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Elvis's L.A. Home, That Burger King Once Tried To Buy, Is On The Market For $30 Million
In 1967, Elvis Presley purchased a home in the tony Trousdale Estates enclave of Beverly Hills for $400,000. It featured four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a pool, and panoramic views all the way to the ocean. The home is now back on the market for $30,000,000.
You won't be unlocking the door to the same exact place, however—in fact, by ship of Theseus logic this isn't Elvis's old home at all. It's undergone extensive renovations since The King sold it in 1973, following his divorce from wife Priscilla Presley. Currently some of the exteriors are from the original structure, as well as the gates where Elvis used to greet fans. These were kept as a compromise following a push from fans in 2013 when the entire home was set to be demolished.
At the time, the 1174 Hillcrest Dr. estate—originally built in 1958—had just been purchased by Hard Rock Cafe founder Peter Morton for $9,800,000. One fan petitioning for the home to be saved received this letter from Bill Crouch, the Urban Designer of the City of Beverly Hills:
Thank you for your call regarding the former residence of Mr. and Mrs. Elvis Presley located at 1174 N. Hillcrest Road in Beverly Hills. As I mentioned, this property was recently reviewed for consideration under the City's Historic Preservation Program. The program is designed to help protect historic buildings in Beverly Hills. The City's Cultural Heritage Commission reviewed several key criteria and found that the property did not meet the standards needed for a historic designation. One of the key factors in their decision was that the property had gone through too many architectural changes over the years, and therefore had lost most of its ‘original’ architectural integrity. The good news is, the current owners have indicated that they will keep the original property gate in place (along with the numerous written messages from fans) as a way to honor Mr. Presley's memory.
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Around the same time, an unlikely savior stepped in with a lowball offer. According to Variety, "In November, 2013, the saga turned downright surreal when Burger King offered to buy the property for a measly $3.69 million with a promise to preserve the house in perpetuity as some sort of shrine to Elvis." Almost would have liked to have seen how that would have played out—alas, the fast food chain didn't offer enough money to make their branded shrine happen.According to the most recent listing, aside from the gates the remaining sections that were in place when Elvis called it home include "its surrounding bricks, the swimming pool, and much of the outward stone decor."
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