Graceland West : Elvis Presley's Palm Springs Estate

The owner of the Palm Springs estate once owned by Elvis Presley has big plans for the future. Reno Fontana and his wife, Laura, purchased the home at 845 West Chino Canyon Road from a Japanese businessman at a bargain price of $1.25 million in 2003. Since the previous owner discovered his fear of flying overseas from Japan to the U.S. after he bought the estate, he rarely visited the property over the 18 years that he owned it. As a result, the Spanish-style white stucco property was in disrepair when the Fontanas bought it and they have been renovating the outside of the house for the last six years.

But they won't stop there. The Fontanas have put plans into motion to create an entertainment complex surrounding the estate. Similar to Graceland in Memphis, the Palm Springs property will have buildings next door to house an Elvis museum, theater, recording studio, bowling alley, wedding chapel, guest houses and plenty of parking. This is a unique proposition since the estate is surrounded by other houses in close proximity. However, the Fontanas are planning on utilizing vacant land across the street and in the back of the property to create what they call 'Graceland West'.

The property has recently been designated as the first event home to be registered in Palm Springs which permits a commercial business to operate in a residential area. Reno Fontana estimates the expansion will take five years to complete. However, unlike Graceland, Elvis Presley's Palm Springs Estate will feature modern decor and not the original furnishings and atmosphere of the 1970s when Elvis and Priscilla lived there. Fontana calls it the 'Elvis of the Future'. They have hired renowned interior decorator Carleton Varney to recreate a luxury lifestyle fit for 'The King'.

The Chino Canyon estate was purchased by Elvis and Priscilla Presley on April 14, 1970. They put $20,000 as a down payment and financed $85,000 for a total purchase price of $105,000. When Elvis bought the house, it was 3500 square feet. After Elvis and Priscilla got divorced in 1973, Elvis expanded the house with an additional 2000 square feet for a party room, a new bedroom with two bathrooms, and a sauna.

Palm Springs has not been on the radar of most Elvis fans except for the other house linked with Elvis in Palm Springs which is nicknamed the 'honeymoon' house. Fontana is quick to point out that the honeymoon house at 1350 Ladera Circle was never owned by Elvis Presley. According to Fontana, the house on Ladera Circle was leased only for 9 months in 1967 under Elvis' father's name of Vernon Presley. Elvis and Priscilla stayed there the night of their honeymoon on May 1, 1967.

Fontana has been a huge Elvis fan since he first heard the 'Blue Hawaii' album in 1961 at the age of eight. Like Elvis, Fontana's family was poor while he was growing up. Fontana recalls telling his mother at age 12 that 'one day I'll buy you Elvis Presey's house'. Forty years later, Fontana's innocent dream as a child came true. Fontana and his wife live in the Palm Springs house along with their son and Fontana's mother. They live in the private quarters of the house where Elvis and Priscilla lived during the early 1970s.

30-minute tours of the house are offered Monday through Saturday from 10 to 4. The cost is $20 per person. Special events are also planned to coincide with famous dates in Elvis history.

Elvis Presley's 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.

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