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Faith magazine features Elvis Birthplace
by carlie.kollath
 Biz Buzz
May 01, 2012 | 481 views | 0 0 comments | 9 9 recommendations | email to a friend | print | permalink
tourists at the birthplace in Tupelo (via Daily Journal archives)
tourists at the birthplace in Tupelo (via Daily Journal archives)
slideshow

Thanks to @VisitTupelo for the link.

From GoingOnFaith.com, which describes itself as the magazine for faith-based travel planners (full story):

Elvis Presley Birthplace Park

Tupelo, Mississippi

Elvis’ two-room birthplace was a humble home, even by 1937 standards. His family lived there for three years after his birth. It wasn’t until Elvis returned to Tupelo as a music star that anyone took note of the small house.

“Elvis did a concert in Tupelo in 1957 and discovered that the property that the house sat on was for sale,” said Dick Guyton, director of the Elvis Presley Memorial Foundation. “So he told the mayor of Tupelo that he would give the proceeds of the concert to the city if they would buy the property and turn it into a park.”

The city did buy the property and later restored it and opened it to the public for tours. Today, visitors to the birthplace park can see exhibits that explore rural Mississippi life in the 1930s and 1940s. Outdoors, the park has a story wall that gives a timeline of Elvis’ life, as well as a life-size bronze statue of Elvis at age 13.

For church groups, a highlight of the visit is a re-created service in the Presleys’ original church.

“Five years ago, we discovered the building that had been the original Assembly of God church that they attended,” Guyton said. “So we moved it to the property and restored it to the state it was in when the Presleys went to church there. We re-enact an Assembly of God church service there every half hour, with a little boy that portrays Elvis and gets up and sings.”

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