This Is What Will Happen To Elvis’ Graceland Home
Step into the home of “The King of Rock and Roll,” and you can almost feel Elvis’ spirit — and the presence of his daughter, Lisa Marie, who passed away in 2023. There are meaningful memories around every corner in Elvis and Lisa Marie's former home, but secrets lie dormant in the hidden rooms on the top floor. Although much of Graceland is open to the public, the upper floor has long remained private at Lisa Marie's request. But now that she's gone, what's going to happen to Graceland — and will the top floor finally be revealed to the public?
The King’s home laid open to the public
Elvis died in the house in 1977 when Lisa Marie was just nine. He left Graceland to her, and he was buried on the estate. When his father, Vernon, died two years later, Elvis’ ex-wife, Priscilla, became co-executor of his estate. It was Priscilla who made the decision to open Graceland to the public as a museum, and fans flock to the house in the thousands every year. But not quite everything is on show.
Graceland’s special energy
“It shuts down quite nice at night,” Lisa Marie told USA Today in 2020. “I have family that I love very much who live there in Memphis. When I go to Memphis, I visit.” She added, “It’s got a very special energy there, when you go. It’s like a time warp, and the energy is still very much there. You can feel it.” One can only imagine all the memories — and the secrets — locked behind Graceland’s doors.
The history of Graceland
Elvis lived in Graceland for two decades, and during that time he turned the mansion and the near-14 acre estate in Memphis, Tennessee, into the base of operations for his empire. The land was previously owned by generations of the Toof family, who ran Memphis’s first commercial printing business. Intriguingly, “Graceland” takes its name from their family history and has nothing to do with Elvis.
A musical heritage
The mansion was actually named after one of the Toof family’s relatives. In 1939 Ruth Brown Moore and her husband Dr. Thomas Moore built the home, and they named it after Ruth’s aunt Grace. And fittingly, music had a part to play at Graceland before Elvis ever came along, thanks to the Moores’ daughter Ruth Marie.
