By the spring of 1956, Elvis was becoming increasingly popular. In March he bought his first home in a residential neighborhood in Memphis.
On March 3, 1956, he signed a check for $500 to purchase a home for himself and his family at 1034 Audubon Road in an affluent neighborhood in east Memphis.
The family moved into the new home while Elvis was on tour on March 20.
The house purchased at 1034 Audubon Drive was built in 1954 and had four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Initially there was no fence, but as Elvis’ popularity grew, a fence was built for his safety and a pool was added.
It was an incredible place for the Presley family. They were very happy because 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 height of his success.
His fans were standing at his garage door, forming huge lines to see him, and he was always signing autographs at his door.
Elvis always respected and served his fans. He once said that his fans were “the blood of his life.” So he never let any of them down. He would sign hundreds of autographs, always with a smile on his lips. He always thanked his audience for their loyalty.
His mother Gladys also welcomed Elvis fans, even bringing them water or soda pop.
If your son wasn’t the biggest sensation in show business, they would be very happy living on Audubon Drive. It soon became apparent that 1034 Audubon Drive did not provide privacy and security against a growing army of fans who began camping out on the front lawn. As a result, Elvis and his family spent much of early 1957 in Hollywood, where Elvis filmed Love You.
So on March 17, 1957, Elvis would buy a new home: Graceland.
On Saturday, March 17, 1957, the day after returning to Memphis, Elvis’ family called real estate agent Virginia Grant to see what she had to offer them.
Grant wasted no time. She offered them what would be Elvis’ home from then on and until his death: Graceland.
By 6 p.m., she had accepted a $1,000 deposit from the Presleys and prepared a tentative sales contract detailing the terms of the sale, including a starting price of $90,000.
At 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 19, 22-year-old Elvis met Grant at Graceland with his family.
Elvis inspected the property for a few minutes and fell so in love with the house that he christened it by playing Rock & Roll on the piano. Elvis, Vernon and Gladys Presley immediately signed the sales contract as buyers.
The closing date was set for Tuesday, March 26 at 4:30 p.m.
