ELVIS' Life at Graceland 1957-77

Visiting Elvis Presley's Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee is not just another famous house or museum tour. Graceland is and will always be Elvis Presley's family home, a place full of the same joys, laughter, sorrow and tears experienced in your own home.
When Elvis was a poor youngster, he frequently told his parents that some day he would make a lot of money, buy them the finest house in town, and end their years of hard work and financial struggle. On March 26, 1957, at the age of 22, Elvis made good on that promise with the purchase of Graceland Mansion for $100,000.
The emerging king of rock & roll now had his castle. Over the years that Elvis lived here and in the years since he died here, Graceland has come to mean so many different things to many different people. But most importantly, it still represents just as it did for Elvis, a part of the American Dream.
Graceland began as a 5oo- acre farm owned by the SC loof family. In 1939, a Southern colonial mansion was commissioned by Ruth Brown Moore and her husband Dr. Thomas Moore to be built on 13.8 acres of this land. Mrs Moore's great-aunt was the Grace in "Graceland" the name of the original farm. The new house now took on the same name. In October 1940, a reporter from the Memphis Commercial Appeal wrote, "Located well back from Highway 51 in a grove of towering oaks, it stands proudly on land that has been in the family nearly a century. As you roll up the drive you sense its fine heritage of the past in its general feeling of aristocratic kindliness and tranquility." The feeling is much the same today.
Many additions and changes were made to the mansion and grounds during Elvis' years at Graceland, including incorporation of trendy 50's, 60's and 70's era decor. Even through the estate was guarded and the house a refuge from the media and fans.
Elvis loved showing people his home. There were never any organized tours like today, but Elvis' family and friends recall his always saying to others "Come to Memphis, I want to show you Graceland" Elvis is thus reguarded as Graceland's original tour guide. Therefore, today's tour guides show over 700,000 visitors a year things that Elvis included on his standard tour. The second floor of the mansion containing Elvis' private bedroom, wardrobe room, bath, and office, Lisa Marie's bedroom and bath; and an additional bath and dressing room are not part of the tour.