Elvis Presley's parties at Palm Springs Estate

At the time of Elvis Presley's death in 1977, Elvis owned only two homes: Graceland in Memphis and an estate in Palm Springs, California. Elvis Presley and his wife, Priscilla, purchased the Palm Springs estate on Chino Canyon Road in 1970 and would spend on average about three months there every year.

 

When Elvis and Priscilla got divorced in 1973, Priscilla gave up her rights to the house. Elvis did not want to sleep in the bedroom he shared with Priscilla anymore, so by 1974, Elvis had added an additional 2000 square feet to house a party room, a new bedroom with two bathrooms, and a sauna. This expansion of the property enabled the transition from a family atmosphere to, as Elvis' pal Jerry Schilling described, "more of a boys' club feel" during weekends at the Palm Springs estate.  

 

Elvis Presley enjoyed Palm Springs because of the perfect nighttime temperature of the desert. The extremely hot temperatures during the day didn't bother Elvis because he would be sleeping until the late afternoon, even putting tin foil on the windows to keep out the daytime sun. Nighttime was the perfect time to have parties by the pool or the outside jacuzzi in Palm Springs.

 

 

In fact, Elvis had to get a top cover installed on the jacuzzi to retain his privacy from the helicopters that would fly overhead trying to see who he was sharing the 16-person jacuzzi with. Rona Barrett, the gossip columnist who broke the story that Elvis and Priscilla were getting married back in 1967, was always trying to find out what was going on at Elvis' Palm Springs Estate since he was a bachelor again.

The current owner of Elvis' Palm Springs Estate, Reno Fontana, has done his own research on Elvis' activities by interviewing Elvis' "Memphis Mafia" friends to learn what took place when Elvis lived at the estate. He has also researched the title of the house all the way back to 1911 to trace every owner of the property. Before Elvis purchased the house, the estate was owned by the family of Ray Kroc, the owner of McDonald's. Fontana explains that the first thing Elvis did when he got the house was to remove the "K" from the front gate.

 

 

Fontana has plans to build an entertainment complex surrounding the home transforming the property into "Graceland West." He also has hired renowned interior decorator, Carleton Varney, to create a luxurious home decor fit for "The King" if he was alive today. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the upcoming renovation, as much of the original house construction that exists today will be preserved. If you take a tour of the estate now, you will see the original checkerboard flooring in the party room, the original red and white tiles in the bathrooms, and the special acoustic tile that RCA installed on the ceiling of the living room for a three-day Elvis recording session in September 1973.

Several songs including "Are You Sincere", "Blue Spanish Eyes", "I Miss You", and "Sweet Angeline" were recorded in the makeshift studio in Palm Springs. Elvis was in need of a microphone stand at this impromptu recording session, so he improvised using a microphone taped to a mop handle that was standing upright in a pail!

 

Fontana plans to create a membership package for Elvis fans to visit the estate including a "Key Club" membership which includes your very own key to the front door of Elvis Presley's Palm Springs home. Be careful on your way in though --Elvis was known for throwing water balloons from the second-story deck at anyone who was walking into the front door of the house.