Sunnylands Center and Gardens comprises 200 acres (80 hectares) of meticulously maintained grounds in southern California’s Rancho Mirage. Its stunning appeal has attracted the British royal family, U.S. presidents and film stars to the spacious estate. Visit this modernist house, completed in 1966, which has hosted famous people including Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama as well as iconic entertainers Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Stewart and Ginger Rogers.
The estate was built and owned by philanthropists Walter and Leonore Annenberg who commissioned architect A. Quincy Jones to design a home that was full of light but shielded from the sun. The result was a building with an innovative roof design that strategically keeps the interior and outdoor spaces cool. Admire the pyramid-shaped roof and its pink color that was chosen by Leonore to match the light of the rising and setting sun on distant mountains.
A major attraction of Sunnylands is the double-looping, 9-hole, par-72 golf course with its water-saving features. The magnolia tree at the seventh hole was a cutting of one taken from President Andrew Jackson’s home in Nashville, Tennessee. Elsewhere on the greens, admire the 30-foot (9-meter) totem pole crafted by a Canadian First Nations artist.
The Annenberg Trust requires Sunnylands to be accessible to the public and be a venue for international conferences. View the couple’s extensive collection, including Tang dynasty figures, artworks by Rodin and Picasso and items by Tiffany and Lalique.
Tours of the house’s interior are available only at certain times of the year when it’s not being used for dignitary functions. Purchase limited tickets online for the house tour. Other tours include one for bird watching and another to see the extensive grounds.
Drop in to enjoy areas of the center and its gardens for free when the site is open. Allow enough time to see the artifacts and features of this interesting property. Shop at the gift store and treat yourself to a memento of Sunnylands Center and Gardens. Find the estate on Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage near Palm Springs.
