Graceland Too

Graceland Too as of 2012
Graceland Too in May 2014

Graceland Too was Paul MacLeod's[1] two-story home and shrine to Elvis Presley[2][3][4] in Holly Springs, Mississippi. It was open to the public twenty-four hours a day, every day, all year.[5] The house was crammed with Elvis paraphernalia[2][6] to the point of being a fire hazard.[5]

MacLeod was renowned for his eccentricity,[7][8] based upon his reverence for Elvis,[4] and his claim to drink at least two dozen cans of soda per day.[5] The town's assistant director of tourism, Suzann William, claims MacLeod is Holly Springs' number one tourism attraction.[5] The house was originally painted pink,[6] then white,[6] and in 2012 it became a vivid, Mediterranean blue with American Flags and painted navy blue pine trees.

On July 15, 2014, a man named Dwight David Taylor Jr. was shot by MacLeod just inside of the front door of the house. According to police, Taylor banged on the door of the house around 11 p.m. asking for money. He tried to force his way into the home and broke the glass on the front door. After Taylor refused to leave, MacLeod shot him. Taylor died from a gunshot wound to the chest. MacLeod cooperated with police and was released. No charges were filed.[9][10]

On July 17, 2014, MacLeod was found dead on the porch by someone driving by the house around 7 a.m. MacLeod's attorney, Phillip K. Knecht, said in a statement that MacLeod had been "battling ill health for some time”. He added, “We can't be sure of anything right now, but nothing points to suicide or foul play. We await an official autopsy, but his ill health, combined with the stress from Monday's tragedy, leads me to believe it was a very unfortunate natural occurrence”.[11][12]

The contents of Graceland Too went up for auction on January 31, 2015. Well over 100 people showed up for the auction on the Graceland Too site, many having travelled hundreds of miles in the hope of buying an Elvis treasure or a memory of Graceland Too. Many in the crowd were disappointed and dispirited when the entire lot of items was sold for a reported $54,500 to an anonymous buyer from Georgia.

Shortly after MacLeod's death, it was revealed that documentary filmmakers had been working for five years on a film about MacLeod and Graceland Too. The same week as the auction an art photography book, Graceland Too Revisited, was published by authors/photographers Darrin Devault and Tom Graves.[13]

Because of a problem with the online bidding company during the first auction, the original $54,000 online bid for the contents of Graceland Too was negated, requiring a new auction. [14] That auction was held on May 2, 2015. The vast majority of Graceland Too's property was sold at that auction, including hundreds of Elvis Presley memorabilia that MacLeod had collected over the years. [15]

A group called the Friends of Graceland Too were responsible for saving many of the most iconic artifacts from Graceland Too, and plan to donate these artifacts to the local Marshall County Historical Museum for permanent display. In addition, the Friends of Graceland Too will be collecting and preserving a Graceland Too Archive, consisting of thousands of books, documents and various other items associated with Graceland Too, Paul MacLeod and the thousands of people who visited Graceland Too.

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Graceland Too.
  1. ↑ Paul MacLeod was sometimes known as "Paul McLeod". Barnett, Sheena (July 18, 2014). "McLeod's Graceland Too lured thousands". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Tupelo, Mississippi. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014.
  2. 1 2 McCutchan, Ann (January 8, 1995). "Graceland Too Is Also a Shrine". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  3. ↑ McCutchan, Ann (January 7, 1995). "Graceland, Too packs Mississippi shrine with offbeat Elvis memorabilia Come to the KINGDOM". Austin American Statesman. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  4. 1 2 LAURENCE, Robert (January 3, 1993). "TBS special takes freaky, funny look at ever-faithful Elvis fans". San Diego Union. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Wagster pettu, Emily (December 30, 2009). "Graceland Too attracts offbeat tourism in Miss.". Associated Press.
  6. 1 2 3 Baker, Terence (October 2008) "Mississippi Meandering" AAA New York Car & Travel, American Automobile Association of New York Archived December 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ "Graceland Too is filled with Elvis Presley Nostalgia". Times Daily. August 22, 2003. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  8. ↑ "In Elvis they trust Obsession, anyone? Father, son open their home to a King's ransom in curios". The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution. August 14, 1994. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  9. ↑ Clark, JB (July 17, 2014). "Man killed at Graceland Too by owner". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Archived from the original on July 18, 2014.
  10. ↑ Barnett, Sheena (July 18, 2014). "McLeod's Graceland Too lured thousands". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (The Daily Journal). Tupelo, Mississippi. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014.
  11. ↑ Clark, JB (July 17, 2014). "McLeod found dead at Graceland Too". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014.
  12. ↑ Apel, Therese (July 17, 2014). "Owner of Elvis attraction, Graceland Too, found dead". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Entire 'Graceland Too' Elvis Collection Purchased by 1 Person at Auction". Al.com. February 1, 2015.
  14. ↑ http://hottytoddy.com/2015/04/27/holly-springs-graceland-too-returns-to-auction-may-2/
  15. ↑ http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/05/04/second-graceland-too-auction/26860413/

Coordinates: 34°46′00″N 89°26′42″W / 34.766642°N 89.445018°W / 34.766642; -89.445018

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