Elvis Presley: This Beloved Graceland Room Was Originally Not Part of the Tour, the Surprising Reason Why
Elvis Presley‘s Graceland estate is on the National Register of Historic Places. It made the United States Federal Government’s official list of structures deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or great artistic value in 1991. Surprisingly, one beloved mansion room was initially not part of the tour, which takes fans through the abode the king of rock and roll called home for 20 years.
Elvis Presley’s Graceland opened up for tours in 1982
Upon Elvis Presley’s 1977 death, his estate suffered from a cash flow problem due to the entertainer’s extreme spending habits. According to its official website, at the time, Graceland cost over half a million dollars annually in maintenance and taxes.
In late 1981, the estate planned and executed the opening of Graceland to the public and oversaw the total operation. Graceland opened for tours on June 7, 1982. The home welcomes over 500,000 visitors each year and is one of the five most visited home tours in the United States. It is the most famous home in America after The White House.
However, there was one beloved room that was not part of the original tour, and the reason it was excluded is quite surprising.
One beloved Graceland room was not originally part of the tour
On June 7, 1982, around 3,000 fans paid the $5 admission fee for the opportunity to be the first to experience the place the king of rock and roll called home, reported Graceland’s official website.
Graceland’s original tour included the front of the home, its living room, music room, dining room, TV room, pool room, and trophy building. Presley’s cars and motorcycles lined the carport during the tour’s early years. Visitors would exit the home through the carport door.
A room used by Presley’s Aunt Delta was off-limits to tourists. Delta continued to live at the Memphis mansion and used a bedroom next to the kitchen while guests visited the property. Express reported during the 1980s, Graceland’s beloved kitchen area was not part of the tour so that Aunt Delta could use it and the bedroom next to it privately.
Elvis Presley’s Aunt Delta would get a signal when tours were over so she could utilize the home
Graceland’s archivist Angie Marchese described how tour guides would signal to Delta at the end of the touring day. This way, she could come out and use the rest of the mansion in the evenings. Marchese revealed that Delta had run of the home while she lived there.
“When I started working here in 1989, there was a door right before you went down to the basement. At the end of the day, when the last guests went down to the basement, we would knock on the door. And we would close the door that led to the basement and let Delta know that the last guests were downstairs so she could come out and use the house,” Marchese explained.
Delta May Presley Biggs moved to Graceland in 1966 after the death of her husband and continued to live in the mansion until her 1993 death. The kitchen was added to Graceland’s tours in 1995.
