An Elvis Presley fan says he's intending to turn a California home once owned by the singer and his wife, Priscilla, into a kind of Graceland West.

"I want this to be Elvis of California," said Reno Fontana, who bought the Palm Springs stucco home in November 2006 with his wife, Laura.

The Spanish-style home has five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a sunken tub and pool. The Presley's bought the home in 1970 and the family lived there part-time.

After the singer's death in 1977, Presley's lawyer took control of the estate, then sold it last year.

This week marks the 30th anniversary of Elvis's death and thousands of fans have converged at the real Graceland in Memphis, Tenn., for a week of festivities.

Elvis is buried at the Graceland mansion, which was turned into a museum in 1982. It attracts 600,000 visitors annually and is one of the top five most visited home museums in the U.S.

Fontana said anyone who knocks on the door on the Presley's' former residence in Palm Springs will be allowed in to take a look at the unfurnished home.

The lifelong Elvis fan plans to decorate it in Elvis style and build a chapel, banquet hall and recording studio to attract weddings and recording business.

"We may have our names on the deed, but we are the caretakers," he said. "This house belongs to Elvis fans around the world."

It's unclear whether the Fontana's can market the house as an Elvis tourist destination. The estate of Elvis Presley is tightly controlled by a company set up by Priscilla.

Source: Google 

Posted:  13th. August 2007