Though the property has been renamed, a floral clock on the grounds still spells out Neverland. World famous pop king Michael Jackson lived there from 1988 to 2005. He paid $19.5 million for the property in 1987. It was one of the oddest celebrity compounds in history: A mansion and an amusement park, petting zoo, a railroad and a train station all spread over 2,800 acres in California’s Santa Barbara County, dotted with more typical star comforts like a tennis court, swimming pool and basketball court. He turned it into a personal fantasy land that encompassed 22 buildings, including a 12,000-square-foot French Normandy-style main house, two guest houses, and a movie theater that had trap doors for magic shows. In addition to the main house, there are two guest houses, one with four bed rooms and one with two bed rooms. There is also a movie theater. Jackson had a train with a steam engine called Katherine, named after his mother. The train to get you around the property. It was about a quarter mile from the main house to the 50-seat movie theater and a station house modeled after the one at Disney World. The topiary Neverland clock in front of it remains. Neverland was once home to orangutans, baboons, an elephant, giraffes and Jackson`s pet chimpanzee, Bubbles. But those animals are all gone. But even wiped of its amusement park rides and zoo animals, to many of Jackson`s fans, it will always be Neverland.
