Hayvenhurst Estate — Jackson Family Compound

The Hayvenhurst estate at 4641 Hayvenhurst Avenue in Encino was the Jackson family compound from 1971, when Joe Jackson purchased the mock-Tudor property on the San Fernando Valley's west side for $140,000 following the Jackson 5's early Motown success. The 10,000-square-foot house on two acres — an elaborately appointed estate by any reasonable standard, and an extraordinary leap from the two-bedroom bungalow in Gary — became the site of Michael Jackson's transition from child star to adult artist. He lived at Hayvenhurst from 1971 until 1988, when he purchased Neverland Ranch, recording Off the Wall and Thriller in a private studio on the property.

The recordings made at Hayvenhurst's studio — built to Michael's specifications, connected to the main house — include sessions for 'Billie Jean' and 'Beat It', among others. The property also housed the extended Jackson family through the years of their greatest commercial success, serving as both home and de facto headquarters for the family's interlocking careers. The grounds, which Jackson developed with a koi pond, elaborate gardens, and an iconic diorama of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, reflected the same impulse toward personal mythology that would find its full expression at Neverland.

Hayvenhurst remained in the Jackson family after Michael's death in 2009 and is still held by the estate. It is a private residence not open to the public, in a quiet street in the affluent Encino neighbourhood. The house is visible from Hayvenhurst Avenue and is occasionally photographed by fans making the San Fernando Valley circuit of Jackson-related locations. The studio where some of the best-selling recordings in music history were made remains on the property.