I visited on the 5th anniversary of his death back in 81 or 82, not sure which. Naively, my friends and I thought that it would be a great place to meet females.
Well there were a lot of women there ranging from the mid twenties to their eighties and as 19 year olds we didn't have much of a chance of hooking up with these crying and mourning ladies.
What I remember the most was the fun that we had just down the street on the opposite side of the Blvd from Graceland. There was an empty lot with a wooden fence as a front with a ticket booth much like at a county fair. This was being marketed as the Eternal Flame an they wanted around $8 or $10 each to go in and take everything in. The fence along the front also made turn at the front corners of the lot and went back about 20 feet or so giving the impression from the street that the entire lot was fenced. Being young and broke we chose to walk around the side and look inside. What we saw was simply hilarious. There was a partition keeping people from the ticket booth from seeing back into the lot. Behind this partition there was a pipe about 6 feet tall sticking out of the ground with a flame burning at the top that was a couple of inches tall. Next to this there was a cardboard cutout of Elvis singing in one of his stage outfits with the giant collars. Then of course there was the viewing area which consisted of several rows of folding chairs. Maybe 40 or 50 chairs total with nobody in a single one. It's crazy but this is what I remember most about the visit along with liquer stores and places to buy keepsakes. We had a great time laughing at how they were all set up to rip people off. Again, youth!
Since then I've seen Graceland on the computer that I'm typing on now via Google Earth and remember being amazed at the growth. There is camping, static airplane displays, and heaven only knows what else. I agree with Bob, it is one of those things to see. I'm not making fun of visiting, just remembering another time. To see the level of sadness and tears five full years after his death by complete strangers was impressive. It made us feel pretty small.
A US Famous place is going to change
STRANGE! I live in Shelby County and have not heard this one. But I also did not know my cousin had been shot at a Krystal Resturant in Memphis for a week. If this is true, it will make the area look better. This is not the best spot in town.
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