Elvis Presley bought Graceland in Memphis on March 25, 1957, and paid $102,500 for the mansion and 13.8 acres of the surrounding farm | Wikimedia CommonsElvis Presley bought Graceland in Memphis on March 25, 1957, and paid $102,500 for the mansion and 13.8 acres of the surrounding farm. He was only 22 at the time, and the property became his home for the rest of his life. Graceland's official records give the purchase price and acreage, while also noting that the mansion measured 10,266 square feet when Presley bought it.The purchase came at a time when he had already established himself as a recording artist and was beginning to make films, but Graceland was purchased primarily as a home for himself and his family.Elvis Presley bought Graceland in Memphis on March 25, 1957, and paid $102,500 for the mansion and 13.8 acres of the surrounding farm | Wikimedia CommonsThe Presley family moved in that springPresley purchased the property for himself, his parents and his paternal grandmother, and according to Graceland's historical timeline, the family moved into the house on May 16, 1957, after renovations had been completed. Presley did not immediately spend his first night there, as he was still working on Jailhouse Rock and remained away from Memphis while filming. Graceland records that his first night at the house came on June 26, 1957.The property had originally been built in 1939 as part of a much larger farm owned by the Toof family. The house was named Graceland after Grace Toof, the aunt of the original owner. Presley bought the house and the 13.8 acres that surrounded it at a time when the area was considerably less developed than it is today, and the property gave the family more space and privacy than their previous Memphis home. The purchase also came as Presley's career was rapidly expanding, giving him the means to move his family into a larger property while maintaining a private home away from the growing attention surrounding his public life. The house would remain his Memphis residence for the rest of his life, becoming closely associated with both his career and his years away from the stage.The house changed during Presley’s years thereGraceland did not remain exactly as Presley had purchased it, as renovations and additions altered the house during the two decades he lived there. The mansion eventually acquired rooms and features that became closely associated with Presley, including the Jungle Room, the TV Room and the Pool Room. The grounds also became part of his private life, with Presley and his family using the estate while he continued recording music, making films and performing. Changes to the property reflected how the house evolved from a newly acquired private residence into a home closely identified with Presley's personal life and career, while much of the estate remained closed to the public during his lifetime.Graceland's official history records that Presley continued to live at the property until his death in August 1977. The house therefore remained a private residence for about 20 years after the 1957 purchase, and its next major change came after Presley’s death, when plans were made to open it to the public. The transition marked a shift in the property's role: what had been Presley's family home became a preserved site where visitors could see the rooms, furnishings and spaces associated with his years at the Memphis estate.Graceland opened its gates in 1982Graceland began public tours on June 7, 1982, nearly five years after Presley died, and became a museum where visitors could see the rooms, grounds and personal spaces associated with the singer. Graceland says the property reached its 20 millionth visitor on May 3, 2016, nearly 34 years after tours began, and the milestone represented paid admissions since the opening.Graceland said visitors had come from more than 140 countries, alongside U.S. presidents, foreign heads of state, royalty, musicians and actors. The National Park Service identifies Graceland as the primary residence where Presley spent 20 of his 22-year career and describes it as the place most closely associated with his life and achievements.Presley's grave | Wikimedia CommonsFrom private estate to major visitor siteGraceland now includes exhibits connected to Presley’s career and possessions, which include automobiles and other personal artifacts. The grounds also contain the Meditation Garden, where Presley and members of his family are buried. Graceland was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, and was later designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006, according to Graceland's visitor milestone announcement.The 13.8 acres that Presley purchased in 1957 were once part of a farm on the outskirts of Memphis, but today, Graceland is surrounded by a developed urban area and operates as a major tourism destination. Graceland's current information says more than 20 million people have visited since it opened to the public in 1982, with the site continuing to receive visitors from across the United States and abroad.