For years, author Alan Hanson believed nearly every original newspaper photograph from Elvis Presley’s 1957 Spokane visit had disappeared. Then a five-by-seven-inch print surfaced inside a local antique store for only $25. It captured 22-year-old Elvis standing closely beside a young girl during a press conference, preserving a personal moment that had nearly vanished from history. The photograph was taken inside the locker-room building at Memorial Stadium before Elvis performed on August 30, 1957. Twelve-year-old Michele Green had travelled from tiny Wilbur, Washington and gained entry with help from her uncle, a Spokane city official. Colonel Parker, Lamar Fike, Tom Diskin and several reporters can also be identified around them.
Elvis Presley – Elvis 57 “UNBOXING”
The discovery matters because the newspaper’s original negatives had reportedly been discarded while its surviving Elvis prints later disappeared from the archive. Hanson had previously located only two Spokane photographs for his book. Michele’s picture became more than a treasured fan souvenir. It restored another visual piece of Elvis’s final major touring year before entering the Army.
The first video opens the wider world of Elvis’s 1957 tours, showing how historians and collectors continue piecing together photographs, documents and memories from cities across America. Yet the Spokane image becomes even more powerful when connected to Elvis’s next tour stop, where microphones capture the young singer answering reporters for himself. Elvis Interview, August 31, 1957 – Vancouver, Canada
Elvis interview; August 31, 1957 – Vancouver, Canada
Recorded one day after the Spokane appearance, the Vancouver press conference places listeners beside the same young star seen in Michele’s photograph. Elvis was facing reporters throughout this short Pacific Northwest tour while enormous crowds, worried officials and screaming fans followed him from city to city. The surviving recording gives the still Spokane image a living voice and personality. 25 antique-store purchases rescued one more chapter from Elvis Presley’s extraordinary rise. By 22, he was already changing popular music, filling stadiums and creating memories that would last entire lifetimes. Watch the rare 1957 story, listen to Elvis during the same tour and discover why one forgotten photograph can still bring the King closer to his fans today.