Elvis Presley's Graceland
Memphis, TN
I had visited here in the 1980's, and boy, have things changed. Today this place is even more of a shrine to the King. Just the newer part is twice the size of what was here in the 80's. Graceland House and grounds are on the left and the planes are across the street, That is what was there in 1980's The massive structures to the right are new and are called "Elvis Presley's Memphis." Here you will find Elvis' automobiles, motorcycles, wardrobe of jumpsuits, gold and platinum records, artifacts from his time in the army, his archives, a state fair grounds modeled on 1956 Tupelo, MS and more.
If you've never been here, and know of Elvis, you should visit once. But at a cost of $38.75 to tour only the mansion and up to $159.00 per adult for the VIP tour, it is not affordable to everyone.
We prepaid for a scheduled tour at 11:15 am and picked up our tickets at the will call window. As it turns out, the tour times mean nothing. We stood in line to board the bus for over half an hour and then our bus was third in line to unload at the mansion. It was another while before we got off the bus and then we were placed in groups and waited on the sidewalk. I think it was close to 1:00 pm before the actual tour began. We were then shuffled through the house in breakneck speed. There were more people outside waiting in line like we had and more buses arriving..
Mom's bedroom
Staircase to the second floor, tours don't go up there.
Stained glass above the front door.
The dining room
Priscilla and Lisa Marie
The guy liked mirrors. These are the steps to the downstairs.
The TV room
The Billiards room
The Jungle room
View of the house from the back
The Smokehouse/Firing range
Horses
Elvis' Family Tree
The Family Cemetery
All previous photos were from the tour of the mansion. The following photos are all from across the street at 'Elvis Presley's Memphis' which is a collection of buildings offering various displays. A tour of the mansion and 'Elvis Presley's Memphis' are about $55 per person.
There is a whole building dedicated to displaying his cars
His Cars
Gold and Platinum records
The Army time
I grew up with Elvis on the radio and TV and enjoyed his music. These exhibits portray him as a saint and that's not how I remember seeing and reading about him. He was a man who made music and certainly was instrumental in the world of rock and roll, but none the less a man with faults and foibles that are never mentioned in this shrine to the perfect man. I personally prefer learning about the true person, because, if you don't learn the bad and the good, you never really appreciate the accomplishments.
His accomplishments are well known and it is a shame that he, like so many young artists, fell into the trap of an unscrupulous doctor, who allowed him to get addicted to prescription drugs, which contributed to his early death.
There's a building housing his jumpsuits. I didn't photograph all of them.
Gold Records 1956-1959
Photographer William Speer
The Grammy for "How Great Thou Art" I think to really appreciate his voice, you have to hear him sing the spirituals.
Elvis and Tupelo, MS
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