The tony Palm Springs area is a long way from the hardscrabble Hoboken neighborhood where the legendary Frank Sinatra grew up.
But when Ol' Blue Eyes needed a retreat from the world, he made his way to the California desert. About 15 minutes from Palm Desert is where the entertainer chose to build his getaway, named Villa Maggio. The eight-bedroom, 13-bathroom compound is located in the high desert (4,500 feet above sea level) where temperatures are considerably cooler than on the desert floor, explains listing agent Richard Nolan.
Sinatra used the home during the 1970s with his fourth wife, Barbara, in the midst of a period where he was hinting at retirement. Back on the market for $3.95 million, it includes three buildings -- the main home, a guesthouse, and a pool house -- all with stunning views of the desert. There's also the helipad, which Sinatra used to ferry in his friends from Palm Springs, which is more than an hour's drive over circuitous roads.
The gated compound, named for the role in " From Here to Eternity" that earned Sinatra an Oscar, has its own road off the highway and is only 20 minutes from Palm Desert.
Sinatra eventually donated the home to Loyola Marymount University, which later sold it. The current homeowner is the first to actually live there since Sinatra and has maintained many of the features the entertainer had installed, including the orange backsplash in the kitchen and the orange chairs in the dining room.
"Orange was Sinatra's favorite color," notes Nolan, who has sat in the dining room chair Sinatra used when hosting his Rat Pack friends and others at the home. "It just gives you a vibe -- you feel the energy from it," he says. "The home is a time capsule. This is in original condition."
A letter signed by Sinatra to "From Here to Eternity" director Fred Zinnemann hangs in the home along with photos of Sinatra.
In her book, " Lady Blue Eyes," Barbara Sinatra writes about their time at the home: "We swam and sunbathed, played games and ate and drank what we liked when we liked. It was heaven."
The crooner's legacy could make this property heaven for a Sinatra fan, or for a new owner who wishes to capitalize on its past by turning it into a vacation rental property with a heck of a pedigree.