A colonial revival style mansion, inside a 13.8-acre estate in Memphis, Tennessee, Graceland makes for an ideal enough setting to host the memories of the King of Pop, Elvis Presley. This day, 40 years ago, Elvis succumbed to death post a mysterious heart attack.
Graceland, his home-turned-museum, stands witness to his undying popularity—it ranks second in the US (only after the White House)—to attract the highest number of visitors (more than 650,000) every year.
A climb to the top of a hill will reveal the grand mansion, huddled amidst a cluster of oak. The spectacle will take you back to 1939, when the house was first built by the family that owned the Memphis Daily Appeal. Elvis had bought the house for his parents in 1957, the very year after Heartbreak Hotel, his number one hit in the US.
Designed by Furbringer and Erhmanis, this two storey-mansion with 23 rooms was decorated with great attention by Elvis's mother, who passed away just a year after moving in to the new home. The brilliant white carpets and upholstery and marble flooring of the living room; the deep purple bedding and bathroom submerged in pink, just adjacent to the living room, speak highly of the woman's distinguished taste.
Content
To honor your privacy preferences, this content can only be viewed on the site it originates from.
By 1960, Elvis had forayed further into movies and his father, himself, had remarried. Belittled and bullied with a mama's boy title in his early school days, Elvis lived up to his name as he packed off his newly-wed stepmother and father to another home when she made drastic alterations to the mansion his mother had so carefully decorated.
His home was frequented soon after by another woman who would become dear to him—his to-be wife Priscilla Presley. Having relocated to Los Angeles, California because the movies called, Elvis would catch a break at Graceland with his 20-something lover ever so often.
Elvis remodelled his house during this time. The one-storey wing on the north end of the mansion, also called the Jungle Room, was enlarged to include a water fall. The same space was later redone into a recording studio that saw the last of Presley's final two albums—Moody Blue and From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis Tennessee.
Shortly after, Elvis and Priscilla were wed and went on to make fond memories in Graceland, playing the fool in between breaks from their hectic work-life in California and raising their daughter, little Lisa Marie Presley. Although joyful, his marriage was short-lived for it dissolved in 1972.
Elvis made a comeback into singing live with a series of concert tours, a year after. His success and popularity during this time was unrivalled. The upper storey and the attic remain a mystery to us, as they hold his chambers as well as his daughters' and the bathroom where he died after his heart attack in 1977.
Out of respect for Elvis, non-family members aren't permitted into the upper storey and its chambers. Visitors to Graceland can walk around the house to observe the preserved belongings of the former tenants. Priscilla's wedding dress, Lisa's toys and Elvis's studio, for instance.
A 450-room resort has been constructed close to the estate, so fans can stay and gather a gist of what the King's life must have been like. Interestingly, the interiors have been done up to resemble that of Elvis's home and holds the same flair of Graceland.
From being ridiculed as a bad vocalist, without a gateway for a formal education in music, the journey of Elvis Presley and his seal of permanent fidelity on his fans is phenomenal, to say the least. The valuation of the Graceland mansion stands proof of this. Elvis Presley bought the mansion for $102,500. Now, the site that has been listed as a Natural Historic landmark is valued at over a mammoth $6 million!
The Graceland mansion is no more a museum, or just a home—it's an architectural memoir that is engulfed by the nostalgia, wonderment and affection of his many, many fans.
ALSO READ:
" target="_blank
" target="_blank