Elvis Presley Memphis home on Lamar Avenue to become historical landmark 

The mayor of Shelby County in Memphis, Lee Harris, announced on February 21, 2024 that the city of Memphis has plans to turn Elvis Presley’s former home at 2414 Lamar Avenue into a historical landmark. In an interview on the Live at 9 show on local Memphis station, WREG, Harris broke the news stating: 

“We’re really optimistic that we’ll be able to do a new kind of showcase that represents Elvis Presley’s childhood in Memphis and Shelby County. We know Graceland tells the story of his adulthood and his fame as a rock and roll star, but what about his childhood and what about those early influences? There’s a lot of black musical heritage that influenced Elvis Presley when he was not a superstar. We want to try to think about how to tell that story.” 

“Yes,” Harris continued, “Shelby County government is proud to report that we own an Elvis Presley home and we’re going to do the best we can to tell the story of the musical influences that we know is part of the legacy of this community.”

Elvis and his parents lived at the home for six months from May to October 1955 when Elvis was recording for the Sun Records label and enjoying regional fame in the South. It was the first full home that the Presleys ever rented for themselves.

Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, just 90 miles to the southeast of Memphis, in January 1935. He grew up in Tupelo up to the age of 13, until he moved to Memphis with his parents in November 1948. 

They moved to multiple locations in those early days before Elvis was able to purchase his own home. During the first year the Presleys lived in Memphis, they got approved to live at the housing project at Lauderdale Courts. They lived there from October 1949, when Elvis was 14 years old, until January 1953, the year Elvis graduated from high school. 

After that, they briefly moved to a rooming house on Saffarans Street in early 1953. The Saffarans street address is what Elvis listed on his selective service registration card for the draft.

The Presleys then moved to an apartment on Alabama Street where they stayed for over two years. In May 1955, due to the success of his first few singles at Sun Records and his constant touring around the South, for the first time, Elvis was able to rent his family their own home, which was located on Lamar Avenue. 

It was here that Elvis did a photo shoot for the Hill and Range music publishing company in August 1955. Elvis was 20 years old at the time and had just started officially working with Colonel Parker who would serve as his “special advisor” until March 1956, when he became Presley’s full-fledged manager. 

The ranch style home is located on a busy street. Many years later, an extension was added to the front of the home. It was most recently used as a daycare center. In August 2023, it suffered terrible destruction in a fire. 

As a result, it will probably take a few years for Shelby County to restore the home and open it for tours. But it will be a good opportunity to highlight the black musical influences on Elvis during his teenage years and his overall connection to the music of Memphis.

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This article was written by the Elvis News Examiner, Trina Young. She is the author of 4 Elvis books, including ELVIS: The Army Years Uncovered. Read a free excerpt at ElvisBiography.net.

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