Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Exhibits About Ali, Nature, Motorcycles Opening at Graceland
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
May 23, 2019

Share

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A massive new exhibition and entertainment hall is set to open at Elvis Presley’s Graceland in Tennessee with three museum-style exhibits, including one focused on the life and career of late boxing great Muhammad Ali.

Graceland officials say the 80,000-square-foot Graceland Exhibition Center opens Saturday to guests visiting the Presley-themed tourist attraction in Memphis. The singer, actor and pop icon lived in Memphis until his death on Aug. 16, 1977.

Presley and Ali were known to be friends. Presley once gave Ali a custom-made robe in Las Vegas in the early 1970s. A replica of that robe is part of the Ali exhibit, along with photos of the heavyweight boxing and civil rights champion and other artifacts.

Visitors will be able to hit a punching bag and learn the Ali shuffle from a video tutorial by the boxer, who died in June 2016.

Photo of motorcycles
Motorcycles sit in an exhibition hall at the Graceland tourist attraction in Memphis, Tenn. The collection is one of three new exhibits set to open at Elvis Presley’s home. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)

Bringing the Lives of Ali and Presley Together at Graceland Is Fitting

Also scheduled to open Saturday is an exhibit featuring a collection of motorcycles, ranging from basic to flashy, spanning decades of design. A third exhibit, called “National Geographic Presents: Earth Explorers,” allows visitors to learn about polar regions, oceans, rain forests, mountains, caves, and the African savanna.

“They were pop culture revolutionaries. They were both born very poor. They weren’t emulating anyone, they weren’t copying anyone. They were just getting out what was inside of them.” Joel Weinshanker, Graceland Holdings

The exhibition hall is part of a yearslong expansion at Graceland, which already features Presley’s home-turned museum, a 450-room hotel and an entertainment complex that holds a concert venue, Presley-related exhibits and restaurants. The new exhibition hall also includes a food hall and a full-service bar designed to resemble the famous “Jungle Room” in Presley’s former home.

Bringing the lives of Ali and Presley together at Graceland is fitting because of their impact on their professions, and on American and global culture, said Joel Weinshanker, managing partner of Graceland Holdings.

“They were pop culture revolutionaries. They were both born very poor,” Weinshanker said. “They weren’t emulating anyone, they weren’t copying anyone. They were just getting out what was inside of them.”

He said he hopes the new, $20 million hall will attract more conventions to Graceland while bringing more large traveling exhibits to the city — including those that have nothing to do with Presley.

“Space: An Out-Of-Gravity Experience,” which features interactive exhibits about living and working in space, is scheduled to open Oct. 11 at the new hall.

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Directs All Federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Be Put on Leave

DON'T MISS

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

DON'T MISS

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

DON'T MISS

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

DON'T MISS

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

DON'T MISS

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

DON'T MISS

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

DON'T MISS

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

UP NEXT

The Top 24 Most Anticipated Movie Blockbusters of 2025

UP NEXT

Nintendo’s New Switch 2 Console Will Come Out in 2025

UP NEXT

Sting, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Perform at FireAid Benefit Concert

UP NEXT

Fresno’s Jeff Atmajian, Orchestrator of ‘Joker’ and ‘Wicked,’ Speaks at Saroyan Theatre

UP NEXT

David Lynch, Visionary Filmmaker Behind ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Mulholland Drive,’ Dies at 78

UP NEXT

Ohtani and Dodgers Featured on Four of ESPN’s First 10 Sunday Night Baseball Broadcasts

UP NEXT

Crunchy Is the Texture of the Moment and People Just Can’t Get Enough

UP NEXT

What Are You Sipping in 2025? These Beverage Trends Might Just Surprise You

UP NEXT

Luke Bryan Brings ‘Farm Tour’ to Clovis at Harlan Ranch

UP NEXT

‘Wicked’ Tops SAG Awards Nominations as Many Big Names Are Snubbed

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

8 hours ago

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

8 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

8 hours ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

8 hours ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

8 hours ago

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

9 hours ago

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

9 hours ago

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

11 hours ago

CA Sued the Tar Out of Trump the First Time Around. How Did It Do?

11 hours ago

Israel’s Top General Resigns over Oct. 7 Failures, Adding to Pressure on Netanyahu

11 hours ago

Trump Administration Directs All Federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Be Put on Leave

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration is directing that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on pai...

4 hours ago

President Donald Trump signs an executive order as he attends an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event at Capital One Arena, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)
4 hours ago

Trump Administration Directs All Federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Be Put on Leave

Ichiro Suzuki in Yankee Pinstripes
7 hours ago

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

People walk past the 1900 Storm memorial sculpture on Seawall Blvd. during an icy winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
7 hours ago

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

The five turbines of Block Island Wind Farm operate, Dec. 7, 2023, off the coast of Block Island, R.I., during a tour organized by Orsted. (AP File)
8 hours ago

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

Photo of Mexican Oxy, fentanyl laced blue pills
8 hours ago

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

President Donald Trump talks about the Endurance all-electric pickup truck, made in Lordstown, Ohio, at the White House, Sept. 28, 2020, in Washington. (AP File)
8 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

A Border Patrol truck rides along the border wall in Sunland Park, N.M., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP/Andres Leighton)
8 hours ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

Police are investigating after a man was found shot near a Visalia shopping center and transported to Kaweah Health.
8 hours ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend