I recently had the pleasure of staying in the house that Vernon once lived in with his wife Dee. A wedding present from Elvis in 1962, the house sits quietly in the peaceful shaded neighborhood directly beside Graceland. One can only imagine the sights and sounds that have passed through those walls at 1266 Dolan Drive.

The Dolan House was part of the original Graceland Farms property. The lot itself is L-shaped and faces the barn on two sides. Elvis had the white house with black shutters built on this particular lot, so a back entrance could be made connecting the two properties. Before Elvis died, it was possible to roll the fence to one side allowing Vernon or Elvis to drive between the two houses.

It has been said that Vernon built the house the way he wanted it, then Dee, remodeled it to her liking. Some of the changes she made included, enclosing the back patio, turning the garage into living space, constructing a separate carport, and knocking out walls to enlarge the size of the kitchen and dining room. The Jacuzzi in the master bedroom was also Dee's idea.

The first bedroom at the top of the stairs is where Priscilla called home when she first moved to Memphis to be close to Elvis.

Other than new paint and carpeting, the house is exactly the way Vernon left it when Elvis passed away. Later Vernon moved into Graceland, and sold the house to the couple that owned the Hickory Log restaurant across from Graceland.

Entering thru the front door, the kitchen is off to your right. On the right side of the kitchen is a window that faces Dolan Drive. On the left hand side of the kitchen, wooden scrolls provide a small viewing area into the dining room.

The kitchen looks quite normal for the '60s era, except for the fact, that it was occupied in those days, by Elvis' father and his new family. Not quite your average Cleaver family setting, as Elvis and Wally had nothing in common.

Note the glass doors on the right of the sitting room. These doors lead to what was once Vernon and Dee's bedroom. The sitting room is said to have also doubled as a bedroom on the nights Vernon and Dee weren’t getting along.

At the far end of Vernon and Dee's large bedroom is an interesting looking six foot deep Jacuzzi. I’m not sure I’d be very comfortable sleeping that close to six feet of water, but then I was never lucky enough to find out.

Situated directly behind the Dolan House is the Racquet ball court and Meditation Gardens which

 can be enjoyed from both the backyard and the upstairs bedroom windows. Needless to say, I and the other guests, Jane Stark and Lea and Romy Frydman, spent many hours sitting on the covered patio enjoying the view and talking the night away.

Kathy Westmoreland’s Manager Diana Magrann, her husband John and their partner Bill McGuire acquired the Dolan House in 1987. It’s Diane’s beautiful paintings you see throughout the house. We’ll take a closer look at Diane's paintings next month.

Thanks Diana for the history of the Dolan House, as well as your wonderful hospitality. It was an experience I'll cherish forever.

Thanks JK Krein of Elvis 2001 for sending us this picture of the front of Vernon's house. JK stayed there last year, so we've had fun comparing pictures.