The common thread we as humans share is the need for a ‘safe’ place during our formative years where we can grow, feel accepted, and foster our dreams. That place for Elvis Presley presented itself at 185 Winchester, Apt # 328 - the famous address known as Lauderdale Courts.

The Presley’s left Tupelo, MS and moved to Memphis in 1948 with aspirations of a better life. Vernon & Gladys wanted more for their son. In 1949 Vernon Presley petitioned the Memphis Housing Authority for relief. Mrs. Jane Richardson was assigned the Presley’s case, and she determined in her report they could afford to pay $35 a month for rent. The combined income of the family could not exceed $3000 yearly to be considered for residency in low income housing, and priority was normally given to families raising children. On June 17, 1949 Mrs. Richardson conducted an interview and her notes read as follows: ‘Cook eat and sleep in one room. Share bath. No privacy - need housing. Persons interviewed: Mrs. Presley and son. Nice Boy. They seem nice and deserving. Lauderdale if possible, near husband’s work.’ After the case was reviewed, and the housing authority carefully considered the issues of moral character and job status, the good news came for Vernon, Gladys and Elvis: They were moving to Lauderdale Courts! The report filed on moving day included the entire list of items the Presley‘s moved: A trunk, Radio, two small table fans, and some paperwork. Not much for a family of three, but in every sense of the word: The Presley’s had Arrived !!

The three story building located at Third and Winchester was a prime location to an adolescent boy who would hungrily soak up the reverberating beats and “soul music” of Memphis. Situated in the uptown section of the city, 185 Winchester was a short walk to Beale St. Here Elvis would hone his musical skills, gained by listening intently to the drone of Blues Music wafting through the night air. Just around the corner was ‘Pop Tunes’ which became a regular hang-out for an aspiring musician. Elvis would spend hours perusing through the latest records - tapping his toes and nodding his head approvingly, all the while displaying that sweet crooked grin when he would find a tune he especially liked. Ellis Auditorium stood a mere 2 blocks from his new home at ‘The Courts’. Elvis would attend the popular All-Night Gospel Concerts here that featured some of his favorite Gospel Groups including: The Blackwood Brothers and The Statesman Quartet. Their influence on him would be undeniable. Finally, but most significantly: Just under a mile away was 706 Union Ave - then known as The Memphis Recording Service, but soon to be more commonly referred to as Sun Studio. The day Elvis finally garnered enough confidence to walk through those doors was the day he altered his destiny. But what first happened to give him that self-assurance? It was the pivotal years he spent at Lauderdale that most likely gave him the drive to strive for “more”, as his parents had most desperately hoped for.

The two-bedroom apartment provided the close-knit community that Elvis needed to gather that strength - both as a musician, and as an individual. It gave him the solid ground to dream of a better life - upward mobility was the entire basis of the Housing Project. The premise was to provide the less-fortunate of the community with decent, respectable housing until they could provide for themselves a better life. (Much like Lisa Marie’s vision for the Newly developed housing project called Presley Place - a prime example that she understands and respects her father far more than she has been given credit for in the past.)

‘The Courts’ were built in 1938 - three brief year afters Vernon & Gladys Presley were blessed with the birth of their blue-eyed boy in Tupelo, MS who would grow to impact an entire nation.
On May 1, 1949 the Presley’s became residents at Lauderdale Courts where they would learn to prepare their home for random monthly inspections. Mrs. Presley was always noted as an excellent house-keeper - the parquet wood floors in the apartment always appeared to have just been waxed. Most importantly though would be the feelings Elvis generated while living here - feelings of community, belonging and acceptance.

Lauderdale Courts was a bustling community within itself. Elvis started his freshman year at Humes High while residing in the Courts. During his sophomore year he became a library volunteer worker, joined the ROTC, enrolled in Wood Shop and would date the first of his more serious girlfriends. Perhaps the most important lesson Elvis would gather during his days living at Lauderdale was the ability to allow the passion of music to permeate his soul.

His shyness initially would send him down to the Laundry room in their apartment building where he would sit for hours and pick and sing - sometimes alone, and sometimes for his Mama while she washed and folded his clothes. Upstairs the larger of the two bedrooms was given to Elvis - a decision most likely made lovingly by Gladys, much to Vernon’s chagrin. In Elvis’ bedroom was a ledge perched directly beneath the window - wide enough for him to climb on, where he would stare longingly out at Third Street while strumming his guitar and singing. Passersby would occasionally hear him, and eventually coaxed him to perform outside amongst them.

They’d have Cokes and popcorn and a record player, and in the course of the evening Elvis would never fail to sing. One time he accompanied Buzzy and Paul, who joined the Junior Order of the Oddfellows and made monthly trips to area hospitals as a kind of civic project, when they went to the Home for Incurables out on McLemore in South Memphis. Ordinarily they just passed out ice cream and cookies and spoke to the patients, but this time, to Buzzy’s surprise, Elvis had brought his guitar with him and got up and sang.”

Sadly in November of 1952 the Presley’s received an eviction notice from Lauderdale based on the assessment that the combined family income had risen to $4,133. Elvis, along with Vernon and Gladys would move out of the Courts on January 7, 1953 and eventually end up at 462 Alabama Street, in close proximity to their former residence on Winchester. It was the end of special memories the Presley’s had shared at Lauderdale - but unbeknownst to them only the beginning of their son’s meteoric rise to fame.

In recent years, tourists and Elvis fans alike, who traveled to Memphis were always curious about ‘The Courts’. Many insisted on going to see where Elvis had grown up when the Presley’s first moved to Memphis. Once making the trek down to 185 Winchester many fans were saddened by the disarray and shambles this housing development was left in. It only appeared to be a caricature of its former self. No more kids playfully running on its once immaculate grounds that were now dingy and overrun. No more dances or impromptu sing-songs on the Market Mall or under the shady trees. It was now desolate, bear and deemed “unsafe”. The number 185 still hung, albeit crookedly, above the steps where Elvis had traveled up & down everyday so many years before - where late at night he would sit alone, softly strum his guitar and sing.
Stunningly word came that there were plans to destroy and demolish the entire complex - a place where the most important musical icon of our time had gazed out his bedroom window onto Third Street. The very place where his dreams had just begun to come into focus. Luckily Elvis fans would not allow the destruction of this important piece of Elvis’ adolescent years and thanks to Elvis Fans, preservation groups, journalists & The City of Memphis - Lauderdale Courts was sparred - and saved in a very real way !

Reopened in February 2004, and now renamed “Uptown Square” it is even more bustling and vibrant than it had been in the 50’s. After a $36 million dollar renovation it is now a complex of 66 buildings on a 22 acre site with 347 apartments. During the tour this summer I learned that many prior residents of Lauderdale are openly emotional when they return to see the fabulous restoration that has taken place. They all have fond memories of the community they felt within its protective walls. They would have felt devastated had it been destroyed.

While many apartments have changed considerably from their original floor plans to be modernized - the most important residence - 185 Winchester - remains perfectly intact from the way it was when the Presley’s left in 1953. It has been lovingly restored to reflect down to the smallest detail what it was like when the later famous family of three resided there. A place where a blue-eyed boy climbed onto his window ledge, quietly singing and strumming his guitar while his voice softly wafted out into the night air. The view now from that very window may have changed in terms of the surroundings - but the dreams that were created there are still encased within its window pane. A hard working father providing for his family, and a mother’s love for her only child can still be felt within its walls. The tree lined walkways still stand - almost proudly it would seem. Proud that they provided shade and a makeshift stage for a boy from Tupelo, MS who while residing in this community truly felt protected, nourished, and had garnered a sense of belonging. All important elements to any adolescent - but most especially to the resident in apartment #328 who would grow to not only influence the music industry - but who would touch peoples hearts and give back the feeling of acceptance he had found living in Lauderdale.

A plaque that now stands in the newly renovated and renamed “Uptown Square” reads:

The Presley’s became part of a vibrant community where neighbors chatted from their front porches and looked out for one another. It was here in the basement laundry room that Elvis Presley practiced his singing and guitar playing. In the communal Courtyard (Market Mall) he gained stage confidence by performing for his neighbors. May Uptown Square once again provide that sense of place and belonging for its future residents.

The last sentence of that statement echoes the enduring legacy Elvis Presley has left with his millions of Fans Worldwide. And whether referred to as ‘Lauderdale Courts’ or ‘Uptown Square’ apartment #328 will now forever safely stand as a testament to a young man who was brave enough to make his dreams a reality.

WITH THANKS: I would like to thank Jeanne Presley of Uptown Square for the tour of apartment #328 this past June.

She took time out of her busy schedule to share some of its magic, and was a wonderful tour guide relating some great stories!! The entire staff of Uptown Square were very helpful and personable.

During Elvis Week in August and Birthday Week in January you too can take a tour of the famed apartment.

 Please visit www.lauderdalecourts.com
for more info.

Finally a very heartfelt thank you to all those involved in the fight to save Lauderdale Courts - a huge piece of Elvis History that will now be preserved forever. We, as Elvis fans, can never thank you enough !!!!