Elvis Presley House (Graceland)
The Elvis Presley House is an estate in Memphis that belonged to the King of Rock and Roll, displaying the ultimate in kitsch, eccentricity, and splendor.
General Information
Though born in Mississippi, Elvis was a true son of Memphis, raised in Lauderdale Court, inspired by the blues, heard in the clubs on Beale Street and discovered as a talent at Sun Studio on Union Avenue. In the spring of 1957, the already famous 22-year-old spent $100,000 on a colonial-style mansion called Graceland after the previous owners. Priscilla Presley (who divorced Elvis in 1973) opened Graceland for tours in 1982, and now millions of people come here to honor the King and see the house. King himself transformed the interior of the house in 1974. The 4.5-foot bed, faux waterfall, yellow vinyl walls and green-carpeted ceiling are a veritable textbook example of ostentatious ’70s style. Elvis died here (in an upstairs bathroom) in 1977 of heart paralysis. Crowds of fans still weep at his grave next to the swimming pool in the backyard.
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You start the tour at the high-tech visitor plaza at the other end of Elvis Presley Boulevard. During the hot season, sign up early so you don’t have to wait in line for a long time. The automatically guided tour of the house is accompanied by an audio narrative with the voices of Elvis, Priscilla and Lisa-Maria. Buy the full tour package to see the entire estate, or pay extra for additional tours: several clothing museums, a car museum, two airplanes (check out Lisa-Maria’s blue-and-gold bathroom, the Convair 880 Jet). Parking is $10. Graceland is 14.48 miles from downtown, on US 51, also called Elvis Presley Boulevard. If you’re not driving, you can take the #43 bus downtown or hop on the free Sun Studio bus.
.www.elvis.com; Elvis Presley Boulevard/US 51; tours, adults/children, in-house only $31/14, all $35/17; & 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Sat, until 4 p.m. Sun, shorter hours in winter and closed on Tues.
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