Neverland in Michael's absence

Now that Michael Jackson is gone, the only way to get close to the King of Pop before a public memorial service on Tuesday seems to be a trip to his spiritual home, Neverland Ranch.

The gigantic kitchen at Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, Calif., Thursday, July 2, 2009. [Photo: Xinhua/Reuters]

And the gates have finally been swung open.

Colony Colony Capital LLC, the Los Angeles firm that established a joint venture with Jackson to rescue Neverland from foreclosure last year, opened the estate to scores of journalists on Thursday.

A host of snapshots freshly released online offer people a rare glimpse into the childlike superstar's fantasyland.

Left unattended since 2005, the vast estate has fallen into disrepair. But main part, including the five-bedroom house and the train station, remain unchanged, despite the removal and sale of much of the furniture to help pay off Jackson's debts, according to foreign media reports.

Neverland is "just a shell without Jackson," said an Associated Press report.

Many fans crowded this place for days after Jackson's death, because they believed he would be brought back there for his funeral and burial. Even after it was announced that the memorial service would be held on Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, crowds of fans remained at Neverland Ranch.

Some fans hope that the estate will be opened to the public so that people can pay their respects to Jackson. But it remains unknown whether Neverland will become another Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley that was opened to the public in 1982, five years after the singer's death. Jackson only retained a small percentage of ownership in Neverland at the time of his death.

It is unlikely that Jackson remains will be interred on the Neverland premises, because California law prohibits uncremated bodies to be buried in places other than cemeteries.

According to media reports, Jackson purchased the property originally named Sycamore Valley Ranch for a reported $19.5 million in 1987. He renamed it Neverland Ranch, after the fictional land of Peter Pan. The sprawling estate once featured amusement park rides, a zoo and two independent railway lines. It reportedly cost up to $10 million a year to maintain.

Jackson left Neverland in 2005 following the trial of child molestation on which he was later acquitted.