Graceland ~ The Home of Elvis Presley

A while back our sweet little 10 year old grandson Preston, and his family traveled to Memphis, Tennessee for  the "Dizzy Dean World Series" baseball tournament.  My husband and I met them there to watch his games.

 Preston is catcher for the team.

That is our daughter Sharon, Preston's mom, his big brother Will, and little brother Lawson watching the game in the below photo.  Preston's team came in 3rd, and he and his teammates had a great time.

Everyone in the group had heard about Beale Street in downtown Memphis.  It is known for the blues clubs and restaurants.

My husband is a music fan, and especially wanted to visit the famous BB King's Blues Club and Restaurant in Memphis.  It was a delightful fun-filled restaurant with lots of people having a good time listening to the music on stage and enjoying the delicious food.

Well! Of course, we could not miss the major attraction in Memphis while we were there......We had heard about Graceland for many years and were very interested to see Elvis Presley's home.

Elvis bought Graceland when he was only 22 years old.

Graceland is a 13.8 acre estate.  The home has twenty-three rooms, including eight bedrooms and bathrooms.  It is located 9 miles from downtown Memphis and only 4 miles from the Mississippi border.  The home was purchased in 1957 and became the home to Elvis and his parents Gladys and Vernon.

This is the entrance gate to the beautiful Graceland estate.  We were being transported in a van from the parking area into the gate, and I did not get a very good photo of the gate....but, if you look closely you see a person playing a guitar artistically intermingled in the wrought iron gate.

It was exciting to actually be approaching beautiful Graceland,  the home of Elvis Presley,  the home we had heard of so often.

Graceland has become one of the most-visited private homes in America with over 600,000 visitors a year.

Elvis was one of the greatest singers and entertainers ever.  His legacy lives on all these years after his death.  Elvis would have turned 78 years old this January 8th.   Sadly, he  died unexpectedly  at the young age of 42, on a Tuesday, August 16, 1977.  What a crushing loss to all of his fans.

 

Let's go inside for a tour of his home. 

As you step into the hall, off to the right is the living room, and adjoining music room.  There are guard-rails in place prohibiting entry into each room.  The guide told us that Elvis especially liked the color blue.

 In the below picture of the living room, back by the piano on the left, it is very interesting

to see what is now considered a very old television.

The Music Room is located behind the large peacocks set in stained glass.

Parents Gladys and Vernon Presley are in the below photo.
When Elvis was 12 years old he wanted a rifle, but his mother persuaded him to have a guitar instead, which was given to him on his 12th birthday.

This below painting was Elvis' last Christmas present from his father Vernon.   I can't get over how beautiful he was......perfection!

Fireplace in the living room.

 A downstairs bedroom.
This was Elvis' parent's bedroom.
No one was allowed to view the upstairs level where the rest of the bedrooms are located.

Below is a photo of Priscilla and Lisa Marie, Elvis' wife and daughter.  This photo was in the hall between the living room and dining room.  Lisa Marie was born in 1968

The dining room.
The formal dining room is directly across the hall from the living room.

This punch bowl was on display in the dining room.   It must have been used for some very special occasion and now I wish I had asked the guide for more information.  They told us during the tour that everything seen in the home was just as it was on the day Elvis died.

The kitchen.

They said Elvis' Aunt Delta used the kitchen until her death in 1993.

We continue on down to the basement where Elvis' bar, media room, and billiards rooms are located.

The bar.

The media room.

Elvis liked to watch all three news networks at once, therefore, three televisions sets.  Plus he loved football and was able to watch more than one game at a time.

The billiards room.

The tour continued back upstairs as guests viewed the Jungle Room.

In the below picture, we see a sitting room.  They said Elvis and some of his cousins sat in this room visiting, and playing songs on the piano, before Elvis went up to bed.  That was the night he died.

Then we exit to the backyard.

We walk past the beautiful pasture where Elvis kept his horses.

Elvis' office.
In the below photo, that is Elvis giving an interview on the television.

Elvis enjoyed the sport of Racquetball.  After his death his Racquetball court  was turned into a museum.  The museum contains photos of Elvis, some of his gold records and costumes he wore in his performances.

Some photos of Elvis in the Museum.

Elvis was humble about his success.  He disliked his famous nickname "The King."  He said, "Jesus Christ is the King.  I'm just an entertainer."

While Elvis was in the service he donated all of his Army pay to charity.

  Elvis recorded more than 600 songs and did not write any of them.  He sold over 1 billion albums worldwide.

The Trophy Room displays many of the civic awards Elvis received.

In the below photo is the famous hall of gold records.

Elvis has over 100 gold/platinum awards for his singles and albums and is considered by far to be the most popular artist ever.

After the death of Elvis, Vernon Presley, his dad, chose Priscilla to serve as estate executor.  She became chairwoman and president of Elvis Presley Enterprises.  Through her efforts the enterprise's fortunes soared and eventually the trust grew to be worth over $100 million.

In the below photo Priscilla's wedding dress and veil are on display in the museum.  Elvis and Priscilla were married in Las Vegas at the Aladdin Hotel on May 1, l967.

The museum contains many of his famous Las Vegas jumpsuits and awards.

Also on the tour  are some of Elvis' favorite cars.  He loved Cadillacs.

Also on display is one of Elvis' airplanes which he named Lisa Marie.

As we leave the museum we move on around to the Meditation Garden where Elvis is buried.  Also buried there are his parents Gladys and Vernon Presley, and his grandmother.   Also included is a memorial to his twin brother Jessie who was stillborn at birth.

How touching it was to be there at the grave site of Elvis Presley.....A person who had given so much to so many.....Someone who had influenced the whole world in such a positive way. A good and generous man.....Someone who was loved by all!

Rest in peace!  We all still miss you.