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Graceland is a mansion on a 13.8-acre (5.6-hectare) estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, once owned by American singer Elvis Presley. Presley is buried there, as are his parents, paternal grandmother, grandson, and daughter. Graceland is located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the Whitehaven, Memphis neighborhood, about nine miles ...
- Overview
- 1. Presley paid $102,500 for Graceland in 1957.
- 2. The mansion is named after an original landowner.
- 3. The King kept a menagerie of animals at the mansion.
- 4. Presley recorded songs in the mansion’s legendary Jungle Room.
- 5. The kitchen was fully stocked for Presley at all times.
- 6. Elvis is buried on the mansion’s grounds.
- 7. Pricilla Presley made Graceland a business.
- 8. Members of Presley’s family continued to live at Graceland after his death.
- 9. You can tour two of Presley’s custom jets.
From how the kitchen was stocked, to who is buried on the grounds, explore facts about the estate that Priscilla Presley converted into a business.
Hot on the heels of his breakout year in 1956 that turned him into an international music, TV and movie star, Elvis Presley, at age 22, bought the 10,000-foot colonial-style mansion on 13.8 acres in Memphis, Tennessee, for what would amount to an estimated $1.1 million today. Presley moved into Graceland with his parents and lived there for 20 year...
Long before the land Graceland sits on belonged to Presley, it was part of 500 acres of farmland owned by the S.E. Toof family for generations. When descendant Ruth Brown Moore and her husband, Dr. Thomas Brown Moore, built their 10,266-square-foot home there in 1939, they dubbed it Graceland, after Ruth’s aunt, Grace Toof Ward. While not named by ...
Elvis Presley's horses on the Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee, circa, 1982.
An avid animal lover, Presley kept plenty of pets at Graceland–from Bowtie the turkey to a mynah bird who could chirp phrases including “Elvis isn’t here” to a number of horses and dogs to a chimpanzee named Scatter and a squirrel monkey named Jayhew. Two wallabies, gifted by Australian fans, were donated to the Memphis Zoo, as were peacocks. He even reportedly kept donkeys in his kidney-shaped swimming pool, added in 1957, before it was filled.
To Presley, it was simply “the den.” Still, one of the most unique rooms in the mansion has come to be known as the Jungle Room for its Polynesian-themed decor that includes green shag carpeting on the floor–and ceiling, rainbow lighting, faux wood walls, carved wood furniture and even an artificial waterfall. The room, a 1965 addition, also served as a recording studio, with 16 songs from Presley’s final two albums cut there.
Other Graceland additions and rooms of note:
•Soon after moving in, Presley had wrought-iron gates installed. “With their stylized representations of a guitar-strumming Elvis set against a pattern of musical staffs and notes, the gates suggest the entryway to a musical heaven,” according to the Memphis Commerical Appeal.
•In 1974, Presley had now-iconic stained-glass peacock panels added to the living room.
•Presley added a racquetball building to the estate in 1975 that includes a court, pinball machine and piano, as well as a trophy hall housing memorabilia and awards.
•Inspired by President Lyndon Johnson, Presley had three TV sets mounted in his basement television room to watch the three major networks simultaneously.
According to the 1993 book The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley, groceries to be available in the Graceland kitchen “at all times–every day” included fresh, lean ground round steak, one case of Pepsi, one case of orange drink, rolls, at least six cans of biscuits, pickles, wieners, peanut butter, banana pudding, ingredients for meatloaf and sauce,...
Presley’s funeral was held at Graceland the day after a public viewing in the mansion’s foyer drew an estimated 25,000 mourning fans. Elvis was first buried at a nearby mausoleum alongside his mother, Gladys, then their remains were relocated to Graceland’s Meditation Garden after thieves attempted to steal his body. Presley, his parents, grandmoth...
Following Vernon Presley’s death, Presley’s ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, was appointed as a co-executor/co-trustee, and, facing financial challenges in maintaining the estate, she worked to open Graceland to the public in 1982. Her expansions and renovations turned the mansion into one of the most-visited private homes in the country, with more than 600,000 annual visitors, making it the second-most visited home in America, after the White House.
Per Presley’s will, his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited the property when he died, taking control of her trust on her 25th birthday in 1993. Upon her death in 2023, her daughter, actress Riley Keough, was named its owner.
Presley died unexpectedly in 1977 at age 42, but his father, Vernon Presley, stayed on at Graceland until his death in 1979, and his grandmother, Minnie Mae Presley, remained there until her death the following year. But his aunt, Delta Mae Presley Biggs, lived there longest, even after Graceland opened to the public in 1982, staying on the propert...
Dubbed the Lisa Marie (and also, the Flying Graceland and Hound Dog I), Presley’s private plane, a Convair 880, is displayed at Graceland, and visitors can board it to check out the jet’s master bedroom, living room, conference room, two half-baths and added touches such as gold-plated seatbelts and suede sofas. Also on site is the Hound Dog II, a ...
- Lesley Kennedy
Vernon Presley reportedly wanted the family to move to California, but Elvis and Gladys wanted to stay in Tennessee. • Elvis gone while Graceland was remodeled. On March 27, just as the remodeling of his new home was getting started, Elvis left for Chicago to open a nine-city personal appearance tour.
Oct 9, 2024 · Presley purchased the white-columned property and 13.8 acres of surrounding land in 1957, paying a price of $102,500 (about $1,14 million in 2023 dollars), and he moved in along with his parents,Vernon and Gladys Presley. His mother died the following year and is buried at Graceland. Two years later Vernon remarried, moving his new wife, Dee ...
- Tamsin Pickeral
May 30, 2024 · When did Elvis Presley first move into Graceland? Vernon and Gladys Presley put a $1,000 down payment on Graceland on March 16, 1957 and Elvis Presley ultimately paid over $100K for the home and ...
Graceland was once part of a 500-acre farm that was owned by the S.C. Toof family. The land had been part of the family for generations and was named after one of the female relatives, Grace. According to Graceland history, in 1939, Grace's niece, Ruth Brown Moore and her husband, Dr. Thomas Moore, built the mansion, which became well-known to the locals of Memphis.
People also ask
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Apr 2, 2021 · Elvis Presley purchased Graceland in 1957 for $102,500. The singer, whose celebrity and success had skyrocketed the year prior, promptly moved into the mansion and made Memphis, Tennessee, his home base.
