, including a Burmese python and a monocled cobra.
One of Jackson’s primary motivations for buying the ranch had been that it provided huge swathes of space for his menagerie. In his famous 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey, he said: “The animals are everywhere [here in Neverland]. They’re in their habitats. They’re all over the ranch. And they come out in the day time and they play and jump around, they have their own playground and area. I find in animals the same thing I find so wonderful in children. That purity, that honesty, where they don’t judge you, they just want to be your friend. I think that is so sweet.”
Some accounts of the Neverland zoo don’t paint such a happy picture. Paul Theroux claims that “the zoo was so ill-visited that the animals became ill-tempered and had to be relocated.”
He says of his visit: “In the reptile house, with its frisbee-shaped frogs and fat pythons, both a cobra and a rattlesnake had smashed their fangs against the glass of their cage trying to bite me. The llamas spat at me, as llamas do, but even in the ape sanctuary, ‘AJ’, a big bristly, shovel-mouthed chimp, had spat in my face, and Patrick the orang-utan had tried to twist my hand.”
One of the zoo’s most famous residents was Gypsy, a five-ton elephant that had been given to Jackson by Elizabeth Taylor. “The elephant seemed to be afflicted with the rage of heightened musth [a hormonally-induced change in the behaviour of male elephants],” says Theroux. “’Don’t go anywhere near him’, the keeper warned me.”
Other accounts of the zoo from those who worked there differ significantly, with Jackson said to have employed a number of specialists to ensure that the animals received proper care. One of Jackson’s personal artists, David Nordahl, recalls that the elephants would be brought out of their enclosures in the mornings to graze on the trees, and the other animals would also be free to roam while their homes were cleaned.
And there’s more…
As if the railway, amusement park, movie theater and zoo weren’t enough, there were a host of other amenities on-site at Neverland.
This included Teepee Village, a mock Indian campground complete with carpeted teepees with underfloor heating and interior sound systems. A bonfire area could be used for roasting marshmallows and storytelling.
Nearby, the Water Fort was a water play area equipped with cannons, a dunk tank and balloon launchers. Beyond this was the “sky pavilion” gazebo where Jackson’s close friend Elizabeth Taylor married Larry Fortensky.
Elsewhere, there were tennis courts and a basketball court with a working electronic scoreboard. A 14-foot-deep swimming pool boasted a high-dive board. Overlooking the pond was a treehouse, where Jackson wrote many of the songs for 1991’s Dangerous album.
Neverland even had its own fire department, complete with a small fleet of working engines and full-time firefighters. Occasionally, the firefighters were dispatched to help contain brushfires on neighboring ranches.
The house
At the end of a winding road lay Neverland’s main house. Originally built for William Bone, it was a Hollywood-Tudor influenced design featuring dark shingles and bow windows. A thick lining of trees provided additional privacy, and a circular driveway sat in front of the house. The centerpiece of this was a statue of Mercury, which rose to a height of around 30 feet, complete with a winged helmet and caduceus (staff).
The interior of the house was packed with works of art and memorabilia, and featured 18th century floors that had been shipped to the US from a French chateau. Theroux recalls that many of the images “depicted Michael life-sized, elaborately costumed, in heroic poses with cape, sword, ruffed collar, crown.”
“The rest were an example of a sort of obsessive iconography: images of Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Ross, Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin – and for that matter of Mickey Mouse and Peter Pan.” The portraits of Jackson included one of him as a king in full Elizabethan court dress, and another of him as a generalissimo, complete with medals, stripes and epaulets.
One of the most expensive pieces of memorabilia was located in Jackson’s white-carpeted living room. This was the Best Picture Academy Award that had been awarded to Gone with the Wind in 1939. Jackson had paid $1.5 million for the Oscar, which sat on a rotating pedestal. A number of pictures sat on a piano nearby, including shots of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Mouse and photographs of Jackson meeting President Jimmy Carter at the White House and Nelson Mandela in South Africa.
Close to the kitchen was a life-size figure of a butler in a swallowtail coat. The kitchen itself was enormous, housing a large dining table, and looked capable of serving a restaurant rather than a private home.
The library contained a huge number of leather-bound books. “I love to read short stories,” Jackson told Theroux. His favorite authors were Somerset Maugham, Walt Whitman, Ernest Hemingway and Mark Twain.
The floor outside Michael Jackson’s bedroom was wired so that whenever anyone came within five feet of the entrance, dingdong noises would sound. Inside, a movie screen dropped down from the ceiling, and Jackson’s pet rat lived in a cage. The room was connected by a secret staircase to a special guest room, the Shirley Temple Room.
One area that was frequently opened up to guests was the games room, which sat in a separate building at the rear of the house. This contained a huge variety of arcade-style video games, pinball machines, a penny press machine and a photo booth. Candy and ice cream were readily available. All of the games featured slots for quarters, but none of them required actual payment. Everything at Neverland was free to enjoy.
“I love X-Men, pinball, Jurassic Park,” said Jackson. “The martial arts ones – Mortal Kombat”. A particular favorite was Beast Busters, a 1989 creation from SNK that saw players taking on the role of Johnny Justice, Paul Patriot or Sammy Stately and shooting their way out of a city overrun by the undead. “That one’s great, I pick each game,” enthused Jackson, although the star conceded “That one’s maybe too violent.” Jackson travelled on tour with two cargo planes and would usually bring some of the arcade machines with him.
Jackson didn’t skimp on details. The games room, for example, featured door knobs shaped like miniature basketballs, baseballs and soccer balls. One can almost imagine the singer uttering John Hammond’s words from Jurassic Park: “We spared no expense”.
Most guests at Neverland would not stay in the main house itself. Instead, they would stay in the guest house (each of the rooms within was numbered, motel style).
Visiting Neverland
While Michael Jackson lived at Neverland, there were frequently dozens of fans waiting outside the ranch’s gates hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
“Is Michael Jackson in there?”, 18 year old Calzada yelled into the intercom back in 2003. “Will you please tell him that we are true, dedicated fans out here and we love him a lot?”
“OK, we’ll pass that along,” came the reply.
“Is Michael in there? We drove four hours to get here. Hello?”
Calzada was among the many disappointed fans who didn’t gain entrance to Neverland. But thousands of others did. Although it was never open to the public, over the years that Jackson lived there he funded visits from hundreds of groups of schoolchildren. He also held charity fundraisers, at which guests would be charged a steep entrance fee of thousands of dollars in order to pass through the gates.
Sheree Wilkins, a preschool teacher, visited Neverland on several occasions due to her association with various Jackson fan clubs. She reports that Neverland “smells like cinnamon rolls, vanilla and candy and sounds like children laughing. It’s just like heaven. You never want to leave.” On one occasion, she claimed that she was with a group of fans who gathered to sing birthday wishes to Jackson on his 45th birthday, before he arrived on a golf cart and waved them in.
Before entering, though, every guest at Neverland was required to sign a confidentiality agreement, which included a ban on cameras and recording devices. “Everyone signs it with a big smile on their face,” said Gayaneh Davoodians, who visited in 1996. “Neverland is so peaceful, so serene. When I visited, Michael was not even there. It’s not like he’s standing at the gate, saying, ‘Come in, let me molest you.’”
“The whole day we were there, from 9am until 3am, we had drinks, popcorn, candy ice cream. It was an adventure I will never forget,” recalls Farah Pajuheshfar, who ran the King of Pop Empire fan club. “If I die now, it would be OK.” Daughter Julie continued “We went on the Ferris wheel and the roller coaster and the arcade. All the people working at Neverland were smiling all the time.”
“When you’re on the grounds of Neverland, you really get the feeling that he thought of himself as a child”, claimed MTV’s John Norris, who interviewed Jackson at the ranch in 1993.
As well as ailing children, famous guests were a common sight at Neverland. Nicole Richie, daughter of Lionel Richie and star of Fox’s The Simple Life, recalls “When I was young, I would go up there all the time. I would just go for the weekend and go hang out. It’s really big, really gorgeous. It’s like a big amusement park…When I was there, I went with people whose parents were friends of his. It was a group of us who grew up together. I never saw random kids there.”
What was it like to live near a global superstar? Did Michael Jackson’s neighbors resent the development of the ranch into a theme park? Seemingly not. Residents of nearby Los Olivos spoke glowingly of the star following child abuse allegations in 2003. “Everybody thinks he’s weird. That’s a foregone conclusion,” local Bob Senn told USA Today. “But people respect him. He’s a good neighbor.”
“Just about every kid in this town has gone to Neverland,” said coffee shop owner Jeff Feeley. “They take them up there and set them loose.”
Most of the time, though, Neverland’s amusement park and zoo were eerily quiet. “These rides are built to move people every day,” said Corey Oakley of Helm & Sons, which acquired some of Neverland’s attractions after its closure. “But at Neverland they just sat and sat.”
The ranch’s celebrity owner would sometimes ride around alone, tooting the whistle of the steam train. But for Michael Jackson, Neverland eventually lost its magic.
The raids
On November 18, 2003, Jackson was staying in a suite at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, shooting a video for a new song, One More Chance. At the same time, some 70 police offers descended on his Neverland Ranch to search for evidence relating to charges of child molestation.
It was the second such raid in the space of 10 years. The first had occurred on August 21, 1993, when the authorities hired a locksmith to gain access to every room on the estate. On that occasion, Jackson’s lawyers had seen the raid coming and many of his personal possessions had already been removed from the property. When authorities broke into Jackson’s walk-in safe, they found nothing but a black briefcase containing the combination to the safe.
Jackson was distraught after the first raid, describing it as “vicious”. A few months later, though, he hosted a party for two hundred underprivileged children at Neverland, which was covered extensively by the media. The resulting images of Jackson cavorting with the children led one adviser to say “I give up. I f***ing give up.”
The second raid was the tipping point. The star was acquitted of the second round of child molestation charges in 2005. But, in his words, Neverland had been “violated”, and he vowed never to return.
The decline of Neverland
Following the 2003 raid, Jackson initially moved to Bahrain, far away from Neverland. Although he eventually returned to live in the United States, he would never again be resident at his famous ranch.
Inevitably, given the absence of its famous owner, Neverland’s fortunes began to decline. Some estimates put the cost of running the estate at more than $10 million per year, and at its peak Jackson employed as many as 150 staff to maintain it. But he was no longer living there, and was also facing serious financial difficulties as his debts mounted.
In March 2006, Californian authorities ordered Jackson to close Neverland after he failed to pay staff or renew their insurance policies. He was fined $169,000 for failing to cover the wages of 30 staff for two months, and allowing his employees’ insurance to lapse in January of the same year. The state’s department of industrial relations had been alerted to the situation after an employee making an unpaid-wage claim remarked that a co-worker had been injured in an incident at Neverland and was unsure whether he could file a claim due to the lapsed workers’ compensation insurance.
Although Jackson avoided further legal action, by 2007 most of Neverland’s staff had been laid off and many of the facilities were closed.
In October 2007, rumors surfaced that Jackson’s financial problems were so serious that he could lose Neverland altogether. These were fiercely denied by his team, but by February 2008 an official foreclosure notice had been served, stating that unless the singer was able to pay off the outstanding finance of $24,525,009.61, the property would be auctioned off at the county courthouse in Santa Barbara, California.
With one of the largest personal foreclosures in US history approaching, investment firm Colony Capital LLC struck a deal with Jackson and the Fortress Investment Group (the private equity firm that owned the Neverland loan) which saw the title for the property placed into a joint venture. Jackson retained a stake in Neverland, but this would diminish as Colony Capital invested in its upkeep and improvements. The foreclosure auction was cancelled. Jackson said simply that he was “pleased with recent developments involving Neverland ranch…that would allow me to focus on the future.” But he didn’t return.
Abandoned
A valuable property such as the Neverland Valley Ranch was never likely to be allowed to stand abandoned and decaying for long – particularly now that a profit-motivated firm such as Colony Capital was involved with it. But for a couple of years after Michael Jackson left and most of the staff were dismissed, Neverland did fall into a state of near-abandonment. Sealed off from the outside world, it inevitably became a target for urban explorers, seeking to discover what had become of Michael Jackson’s private theme park.
While security were on hand to keep out most curious onlookers, it was always likely that someone would eventually make it over the fence. And indeed they did – in 2008, Scott Haefner, Jonathan Haeber and two unnamed associates managed to capture the park on camera “before it was too late”.
After hiking across rough terrain for several miles to avoid the main entrance, they made their way onto the property. They found it in a fairly good state of repair, but their photos still evoke a sense of how haunting this empty, quiet playland had become with its owner to bring it to life.
In another, anonymous interview, one member of the group explained the motivation behind the illicit visit: “It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. I was aware that the park had been abandoned for quite a while, and I knew that Jackson was in Dubai at the time and that he wasn’t able to pay his electric bills. So, my understanding was that it would be a short-lived opportunity.”
He continues: “I wasn’t a big fan of Michael Jackson, but I just knew that he was an important American historical figure. At the time, most people probably didn’t realise that he was part of history, and I knew that there was the potential for everything that was associated with him to be quickly lost. Without our documentation, I think it would’ve been a huge loss.”
Despite the emptiness of the ranch, Haefner was impressed, getting the vibe that Neverland was “a very happy place – an incredible place to kids to visit. I would have loved it.”
Dismantling Neverland
In late 2008, months after the urban explorers captured Neverland on camera, neighbors began to report activity on the property. The rides had begun to be sold, and in 2009 the Balloon Samba, Wave Swinger and Dinosaurs resurfaced as attractions at the California State Fair.
Most of Jackson’s beloved animals had already been removed from the zoo. The tigers, Thriller and Sabu, were sent to the Shambala Preserve, a sanctuary in Acton, near Los Angeles, where they moved into a newly-built lakeside habitat. The owner, former movie star Tippi Hedren, claims that Jackson didn’t contribute a penny to their upkeep.
Many of the reptiles were moved to the GW Exotic Animal Memorial Park in Oklahoma, including a 300lb python that Jackson had named Madonna. Two alligators also moved to the park along with the snakes.
Two of the four giraffes, Rambo and Jabba Jnr., were less fortunate. Having been moved to Banjoko Wildlife Preserve in Page, they died in 2009 amid allegations from PETA that they hadn’t been fed correctly. The owners claimed that the animals had been poisoned. The other two giraffes survived the incident.
The contents of the house were collectively very valuable. In April 2009, Julien’s Auction House prepared to display and auction a huge collection of memorabilia that had been removed from Neverland. Although the exhibition opened as scheduled on April 14, the actual auction was eventually cancelled at the request of Jackson himself. You can see a selection of the items that would have been on offer in the images below:
By early 2009, Colony Capital was working to turn Neverland into a saleable asset. The company spent more than $3 million on landscaping and repairing basic utilities, and planned to bring in a herd of Clydesdales to add a touch of life. It repaired the train station, and aspired to keep some elements of Neverland in place. “You can’t wipe out Neverland entirely,” said project manager Kyle Forsyth. “It’s part of the history of the place.”
Colony hoped to sell the ranch for between $70 million and $90 million, realizing a tidy profit for Jackson in the process. The singer was estimated to be $500 million in debt, but his career was on the verge of a revival after he agreed to a 50-date residency at London’s O2 Arena. This would benefit Neverland, too. “Should Michael Jackson’s career be reaccelerated,” said Colony’s CEO Tom Barrack, “It [the ranch] will have substantial additional value.”
The end
Jackson threw himself into rehearsals for the London shows, and was even reportedly considering a temporary UK version of Neverland to enjoy while staying in the country. But the performances would never go ahead.
On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson died in his bed at his rented Los Angeles mansion. The cause of death was eventually identified as acute propfol and benzodiazepine intoxication, leading to cardiac arrest. His personal physician, Conrad Murray, was subsequently convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011, serving a two-year prison sentence.
Although media reports initially suggested that Jackson would be buried at Neverland, objections from some family members and the difficulties associated with obtaining a permit led to that plan being scotched (despite Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger offering to help cut through red tape to make it happen).
Jackson was instead buried at Forest Lawn’s Great Mausoleum, but that didn’t stop thousands of fans descending on Neverland to pay their respects. Hundreds of messages were scrawled on walls surrounding the site, and the roads leading to the ranch were packed with dozens of parked cars.
The same fans hoped that Neverland would be turned into a lasting, publicly-accessible memorial to Michael Jackson, in much the same way that Graceland was dedicated to Elvis Presley. After all, what better way to celebrate their idol’s life than by exploring the theme park that he had built in his image?
But fans were destined to be disappointed…
A new beginning
In the immediate aftermath of Michael Jackson’s death, plans to sell Neverland were shelved. Jackson’s part-ownership was transferred to his estate, with Colony Capital retaining its share.
According to some reports, Jackson’s family took little interest in the ranch in the wake of his passing. The exception was his children, Prince, Paris and Blanket, who are said to have visited Neverland in 2011 to find it in a state of decay. Paris, it was said, was determined to restore it as a place for underprivileged children to enjoy. The fairground area was replaced with a meditative “Zen garden”, featuring animal-shaped topiaries, oak and fir trees. The tennis and basketball courts were refurbished, along with the swimming pool. And dozens of staff were hired to maintain the house and gardens.
Despite this apparent involvement, the Jackson family had lost control of Neverland. In May 2015, it was announced that the ranch would be put up for sale under its original name of Sycamore Valley Ranch, with a price tag of a cool $100 million.
Fans were outraged, demanding that the family step in to stop the sale. One online petition demands “The Presley’s got to keep Graceland so why can’t we keep Neverland?” Some die-hards vowed to boycott Michael Jackson merchandise unless the decision was reversed.
The estate’s response levelled the blame solely at Colony Capital. “The reality is that Estate is not in a position to stop the sale of the property…Under the terms of the agreement that Michael himself signed with Colony Capital, Colony has the right to sell. Unfortunately, the Estate has no legal standing in this position. The Estate will maintain Michael’s family home in Encino, including its iconic recording studio. No matter how many requests or notices of boycott the Estate receives, it cannot prevent the sale of Neverland, nor would it be fiscally responsible for the Estate to spend Michael’s children’s money on purchasing the property again.”
Sotheby’s and Hilton & Hyland are sharing a joint listing of the ranch. Realizing that many fans will be desperate to take a look at their idol’s former home, they are conducting detailed financial background checks on prospective buyers. “We’re not going to be giving tours,” one real estate agent insisted.
Some estimates put Colony’s total investment in the Sycamore Valley Ranch at over $50 million. But the result is a ranch that still looks impressively lavish.
While the fairground has been replaced, many elements of Jackson’s Neverland remain. The train station is still in position and fully restored, complete with the Neverland clock floral display outside. The movie theater is operable. The fire station building is still standing, albeit without any engines or firefighters. The zoo has largely gone, although a solitary llama remains.
Unsurprisingly, the media have been quick to link other celebrities with a deal to buy the ranch. Kanye West is reported to be considering buying the property as a gift for wife Kim Kardashian, who spent her 14th birthday at Neverland (“It was the most magical place on Earth”). The likes of Jay Z and Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and Eminem have all been linked with buying Jackson’s former home in the past.
Reports in 2006 suggested that the ranch had been valued at just $33 million, so Colony’s $100 million asking price may seem a little steep. However, some observers believe that the company’s decision to wait for some seven years before listing the property will pay off. “If they’d put in on the market right after the trial, I think it would have not been well received,” said Rick Goodwin, publisher of Ultimate Homes. “At that point in time, the dark cloud hung over that place.”
“Death has a tendency to let people be more forgiving.”
Despite this, the brochure sent by Sotheby’s to prospective buyers reportedly contains no references to Michael Jackson.
Life after death
Most Michael Jackson fans don’t have a spare $100 million lying around, so buying Neverland is not a realistic aspiration. But it is actually easier to experience a slice of the Neverland fantasy world now than it ever was when Michael Jackson lived there. Many of the attractions that made Neverland what it was have found new homes elsewhere.
A number of the rides that were located in Neverland’s funfair were sold to Helm & Sons, and are now a fixture on the county fair circuit. Prior to Jackson’s death, the link to Neverland wasn’t publicised. “We always had a confidentiality agreement with Jackson,” says Helm & Sons’ Corey Oakley. But after Jackson’s death, the company and the fairs it works with began Neverland promotions. “It’s a big deal for people,” said Oakley. “They’ve heard so much about Neverland. They want to touch it, to see it, to feel it, to ride it.”
Helm & Sons acquired the Spider, Wave Swinger, C.P. Huntington train and Zipper. It also acquired the Katherine steam train and one of Neverland’s most iconic attractions, the carousel. The rides have since appeared at the Tulare County Fair, the Giants County Fair and the San Bernardino County Fair, among others. The company lists upcoming events on its website.
Another firm, Butler Amusements, bought six of the rides. “It didn’t dawn on us to mention they were from Neverland until after his passing,” said spokeswoman Andrea Owen. “We were at the Alameda County Fair when the news came out. The owner mentioned our Neverland connection to the fair people and they got really excited.”
Among the rides Butler Amusements purchased are the Bumper Cars, Balloon Samba, Dinosaurs, Jeeps, Lolli Swings and the Dragon Wagon roller coaster. Butler Amusements also lists scheduled events on its website.
The Sea Dragon found a permanent new home at Beech Bend Park in Kentucky. A second Zipper is owned by Doug Barton of The Pride of Texas Shows, which also serves temporary fairs and carnivals.
Perhaps the most recognizable Neverland ride, the Ferris Wheel, was acquired by Missouri-based Archway Amusements, and has been touring carnivals in the Midwest ever since. The company’s website proudly bills it as the Neverland Ranch Wheel.
So, Michael Jackson’s Neverland lives on, both in the remaining elements at the Sycamore Valley Ranch, and in the rides that continue to thrill thousands of people.
It may officially have been renamed, but for fans of the King of Pop, 5225 Figueroa Mountain Road will always be Neverland.
