1) Paisley Park—Chanhassen, Minnesota

By Lauren Walser

Paisley Park began as a song—Prince’s ode to an imaginary paradise where everyone could find happiness and acceptance. “Paisley Park is in your heart,” he sang on the chorus of his 1985 single of the same name.

Two years later, Prince brought Paisley Park to life, creating his own kind of paradise in the form of a $10 million, 65,000-square-foot complex in Chanhassen, Minnesota, 20 miles southwest of his hometown of Minneapolis. He wanted a place where he could pursue all his creative endeavors—music, film, performance, art, fashion—under one roof, and he enlisted the help of Bret Thoeny, a young architect who had designed his previous studio in the early 1980s. “Prince was very involved in the design [of Paisley Park],” says Thoeny, principal at Los Angeles–based BOTO Design Architects. “It was a very straightforward process. He knew what he wanted.”

From the outside, Paisley Park is a stark, angular edifice of white aluminum panels. Several pyramid-shaped skylights emerge from the roof—a design element that Prince specifically requested. Inside, Thoeny designed space for a two-story atrium, four recording studios, a 12,500-square-foot sound stage, a live music venue, rehearsal rooms, editing suites, offices, and living quarters.

It was there that Prince recorded albums such as Diamonds and Pearls, Emancipation, and Musicology. He also filmed part of his 1987 concert film Sign O’ the Times there, as well as his 1990 feature film Graffiti Bridge. “Paisley Park was the center of Prince’s recording and film universe,” says Mitch Maguire, the site’s tour operations manager.

Prince also welcomed other artists to Paisley Park to rehearse, record, and film, including Neil Young, the Bee Gees, Stevie Wonder, Celine Dion, and Madonna. And despite his famously private nature, he opened the doors to his estate for public performances and the occasional tour.

Prince died at Paisley Park in April of 2016, at the age of 57. Six months later, the property opened to the public. There are live doves in the atrium, as there were in Prince’s time. Artifacts on display include Prince’s old Walkman and his custom Hohner guitar, which he used for many recordings and live performances. The collection also contains awards, wardrobe pieces, and motorcycles.

It’s a glimpse into the life and work of one of the most prolific, influential artists in music history—one who recorded more than 40 studio albums, sold more than 100 million records, won seven Grammys and an Academy Award, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and famously battled his record label for artistic and financial control. Throughout much of his career, Paisley Park was his sanctuary.

“Prince created it,” Thoeny says. “It was his world.”