“Have you ever wondered what it would be like to explore every inch of Graceland?”
That’s the question Graceland’s own team asked fans in a behind-the-scenes blog post back in 2014. Then they answered it, taking readers to spots inside Elvis Presley’s Memphis mansion that sit off the tour path.
Most people who visit see the main rooms, and they’re plenty to take in. The tour today goes through the dining room, the living room, the kitchen, the TV room, the pool room and the Jungle Room. Visitors stand at the edge of each one, look around and try to imagine the family who lived there.
The dining room is a good place to slow down.
It’s where meals were served in Elvis’s home, and it’s easy to stand at the rope, admire the table and move on to the next room. That’s exactly what most people do.
But there’s something in that room you can’t see from where visitors stand. It’s under the table.
Graceland’s team pointed it out in that 2014 post. They described “a doorbell type buzzer under the table.”
Yes, a buzzer. Whoever sat at the head of the table could press it to call the kitchen staff, so there was no need for a bell cord or for anyone to get up from the meal. One quiet press and the kitchen knew they were wanted.
Graceland’s post doesn’t say who usually sat in that spot or how often the button got pressed. But it’s the kind of small, practical detail that reminds you real people ate dinner in that room.
The same post turned up a few more family touches tucked away around the house.
In a kitchen cabinet, there’s a glass with a name on it. Graceland explained it with a little wink: “Here we see a glass etched with the name “Minnie” for Minnie Mae who was Elvis’ grandmother, not Minnie Mouse.”
Funny enough, Disney was in that cupboard too. “However, we also see a glass from EPCOT at Walt Disney World in Florida.” Graceland took that glass as a sign the house stayed a family home even after it opened to the public.
Then there’s the Jungle Room, the den that’s on every tour. In its bar, Graceland found a tray, “one that features a wedding photo of Elvis and Priscilla etched into it.” Priscilla was Elvis’s wife, and the two of them were right there on a serving tray.
None of these things are what visitors come to Graceland for. Folks come for Elvis. Still, these are the pieces that show how the place actually worked as a home.
A fan named Ashley made a short video all about that spot under the dining room table, so it’s well worth a look before your next visit.
A fan’s video about the buzzer in Graceland’s dining room
If you’ve already been to Graceland, you may have stood a few feet from that table without giving it a second thought. Most visitors have.
Next time you’re at the rope looking into that dining room, you’ll know what’s waiting underneath the table, even if you can’t reach it.