An Elvis fan is committed to building a scale replica of Graceland, the legendary home of the equally legendary singer who died in 1977. The replica will be built in Randers, Denmark and should open its doors in April 2011. The first brick was laid at the site on Tuesday, June 15.
Henrik Knudsen is the man behind the idea. He started an Elvis museum 15 years ago in memory of the man who revolutionized music and who sold hundreds of millions of albums throughout his career and since his death. The current museum is also the only permanent one in the world outside the United States.
The new Graceland will exhibit "thousands of Elvis artifacts currently on show at the museum in town, in addition to a large number of other items that are being stored in the cellar due to a lack of space."
Knudsen has about 6,000 pieces that once belonged to Elvis Presley and this new Graceland will be the ideal place to exhibit them. The museum attracts an average of 25,000 visitors per year, but Knudsen expects that figure to be somewhere between 75,000 and 100,000 after the project ends.
The Danish Graceland complex will cost the developer approximately $4.3 million to build.