The King's Guide to Memphis for Elvis-Obsessed Travelers
The cover of the Memphis Map for Elvis Fans (All illustrations courtesy: Memphis Map for Elvis Fans)
Long live the King. Today would have been Elvis’ 80th birthday. And in his honor, we present the Memphis Map for Elvis Fans, a fabulous travel resource, whether you want to know everything about the singer’s life in Memphis or just see a different side of the city he called home.
Downtown Memphis
The detail of this meticulously researched and hand-illustrated map is mind-blowing, with a whopping 137 factoids, from the riveting to the just plain quirky. It is the passion project of two New York-based superfans, Andrea Shaw and Alan Grossman, who are experts on everything Elvis. (In fact, they’re so obsessed that at their 1991 wedding they had a life-size cutout of the King on display.)
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The Graceland portion of the map
The map is divided into three sections: Downtown, which includes a self-conducted walking tour; Greater Memphis, with a panorama of the city and landmarks from Elvis’ life; and Graceland, with painstaking details of the whole spread.
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Here are some of the memorable highlights from the map and Elvis’ life:
Alabama Avenue Home
Address: 462 Alabama Ave. (former site)
What: Elvis’ family once had a rental apartment here. It is where Elvis lived when he made the transition from truck driver to southern music star.
Baptist Memorial Hospital
Address: 899 Union Ave. (former site)
What: This hospital was the location for numerous Elvis moments, happy and sad: it is where Lisa Marie was born and where he was pronounced dead.
Crown Electric
Address: 353 Poplar Ave. (former site)
What: Elvis once drove a delivery truck for this company.
Ellis Auditorium
Address: 225 N. Main St. (former site)
What: Home to many an Elvis memory, from his high school graduation to the place where he met his back-up singers, the Jordanaires.
Suzore #2 Theater
Address: 279 N. Main (former site)
What: This used to be the local cinema; the young Elvis caught flicks here and once hid in the aisles from his parents.
Taylor’s Restaurant
Address: 710 Union Ave.
What: This canteen was the unofficial HQ of Sun Studio; musicians like Elvis hung out here.
Union Station
Address: G.E. Patterson between 2nd and 3rd St. (former site)
What: Here, you’ll find the one-time location of Union Station — where Elvis departed by train for New York City to film the Ed Sullivan Show.
The map is available on Amazon for $9.95 and also sold locally in Memphis landmarks like the Peabody Hotel, Sun Studio, Lansky Bros., A. Schwab, and Graceland’s gift shop.
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