At the height of the Jackson Five's initial success, the Jackson parents,
Joseph and Katherine, purchased the two acre estate
on Havyenhurst Avenue in Encino on May 5th, 1971, for 250000 dollars
in order to bring together the whole family and build a lavish life
in Los Angeles after gaining fame and fortune in the music business.
By 1981, Michael Jackson had also found solo success with the release of his album
Off the Wall and was about to start the recording of his next thriller.
However, at the same time, Joseph Jackson was having financial issues
and decided he had to sell the Encino house as a result.
Michael made the decision to buy half of the property for 500000 dollars,
and the remainder was split between his parents, both owing 25 percent each.
It was at this moment the power dynamics
between Michael and his formidable father was forever changed.
Having been the breadwinner for the family
since the age of 10, tensions built between the two.
As Michael Jackson suddenly had the leverage to take control of his life,
career and therefore the destiny, excuse the pun, of his dependable family.
This is when the house once nicknamed the Big House because it felt like
a prison at times underwent through Michael's Phil Jackson a vacation.
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After becoming the majority owner of his
former childhood home at age 23, Michael decided to completely renovate the house.
Michael Jackson took this opportunity to indulge in all his lavish fantasies,
disregarding the tastes and requirements the rest of the family may have had.
The original home was destroyed to be rebuilt after two years.
Once completed, it became a real palace.
A second floor was added, the gardens were maintained and all
the interior renovated in the image of Michael and his often flamboyant tastes.
Katherine Jackson, one said.
As Michael had paid for this new home, it was decorated according to his tastes.
It was his idea, for example, that the house was to be English Tudor style.
I cannot say I'm crazy about Tudor style.
For me, these houses are too dark into gloomy.
But finally we agreed to have lots of windows to bring maximum light.
A movie theater and recording studio was
at the front of the studio, mimicked a toy shop with porcelain dolls,
little wooden inlaid soldiers, teddy bears and a mini rocking chair.
Disney inspired memorials were commissioned, including one depicting
Michael reading the Jehovah's Witness Bible, The Secrets of Life.
All the windows were furnished with small stained glass.
A brick walkway was built that led
to a three level white fountain in front of the house, a coy pond and six foot tall
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves diorama was added inside the lavish trophy room
next to the garage.
Michael had built a miniature version of Disneyland's Main Street,
not to mention a candy store and a mock flower shop was also included.
There was also a replica of the talking
robot of Abraham Lincoln, like the Lincoln attraction of Disneyland.
There were also hand engraved signs carrying messages typical of Disney World.
There was one in particular suspended at one of the corners of the house where
are inscribed the words Follow your dreams, where they can lead you.
In addition to Jackson and his family Bubbles, the chimpanzee also called Encino
his home for a brief period in the 80s, as well as a couple of peacocks to llamas,
to Hine's a giraffe and a ram had also taken up residence there.
The animals spent the night in the stable and could walk freely.
During the day,
fans or neighbors would see Michael walking his animals out and about
in Encino on the roadside, as is the case with his Loui llama in his apartments.
He had a brick fireplace,
a black marble bathroom and a wall bed that could be pulled up against the wall
because Michael often prefer to sleep on the floor.
Catherine once remarked,
Since his room has a very high ceiling, I suggest that installing a second floor,
a kind of mezzanine with a second fireplace in a second bathroom.
This is where Michael installed a barber's
chair in his bathroom, and that's where he gets his haircuts.
It was my idea also to make him build a folding bed which folds into the wall.
Initially, he did not want a bed.
He wanted to sleep simply in a sleeping bag so as to have maximum space
to practice his dense this folding bed scene, the ideal compromise.
Once it was folded into the wall,
we did not even know it was there and it was covered with wooden panels.
His room opened on a brick patio
with a pergola covered with vegetation resting on large columns.
He had a giant shower installed in one
corner and a tile barbecue on the other side where he liked to sit in the morning.
Michael Jackson lived in the property until 1988, when, at 30 years old,
he moved into his dream home, Neverland Ranch, where he had a lot more
space to indulge in his childhood playground fantasies.
He was the last of the children to leave
Haven, and his father only learned that Michael
was leaving when he saw a report about it on Entertainment Tonight.
This was typical Jackson family
communication, which only got worse after Michael left the house.
Following Joe's many infidelities,
Katherine finally found herself alone and offered some of her children to settle
in Encino, which Jermaine and Randy would do with their respective families.
Joseph eventually sold his remaining portion to Michael and Haven.
Hirst's house belonged to Michael Jackson
and his mother until the singer's death in 2009.
Katherine Jackson and all
of the grandchildren moved out of the Haven Hearst compound in late 2010
and early 2011 in order to remodel the Haven Hearst house.
Today, it is believed that Michael Jackson's
daughter, Paris Jackson, now lives in the property.
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