In response to our friend and ETA fan, Irene Lobsinger, who said in her comment: “I saw it but didn't go through as it was after hours,” I put together this blog. I, too, was interested in what the interior of the house looked like—then, and now, and found some great photos to share. Thank you to Joyce Vaughn for initiating this very interesting topic. Photos and written part are of this post are credited to https://elvisdaily.com, TODAY IN ELVIS PRESLEY HISTORY, with edits by yours truly. C.M.
306 Elvis Presley Drive, Tupelo, MS
For years there was nothing to see in Tupelo except the tiny home in which Elvis Aaron Presley was born, and you could take in most of it by just looking through the screen door.
In the early photos of the Presley shotgun house, shown below, there is no front porch swing. This photo shows a swing that was added in the 1970s.
That has gradually changed. The house is now surrounded by 15 acres of trees, lawns, and ancillary attractions, including a small museum, the church where Elvis learned to love gospel music, and a statue of Elvis at age 13, the year his family packed up and left for Memphis, which proved to be an exceptionally smart move.
None of the furniture in the house is original*, but the bed occupies the exact spot as the one on which Elvis was born. According to Nina, Elvis’s dad hand-picked the furniture in the early 1970s to match what he had in 1935. The wallpaper, curtains, and porch swing were added much later, never enjoyed by Elvis. The well-used porch swing has proved so popular with footsore tourists,said Nina, that it’s been replaced several times.
*(My guess is that the first photo with the stove is of the original house, since it is black and white—or it could be a later photo that have been coloured with sepia to make it appear older. The two photos of the kitchen that are in colour, are likely prior to 2007. The bottom two photos show rooms and upgraded furnishings as they look today.)
The museum was upgraded with new displays in 2007, and remains a showcase for the collection of Janelle McComb, a Tupelo resident, Elvis family friend, and lifelong fan. Highlights include examples of Elvis’s gaudy everyday attire — corduroy suits, an orange-striped parka, fishnet and paisley shirts with puffed sleeves — and the gifts that Elvis gave to Janelle, such as a giant flashlight and a copy of The Great Running Backs of The NFL. “Enjoy reading this book,” suggests the accompanying note from Elvis. “I did.”
