December 8 -- Graceland

Graceland is ironic. In some ways, it’s way over the top -- green shag rug on the ceiling, wild chandeliers and decorating, a meditation garden, etc. In other ways, it’s oh-so-ordinary --most countertops are formica, there’s plenty of low-end appearing wood paneling, the house itself is not that large, etc.

(Less enormous than I’d imagined; trees and all Christmas decorations original.)


Elvis bought the mansion and some 18 acres when he was 22. He lived there until his death in 1977, only twenty years later, not long after an intense game of racquetball on the court he built at the estate.

(Plenty of fans leave their messages on the front gate.)

Without question, the place is a slick operation. There’s a large visitors’ center across the street from the house. You take a shuttle bus to and from the mansion.

After viewing the property, you can go to a number of separate exhibits if you’ve bought a “platinum ticket” ($30 instead of $25 for the mansion tour alone), allowing you to see Elvis’s costumes, cars and planes as well.

(The original Pink Cadillac. Elvis often called it “Gladys’ car” because his mom, although she never learned to drive, loved it so much. It was one of the few cars that the King kept from the time he first became famous.)

(Former Delta Convair 550, the “Lisa Marie,” named after Elvis’s daughter.)

The highlight, of course, is the mansion:


Front stairs. Lisa Marie remembers the jangling sound all her father’s jewelry used to make as he descended.

Living room.

Front hall.

Dining room.

Kitchen.

Blue suede covered stairs down to basement. The photograph is courtesy of mirrored walls and ceiling.

Basement entertainment room. Elvis was inspired to install three televisions when he learned that President Johnson watched all the networks simultaneously on just such a set-up.

Basement pool room. Note the fabric on the ceiling and walls.

“Jungle Room.” The wall at the end is a custom-designed waterfall. There’s green shag rug on the ceiling, as well.

The den.  And a glimpse of the green shag rug on the ceiling.

White fur bed from Elvis’s dressing room.

Elvis’s guns.

“Shotgun house” in Tupelo, MS, in which Elvis grew up.

Gold records on the wall of the racquetball court.


A couple of great outfits.

Mediation garden.

The end.