Bought in 1957
Elvis Presley bought Graceland on 19 March 1957 for $102,500. The house, built in 1939, stood on a hill in what is now the Whitehaven area of Memphis, about nine miles south of the city centre.
Making it his own
He spent heavily on changes: the pink Alabama fieldstone wall along the road, the gate decorated with musical notes, a pool and racquetball court, and a den in the mid-1960s that became known as the Jungle Room. The main floor that visitors see today shows the house much as he lived in it.
The private upstairs
The second floor was Elvis’s private space, and it is not part of the tour. When Graceland opened to the public in 1982, the family decided that the upstairs should stay private out of respect.



