Visited by princes, presidents, athletes, actors, fellow musicians, and millions of Elvis fans the world over, Graceland is more than just a building. It is the spirit of “The King” writ large in bricks, mortar, and questionable decor.
In March 1957, when Elvis Presley was a rising star looking for a properly grand home that could give him the privacy he needed, the 22-year-old singer purchased the sprawling property known as Graceland. Now a National Historic Landmark, it is one of the most visited homes in America.
Check out some of these interesting facts about the historic site.
1. Presley paid $102,500 for Graceland — an equivalent of about $924,000 today.
2. When Presley purchased Graceland, the property was just shy of 14 acres and a little over 10,000 square feet. Today, the mansion occupies over 17,500 square feet.
3. Graceland has five sets of stairs.
4. Graceland is one of the most-visited home in the United States, with more than 500,000 visitors annually.
5. The original owners, the Moores, gave Graceland its name, in honor of Mrs. Moore’s aunt, Grace Toof.
6. Besides Presley’s love for fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches, he insisted that there be cans of sauerkraut, fresh banana pudding and Doublemint gum stocked in the kitchen at all times.
7. Bruce Springsteen was one of many young men who trespassed onto Graceland in hopes of meeting The King. Unfortunately for him, Presley wasn’t even home at the time of Springsteen’s daring (and illegal) act.
8. A portion of Graceland’s upstairs area is forbidden to the public. It was a private place where Presley found solace from the outside world.
9. Because attempts were made to steal Presley’s body from his gravesite in Forest Hill Cemetery, he, along with his mother Gladys, were reinterred at Graceland’s Meditation Garden in 1977.
