Today is Friday, March 19, and on this day in music history... 53 years ago, Elvis Presley purchased the white-columned mansion and 13.8 acre estate in the Whitehaven community of Memphis, moving from an East Memphis home at 1034 Audubon Drive. Elvis' mother and father moved into the home with the young music star. The sale price was approximately $100,000. The land was originally owned by S.C. Toof, founder of a local Memphis printing company which is still in operation today. The grounds (not the house which had still not been built) were named for Toof's daughter, Grace, who later inherited the home and passed it to her nephews and neice who later built the colonial-style home. The home consists of 23 rooms. The famous wall, now covered with signatures by visitors and adoring fans, was built after Elvis purchased the home and, of course, the music-themed gates were added. Elvis, of course, also added the famous green-shag Jungle Room, which Elvis converted to a recording studio in 1976 and from which he recorded his final two albums. Much of Gracelan's decorating was done by Elvis' girlfriend, Linda Thompson. Unlike what one might expect, the Meditation Gardens where Elvis is buried, was added by the singer himself and not following his death. Today the Gardens include graves for Elvis, both parents, his grandmother and his twin brother, Jesse Garon, who died at birth. Graceland opned to the public as a museum in June, 1982, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in March, 2006. With 600,000 visitors annually, it is the second most visited private residence in the United States. Sasha and Malia Obama's home ranks first.