Annie Leibovitz is not the first legendary photographer to set foot on this property. It is a first Ansel Adams who, in the 1930s, visited there for the first time. One of the images immortalized by him on the property, titled Stump and Barn Near Olema, was the subject of a traveling exhibition by the Smithsonian Institution. Today, five years after acquiring it, Annie Leibovitz is ready to hand over the estate to its next owner – who won’t necessarily be a photographer, as long as he can pay the tidy sum of 9 million dollars (8.33 million euros).
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
The sprawling 26-hectare estate consists of a residential complex with four structures, an equestrian center with a seven-stall stable, cattle pens, a stable with a recording studio and a banquet hall. Most of the structures were built during the era in which the property was built, in the 1920s and 1930s, giving them a most charming rustic sensibility. The interiors of the housing structures are all white, with walls and ceilings constructed of shiplap-style planks in some rooms. Annie Leibovitz spent nearly $2 million restoring the property; renovations include infrastructure upgrades and the addition of a new kitchen. With views of the Bolinas Laguna Nature Preserve, acres of private land, and many trails nearby, the property is a perpetual invitation to immerse yourself in the beauty of Northern California.
Ed Freeman