Priscilla Presley Explains Why Elvis’s Graceland Stays the Second Most Visited Dwelling in America | Architectural Digest

It’s been 40 years since Graceland mansion first eased open its door to the general public, beckoning to the road of curious guests that they might—in the end—enterprise previous the Corinthian columns and step into Elvis Presley’s personal playground. Regardless of the passing of 4 many years, remarkably, there’s been no ebb within the regular stream of inquisitive vacationers. Folks nonetheless go loopy for the King of Rock and Roll, and he’s particularly having a cultural resurgence for the time being due to the Baz Luhrmann–directed biopic, known as merely Elvis, which is about to hit theaters on June 24. For the movie, which options Austin Butler within the titular function, Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley, and Tom Hanks as Elvis’s supervisor, Colonel Tom Parker, Graceland was utterly recreated on a set in Queensland, Australia. 

In actual life, 600,000 guests go to the comparatively modest Colonial Revival fashion property on the outskirts of Memphis yearly. So what retains them coming? Arguably, Graceland stays one of the important houses of the twentieth century, regardless of being written off as a kitsch fest in some quarters. For lovers of design, what Graceland actually gives is an unparalleled catalogue of inside developments from the late ’50s by to the late ’70s, of their purest and most genuine kinds.

Elvis Presley exterior the grounds of his Graceland property circa 1957.

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Photos

Flamboyantly themed rooms, meticulous shade scheming, gadgetry, esoteric meditation zones, luxurious shag-pile carpeting playfully splashed throughout partitions, furnishings dripping in gold—Graceland gives a luxurious ringside seat to the zeitgeist of its period. Its significance to design pedagogy is such that the English Duchess of Cavendish as soon as commented, “College students of the ornamental arts ought to see Graceland as a part of their training.”

Inside Elvis Presley’s Graceland lounge.

Picture: J. Carlee Adams / Alamy

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