Graceland, situated at 3764 Elvis Presley Blvd, Memphis, Tennessee (originally 3764 Highway 51 South) was named after the original builder’s aunt Grace. Elvis bought the property on March 25, 1957 and paid $102,500 for the 10,266 square foot mansion to include 13.8 acres around the house. In today’s money, this equates to about $1milllion. His parents, Vernon and Gladys, having seen it first, paid a $1000 deposit only 9 days earlier.
Although Elvis’ parents and grandmother moved in on May 16, 1957, Elvis didn’t stay until June, having been filming ‘Loving You’ with ‘Jailhouse Rock’ to follow. The famous music gates were installed a month earlier. In June that year, Elvis commissioned the kidney shaped swimming pool.
Friends and family members were regular guests at the mansion and although he had various homes and was constantly booked for concerts throughout the USA, Graceland was always regarded as his base.
Elvis is buried on the Graceland estate along with other family members; his mother, Gladys, his father, Vernon, his grandmother, Minnie May, and grandson, Benjamin Storm Presley Keough.
Before Graceland’s opening to the public in 1982, there was little tourism in Memphis. Since then, it has been hosting over 20million visitors from around the world.
It is estimated that approximately $150 million per year of the income generated from Graceland visitors is to the benefit of the city of Memphis. This is due to the influx of visitors to the area, lavishing their dollars on the city’s other attractions and businesses.
After the White House, Graceland is purportedly the most famous home in America which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006. Today, Graceland is 17,552 square feet and attracts between 500,000 and 600,000 visitors from a diverse global population every year.