PL's avatarby PL

Over the past 43 years the story of opening Graceland as a tourist attraction always includes one major component: Priscilla Presley came up with the idea in late 1981 to open Graceland to the public. Priscilla has been given credit for this idea and has accepted the praise and gratitude. Never has there been an alternate account of who came up with this idea. To Priscilla’s credit, she got the ball rolling and by mid-1982 the gates swung open for tourists and fans to, for a small entrance fee, see the inside of Graceland. But was this really her idea?

From the Graceland website (bold/highlight, mine):

Elvis Presley could have left one of the great fortunes of entertainment history, had he been one to worry about financial planning, rather than freely enjoying and sharing his wealth as he did. While the estate he left was by no means broke, there was a cash flow problem, especially with Graceland costing over half a million dollars a year in maintenance and taxes.

It seemed logical for Priscilla and the executors to open Graceland to the public. In late 1981, they hired Jack Soden, at the time a Kansas City, Missouri investment counselor, to plan and execute the opening of Graceland to the public and oversee the total operation. Graceland opened for tours on June 7, 1982.

Several more overviews from two public sources:

From Wikipedia (bold/highlight, mine):

Taxes were due on the property; those and other expenses due came to over $500,000. Faced with having to sell Graceland, Priscilla examined other famous houses and museums, and hired a CEO, Jack Soden, to turn Graceland into a moneymaker. Graceland was opened to the public on June 7, 1982. Priscilla’s gamble paid off; after only a month of opening Graceland’s doors the estate made back all the money it had invested.

From Billboard (bold, mine):

The King of Rock’n’Roll died on Aug. 16, 1977, and by the early 1980s, Graceland had become a burden on his estate, which faced high estate and inheritance taxes. Accountants and bankers wanted to sell the home, but Priscilla Presley thought that opening the house to tourists could solve the financial problems while keeping Elvis’ legacy alive. She secured a $500,000 investment and visited other tourist attractions – Hearst Castle, Will Rogers’ home, even Disney World – for inspiration.

Now, let’s go back to the situation at Graceland in 1981. The Estate has said for many years that the property was opened to the public to mitigate the $500,000 annual cost of upkeep on the mansion and grounds. What is left out of the story, though, is that the IRS had adjusted the taxes due from the Estate, that tax coming in at a little more than $14.5 million. This tax readjustment was presented to the Estate (including Priscilla) in a letter dated April 22, 1981:

The Estate filed a Petition in response on July 21, 1981:

Excerpts from the IRS letter (bold, mine):

“The highest and best use for the property would be as a major local civic attraction — either privately or municipal owned — and catering to an international audience. ‘Graceland’ was actually serving in that capacity prior to date of death.”

The IRS Commissioner also states that “development of Graceland would produce a very favorable economic impact on the business Community.”

The letter goes on to say that [Elvis] had taken extensive security precautions “in order to insure his privacy and protect the property — crowd sizes were substantial and pilgrimages were made from throughout the world.”

Sounds like the IRS came up with the idea to open Graceland, doesn’t it? However, Priscilla Presley is credited with coming up with this idea in late 1981. From the sequence of the documents seen here, one might conclude that the idea originated in April 1981 with the IRS, not with Priscilla later that same year.

One very interesting part of this story is that in its response to the IRS, the Estate argued against the idea of opening the house and grounds as a tourist attraction.