Going To Graceland

Back at the end of June, I traveled to Tennesee to move the Fashionista back home to Texas. On the way, I stopped in Memphis. I wanted to visit the home of Elvis Presley. The summer seemed to fly by before I was able to write up this post. It seems appropriate as today is the 44 anniversary of the passing of the King of Rock and Roll. I hope you enjoy Going To Graceland.

Going To Graceland

I want to disclaim that I am not a typical Elvis fan. I do enjoy his music. But I was more curious as to why the Graceland mansion is the most-visited privately owned home in America. It receives over 650,000 visitors a year and is on the National Register of Historic Places as well as a National Historic Landmark. 

The mansion was built in 1939. But the grounds themselves were originally named after the first owner’s daughter, Grace, who inherited the estate in 1894. It would be Grace’s niece, Ruth Moore, and her husband Thomas who would build the Colonial Revival style mansion which was designed by architects Furbringer and Ehrman. Elvis purchased the home for his parents on March 19, 1957, at a cost of $102,500.00. 

Graceland is nestled at the top of a hill within a grove of oaks. It is a two-story home with a gabled roof, a central two-story projecting pedimented portico, and has one-story wings on each side. Lush green pastures surround the property. 

Graceland is 17,552 square feet and has a total of 23 rooms. As you enter the home you see a grand staircase that leads to the second story.

The second story contains several bedrooms but is off-limits to visitors. 

Glorious Peacocks

To the right is the formal living room. It features an elliptical-arched opening and pristine white furnishings. 

The adjoining music room is behind a doorway that is framed by colorful stained glass peacocks.  

I think this was probably my favorite room on the tour. 

Across the hall to the left is the formal dining room. The room has built-in curio cabinets in the north-end corners of the room. There is black marble flooring in the center of the room, with carpet around the perimeter.

Adjacent to the living room is a bedroom that was occupied by Elvis’ parents, Vernon and Gladys. It is a primarily white room with purple velvet drapes and bedspread. 

The en-suite bathroom is done in pink and features cute poodle wallpaper. 

The kitchen is a blast from the past. 

The early 70’s decor reminded me of my childhood. 

It contained all top-of-the-line appliances from the time. 

Jungle Room

The infamous Jungle Room features an indoor waterfall of cut fieldstone on the north wall. 

It contains several pieces of dark heavily carved wood furniture. 

Green carpeting appears on both the floor and ceiling. 

Lots of animal print upholstery adds to the design. 

The Basement

In the basement is the TV room. The first area contains a wet bar.  

Elvis liked to watch three television sets at a time.  It also contained a built-in stereo and cabinets for Elvis’ record collection. Everything is reflected in a mirrored ceiling.

The west wall is painted with Elvis’ 1970s logo of a lightning bolt and cloud. The initials TCB stand for taking care of business… in a flash.

Opposite the TV room is the billiard room. 

Elvis bought the pool table in 1960. The walls and ceiling were covered with 350–400 yards of pleated cotton fabric in 1974. 

The fabric even covers the couch. 

Outdoors

Elvis had a kidney-shaped swimming pool built.

There are also several outbuildings including a gym and racquetball court.

 The Meditation Garden

The Meditation Garden was originally used by Elvis to reflect on any problems or situations that arose during his life. It was designed and built by architect Bernard Grenadier.

Later it was where he, his parents, and grandmother, Minnie Mae Hood Presley, were buried. 

It is a serene and peaceful place. 

Across the street, there is a new exhibit complex. It contains several building one of which is a car museum, Presley Motors.

Elvis’ famous Pink Cadillac.

My favorite vehicle was the custom Willy jeep. 

Another huge building contains Elvis’ costumes worn throughout his career. My favorite was Elvis’s early gold lamé suit. It was shown on the cover of 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong.

While I am not a huge fan of jumpsuit Elvis I appreciated the artistry involved. 

Some of the suits could weigh close to 20 pounds due to the heavy rhinestone embellishments. 

There is another huge room that contains only a portion of his awards as well as his gold and platinum records. It leaves one in awe of all that Elvis accomplished in his short life. 

I truly enjoyed the tour!

See you Wednesday,

Laura