At some point, tentatively identified as between December 14th to 17th 1954, Elvis made an appearance at the Mint Club in Gladewater, Texas. There are conflicting accounts of exactly when Elvis first came to Gladewater, but some photos found in Gladys Presley's papers were marked 'December 1954', and in the one shown here, a 'Mint Club' flyer is visible in the background. I was unable to find any exterior photos of the venue from that time period, but the building is apparently still around, though in a slightly different location and much sadder shape than it was in 1954.
According to Scotty Moore's excellent website, scottymoore.net, the defunct Mint Club building was purchased by a preacher at some point in the late 1990s and for reasons I am not fully aware, moved across the street. The church failed to gain traction, and the building is currently abandoned and considerably deteriorated. In the aerial above, the arrow at the top shows the original Mint Club location and the lower arrow points to the roof just visible among the trees. I was not able to get a street level photo because I'm using google maps and it was too overgrown to see anything, but you can get a good view in this video.
Full disclaimer, I don't completely believe that this building is the Mint Club. Something about it seems off. I am going off of limited information, so if anyone has concrete clarification, please set me straight. For one, it seems to me unlikely that a preacher starting a church would pick up what was at that time a fifty-year-old building and move it across the highway. For two, there is what appears to be an agricultural water tank by the entrance, and I'm not sure how that fits into the equation, but it doesn't scream church. For three, the building doesn't seem to have any religious attributes, like maybe a steeple? The picture below was taken in 2011 and credited to Lanny Medlin.
I could be completely wrong, because the location was confirmed by a Gladewater historian named Harold Wells, it just doesn't currently add up to me. It would help to be able to see the inside, but I'm about 10 hours away as the crow flies. If anyone has additional and verifiable information about this building and the Mint Club, please get in touch.
Sources:
Elvis: Day by Day by Peter Guralnick and Ernst Jorgensen
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