Reply With Quotethats great
Graceland now and then
I have just come back from my third trip to Graceland and had to ask the group if thier opinions are the same as mine .
Firstly its an awsome place that seems to have a hidden power, you can almost feel the memories of the bye gone days. Its also one of the best time capsules in the world as it looks just like 1977 inside.
However I cant help feeling its in a bit of a poor location for the king of rock and roll and to say its on 14 acres the neighbors are awfull close. Elvis's grave is a hundred yards from the neighbors and there is a giant electrical transformer poll right by.
Was this in a better neighborhood at one time? and were the houses not always that close? I wonder if anyone has any pictures of the grounds when elvis was alive.
Despite this I cant wait to go back.
thats great
Originally Posted by Supertigre
I have just come back from my third trip to Graceland and had to ask the group if thier opinions are the same as mine .
Firstly its an awsome place that seems to have a hidden power, you can almost feel the memories of the bye gone days. Its also one of the best time capsules in the world as it looks just like 1977 inside.
However I cant help feeling its in a bit of a poor location for the king of rock and roll and to say its on 14 acres the neighbors are awfull close. Elvis's grave is a hundred yards from the neighbors and there is a giant electrical transformer poll right by.
Was this in a better neighborhood at one time? and were the houses not always that close? I wonder if anyone has any pictures of the grounds when elvis was alive.
Despite this I cant wait to go back.
I don't have photos handy, someone here may. When He bought the place it was out there fairly well alone. Over time the surrounding area has grown and run down, it wasn't like that in the 70s though. I think they do a nice job of keeping up the official elvis areas though, clean and well maintained.
I agree, when I went it did seem like everything was very close, especially the neigbors houses.
"How do I get placed in situations like this? Ah hell, I guess it's all part of showbusiness "~ Elvis in his limo on his way to perform in Omaha, NE on June 19th 1977
If you really want to see how crowded it is go to google maps, click on sattilite, then
Type in the search box
3734 Elvis Presley Boulevard
Memphis, TN 38116
, you can zoom in quite a ways and see all the houses and stuff around there now, and Graceland Plaza across the street with the Lisa Marie and the Hound Dog jet. Its kinda cool even if you've been there before . You can click and grab on the image itself and go up or down, left or right for quite aways around memphis
Graceland used to be in a decent area way back when Elvis first got it.But now its actually in a fairly rough area.The surrounding area is not a safe place at night.
Jak
Especially if you're not someone used to big City behavior. I've walked around there at night, and had people approach me for money and stuff and I just told them to BLEEP , and they did, but I've seen women get hassled a few times .
I was shocked when I saw how close the homes were to his grave the first time I visted Graceland.
I have done some research and found that those homes next to Graceland were built between 1960 to 1964.
If you can find some pictures of Elvis driving out of Graceland or riding his horse towards the front, you can see business's across the street. I think there was a restaraunt and maybe gas station. I will try to find some pics for us.
Here are some pics where you can see a little of what is on the other side of the gates during the Elvis era:
Here is a fairly good pic of what EP Boulevard or Highway 51 as it was known back then, looked like:
Thanks, so much for posting those pics Sattnin!
franny
Yeah by the mid 60s (as TCBinAZ ) Said , not only houses but stuff started popping up over there, including Elvis souvenir's type places too. Its all EPE stuff now but at one time there was a lot of Indy stores there, especially by the 70s and after he died they were all up and down there until they started buying up the property and not renewing the leases.
Nice Pictures Sattnin Especially the one on the horse.
I think there's more changes to come...I read that Robert Sillerman wants to make Graceland a Disneyworld type attraction...don't know if this is true, but I think he will make changes by the sounds of it...
franny
Yeah I heard that too Franny. Supposedly they bought up a car lot and some other properties in the area. I don't know if I like the sounds of a "Disney world" type attraction but I would like to see them open up more exhibit type like they have in the plaza and to continue to clean up the area . Supposedly they have just tons of Elvis items that they don't have room to show, the more space they can buy up on that strip the better because the Elvis/graceland stuff is the only really well maintained stuff there on that road.
Nice pictures Sattnin, thanks for posting them.
"How do I get placed in situations like this? Ah hell, I guess it's all part of showbusiness "~ Elvis in his limo on his way to perform in Omaha, NE on June 19th 1977
Ive had a lot of first time visitors at Graceland tell me they were kinda shocked when they saw the surrounding area.When they have the candlelight vigil sometimes you have to park way back off the main drag in the neighborhoods.The local police always load the area with extra security at these times.Its always best to travel in pairs or groups in that area.
Jak
Great pictures this answers my questions exactly.I think since Elvis stayed living right there in Graceland and the area was getting built he must have felt comfortable there and was in a place where he could see his fans and they could see him.Here is a fairly good pic of what EP Boulevard or Highway 51 as it was known back then, looked like:
As people have said Elvis was a simple man at heart and the Hollywood lifestyle would'nt of suited him. He wasnt presumptous but did like some of the flashy things like cadillacs and horses but after growing up dirt poor a few neighbors did'nt scare him any.
Thank you all for your nice replies and your welcome for the pics
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