Last Thursday, was a very surreal moment, as I was one of the lucky ones to see Paisley Park on it’s opening day. The night began when we had to park at the ramp across from Chanhassen Dinner Theater. We got shuttled from the ramp to Paisley Park because of the re-routing issues with the parking at Paisley Park. No biggie, I was with the tribe of Prince on that bus, we all were excited to be there!
When we walked in to his place, we were welcomed by the many tour guides and workers, we also had to put away our phones (they were locked up, so we couldn’t take pictures). This is why I’m writing this–so I can document what I had seen and got to experience first hand. Walking in, we were able to see all of Prince’s awards, clothing, guitars, his 2 (live) doves, and listen to some of his released and unreleased music.
Some people have asked if it’s worth the money to go, YES it was! But, as a true lover of Prince, money wasn’t an issue but more about the emotion that would come with it. This visit was a full-on sensory experience, you could feel his presence throughout the entire place. Each room was a celebratory walk through Prince’s life at that moment, each room was completely different and some rooms were left as he left it. There was some people complaining about the size of each group and how it was somewhat unorganized. Which it was because it was its first day of tours, you should expect some bumps. The organizers of this tour had obviously made great efforts to get the museum ready for its debut.
Some things I did not predict was that we’d be confronted with not just the idea of Prince or evidence of his day-to-day behavior at Paisley Park, but with the remains of the late Prince Rogers Nelson himself, cocooned in a tiny purple coffin inside a miniature model of Paisley Park, which was itself encased in a glass box in the very center of a sunlit, two-story high atrium where the tour guide said he often went to collect his thoughts because he found it peaceful.
From there, i went from room to room in a daze. I stepped into his many musical themed rooms, and his office, which was like any normal room with a purple telephone (I mean, who doesn’t have one of those?), family pictures, notes for tomorrow and lastly, by the side of his desk a well-worn roller bag suitcase, like he might be back at any moment to leave somewhere else. I’m glad they left things as is, to see he was just as normal as you and I. I also have to note, that most of his things seemed to be older, not the latest and greatest things you’d think from someone that can anything he wanted. More reasons to like him! 🙂
As I peered through a window (where he spent most of his time) was a small diner where he liked to watch basketball games, and I noticed in this tiny diner that it was split in 3 sections but all one room, the far left side was booth seating diner like-themed, then the middle was a kitchen table and the far right was a purple-reddish velvet couch that had a 50-ish TV, and his bible right next to the couch.
After the first few rooms, we all filled into Studio A and stood right in front of the studio and heard the unreleased “jazz” song from an iPod, which was amazing!
After that room, we were able to check out the Purple Rain Room, which in the past was his basketball room. This room had the original piano he played on, with the scuff marks from his dancing on it, his outfit with the white ruffles, his Grammy, the script and lastly one of the motorcycles that were featured in the movie. All these items were surrounded in purple lighting, Purple Rain music, and of course the movie was also playing in the background.
Some rooms later, we moved onto the last of 2 rooms, one was the HUGE NPG Music Club, which he’d host many parties and have a mini concert for his celebrity friends and the last room, was his Super Bowl themed room and fan appreciation room.
So many emotions came after the trip, and I wanted to document everything since we couldn’t take any video or photos except the one right before going into his place. All I can say is, that if you go, you won’t be disappointed. I wasn’t and would like to go again and this is my take away from all of this, is Prince was someone who was so creative, moved through life with such inspiration, kept creating, lived his life how he wanted and with such color. He was someone to look up to, even if you didn’t care for him or his music. He lived life being who he was and didn’t conform to what other wanted him to be, and with calmness and love to one another. I’m going to try to live my life just like that–how I’m suppose to do and how I want it.
Here is a little listen to the musical genius he was, enjoy this sick guitar solo!