ELVIS. FROM 1034 AUDUBON DRIVE TO GRACELAND
By Rosa García Mora
Spring 1956. Elvis was becoming more and more popular. In March he bought what would be his first home to own, in a residential area of ??Memphis.
On March 3, 1956, he signed a check for $500 to purchase a house for himself and his parents at 1034 Audubon Drive, in an area of ??an affluent neighborhood, east of downtown Memphis.
While Elvis was on tour, on March 20, his parents already moved into the new house.
The house purchased at 1034 Audubon Drive was built in 1954 and had four bedrooms and two bathrooms. It did not have a fence at first, but as Elvis’ popularity grew, a fence was built, for his safety, and a swimming pool was also built.
It was an amazing place for the Presley family. They were very happy, since they never forgot their humble origins and the extreme poverty in which they lived.
They lived there until March 1957, when Elvis was at the peak of his success.
Fans would stand at the garage door, where they would queue long to see him and he was always signing autographs at the door of his house. Elvis always respected and cared for his fans. He once said that the fans were “the blood of his life.” For this reason he never disappointed any of them. Always with a smile on his lips he would sign hundreds of autographs. He always thanked his audience for their loyalty.
His mother Gladys also welcomed Elvis fans, even bringing them water or soft drinks.
They would have been very happy living on Audubon Drive, if their son had not become the biggest sensation in show business. It soon became evident that 1034 Audubon Drive provided neither privacy nor security from a growing army of fans who even began camping in the front yard of the house. Consequently, Elvis and his parents spent much of early 1957 in Hollywood, where Elvis was filming ‘Loving You‘.
With which, on March 17, 1957, Elvis would buy a new house: Graceland.
On Saturday, March 17, 1957, one day after returning to Memphis, Elvis’s parents called real estate agent Virginia Grant to see what she had to offer them. Grant wasted no time. He offered them what would be Elvis’ home from that moment until his death: Graceland.
By 6 p.m., he had accepted a $1,000 deposit from the Presleys and had drawn up a tentative sales contract detailing the terms of the sale, including an asking price of $90,000.
At 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 19, 22-year-old Elvis, accompanied by his parents, met Grant at Graceland.
Elvis inspected the property for a few minutes, and was captivated by that house, so much so that he named it by playing Rock & Roll on a piano. Elvis, Vernon and Gladys Presley signed the sales contract on the spot, as buyers. The closing date was set for Tuesday, March 26 at 4:30 p.m.
The rest is legend…
Article written and provided by Rosa García Mora https://www.facebook.com/rosa.garciamora.12
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