Elvis Presley Automobile Museum
across from Graceland
Memphis TN
2009

https://www.graceland.com/epm


About This Car
Elvis never owned or even laid eyes on this 1957 Cadillac Seville, but it has an amazing history, In the early 1980's, a couple whose last name was King opened The King's Heartbreak Hotel Restaurant near downtown Memphis. It had a 1950's rock n' roll and Elvis theme, Part of their decor was this salvaged car, which they ripped the top off of, gutted, painted pink and used as a salad bar. The restaurant had closed by 1984, and Graceland bought the "salad bar car" and other fixtures, such as the neon sign that now marks our own Heartbreak Hotel Restaurant. We used the car for various purposes over the years, then decided to spruce it up and make it into the sign for the Elvis Presley Automobile Museum, which opened in 1989. At first, we left it pink, but in 1993 we painted it its current color to make it more noticeable and to make it clear that we had not parked Elvis' pink Cadillac out here instead of inside the museum. Our many visitors have made this one of the most photographed automobiles in the country.