Elvis Presley made the down payment for his Graceland mansion on this day in history, March 19, 1957.
“The King” made a $1,000 down payment in cash for the house, located outside Memphis, Tennessee, reports the History Channel.
In 2023, that figure is equivalent to just over $10,000.
Presley bought the house for $102,500.
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At the time Presley purchased the home, he had already released two studio albums and 48 singles — and was finishing up his second full-length movie, “Loving You,” notes History.com.
The then-22-year-old singer purchased Graceland partly for privacy reasons.
Elvis Presley pictured on the grounds of Graceland not long after he purchased the home in Tennessee. (Michael Ochs Archives)
“Elvis had already bought one house for his parents on Audubon Avenue in East Memphis, but that residential neighborhood had become overrun with gawkers and worshipers as Elvis became a megastar,” said the History Channel.
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Today, Graceland is the second-most visited house in the United States.
The first on that list is the White House, said History.com.
Graceland in 2017. The former home of Elvis Presley is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the U.S., second only to the White House. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz, File)
Presley died in Graceland’s master bedroom on Aug. 16, 1977.
The house is “preserved precisely as Elvis left it,” says the Graceland website.
Presley, along with members of his family, including most recently his daughter, Lisa Marie, are buried in Graceland’s meditation garden, says the site.
Graceland has undergone quite a transformation since it was first built in 1939.
The Graceland mansion sits on a 13.8-acre estate.
While the house may be preserved just as Elvis left it, Graceland itself has undergone quite a transformation since it was first built in 1939.
Elvis Presley (1935-1977), American rock ‘n’ roll legend. The grounds of Graceland today include a resort hotel and a chapel. (Getty Images)
Initially, Graceland was part of a 500-acre farm owned by the S.E. Toof family, says the Graceland website.
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“Graceland” is derived from the name of one of the members of the S.E. Toof family, Grace.
Elvis was laid to rest at his beloved Graceland. Fans are able to visit his gravesite during tours of the property. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
Graceland history says that “in 1939, Grace’s niece, Ruth Brown Moore and her husband, Dr. Thomas Moore, built the mansion, which became well-known to the locals of Memphis.”
After Presley purchased it, he made several changes to the house, including building the famous “jungle room” as an addition.
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The grounds of Graceland now include a resort hotel and a chapel, according to the home’s website.
As Priscilla Presley has said, according to Architectural Digest, “Visitors flock to Graceland to feel connected to an icon whose life still remains shrouded in mystery.”
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That publication also quotes her as saying, “Elvis didn’t fit the mold, he marched to his own drum … But when people walk in that front door [of Graceland], there is a reverence, respect, a quietness. It’s as if his spirit is there. They come back time after time to experience … him.”
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