As well as his legacy as the undisputed King of Pop, Michael Jackson also leaves behind the architectural curiosity that was his home, Neverland.
The Architects’ Journal of the UK said that Michael Jackson’s home was the ultimate expression of wealth bestowed upon a childhood star. Set in land 11 km2, Neverland Ranch housed a zoo, amusement park and Museum of Michael Jackson, as well as a collection of entertainment and accommodation buildings.
Named after the fantasy island in the Peter Pan story, where children never grow up, the ranch made real childhood dreams with its 16 amusement park rides including a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, a super slide, dragon wagon kiddie roller coaster and bumper cars. The architecture scattered around the ranch was a Disneyfied mash-up of Queen Anne Style and New England vernacular, its idealised expression that harks back to innocent days gone by.
One wonders who the next owner of this unique property will be; time will tell.
