Elvis Presley's former home in Memphis was heavily damaged by a fire on Saturday. He bought the house in 1956 with money from his hit song "Heartbreak Hotel," before purchasing his Graceland estate.
The unoccupied one-story wood-framed home in East Memphis sustained about $100,000 damage, fire officials told the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Mike Curb, a music industry veteran and philanthropist, currently owns the home. Rhodes College serves as steward for the property through the Curb Institute for Music at Rhodes.
The executive director of the institute, John Bass, said it will possibly take several days before he is able to fully assess the damage.
An overloaded outlet in the living and dining room is being blamed for starting the fire.
Presley lived in the home for one year before buying Graceland, noted the Daily Mail.
Presley was rising to fame at the time, after appearing on the "The Ed Sullivan Show" and recording "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel," per The Associated Press.
Memphis Fire Lt. Wayne Cooke said it took firefighters about 20 minutes to bring the blaze under control.
Dan Frackowiak, a Presley fan, and his family had driven from Houston to Memphis to visit the home only see firefighters there trying to save it, noted the Commercial Appeal.
Frackowiak said he knew interesting details about the home.
"I know so much about Elvis," said Frackowiak while standing outside the structure on Saturday. "There was no fence here originally, and all the kids would come. It really infuriated the neighbors. All the kids would come up and look in the windows, but Elvis didn't care. Gladys (Elvis' mother) would invite the kids to come in and sit down to visit."
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