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Home , Neverland Ranch

SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 2014

This Dec 17, 2004 file photo shows a , right, and , left, on the property at This Dec 17, 2004 file photo shows the rear entrance to pop star Jackson’s Neverland pop star ’s Neverland Ranch home, in Santa Ynez, Calif, where several hun- Ranch home. dred children were invited to the estate for a holiday celebration. — AP photos Michael Jackson’s Neverland remains in limbo

rom outside the gates of Neverland Ranch, it appears as if viewed Jackson live in front of 90 million viewers in 1993; and Michael Jackson’s former home and fantasyland has been where then-wife and Jackson welcomed chil- Ffrozen in time. The backyard circus is long gone, but heart- dren from around the globe ahead of the United Nations’ 50th felt notes placed by saddened fans at the property’s entrance anniversary in 1995. remain intact five years after Jackson’s death. And visitors are still Jackson later turned his back on Neverland after his 2005 making the pilgrimage. “I figured it would just be a closed gate, acquittal on charges he molested children at the ranch, opting to but I still wanted to see it for myself,” said James Chen of Seattle, live elsewhere in the world until his death in 2009. “I guess they a fan who stopped outside Neverland during a recent road trip ruined it for my dad,” Jackson’s eldest son, Prince, told a civil with his father. court jury last year. While many Jackson ventures are thriving after his death, With no crush of fans or media throngs in years, and the including a new album and Cirque du Soleil shows, there’s not just a whirling memory, Neverland’s future been similar movement at Neverland, despite rumors the proper- remains unclear. During a recent stop outside the property, a ty could be transformed into a -like homage or sold to landscaper could be seen zipping along the driveway in a red the highest bidder. buggy as a guard manned the security shack at the front gate. Caroline Luz, spokeswomen for Colony Capital LLC, the real The wireless router inside was named “SVR Security,” a nod to the estate firm that bailed Jackson out after he defaulted on the $24.5 property’s original name. million he owed on Neverland, said the proper- “It has been really quiet,” said local real estate broker William ty about 150 miles north of Los Angeles is being maintained, but Etling in his office a few miles away in the wine-tasting town of she declined further comment. Los Olivos. “There hasn’t been any noise about stuff happening The estate was built in 1981 by real estate developer William out there. I’m surprised they haven’t sold it to someone else Bone, who called it Sycamore Valley Ranch. Jackson paid $19.5 already.” million for the hilly, oak- and sycamore-studded property in 1988 Etling, author of the Santa Ynez Valley tell-all “Sideways in and rechristened it Neverland after Peter Pan’s island dwelling. He Neverland,” wondered who the buyer of the $35 million, 2,600- soon added such over-the-top amenities as a zoo and small acre property might be when a nearby 3,250-acre ranch recently amusement park. sold for $22 million. His only guess: Someone who really likes the For nearly 20 years, Neverland was both Jackson’s home and a King of Pop. — AP A Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch map at Julien’s Music Icons pop culture landmark. It’s where lavishly married Auction at the Hard Rock Cafe during a preview in New York. Larry Fortensky in 1991; where famously inter-

In this April 18, 1995 file photo, pop star Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley walk with children that were invited guests at his In this Dec 17, 2004 file photo, pop star Michael Jackson greets Neverland Ranch home. several hundred children that were invited guests at his Neverland Ranch home.