Yes, there are doves, and they do cry. So says our guide at Paisley Park, the residence and studio Prince built in his hometown of Minneapolis in 1987. But I guess they weren’t in a crying mood that day.
Prince drew me to Minneapolis. Last year marked the 40th anniversary of Purple Rain and Prince-mania is on display throughout the city. (The world premiere stage adaptation debuts at Hennepin Arts’ State Theatre in October.) The chance to visit Paisley Park and bask in the late star’s creative orbit was too good to pass up, surreal as it was to wander the studios and lounges and ponder what it was like to hang there with the man. My tour group didn’t get to visit the more intimate areas, where no doubt many shenanigans were perpetrated. But still, there’s a tangible vibe.
The building, from the outside, is little more than a drab concrete monolith off a suburban freeway. But inside, it’s all purple all the time – and just as grand as one would expect. (No photography is allowed inside, so you’ll have to see for yourself.) Even from the afterlife, Prince is very much in control. His eyes, painted on the wall at reception, stare benevolently down at visitors checking in. He had intended Paisley Park to one day function as a museum, but today it’s a working recording facility, too, with four fully equipped studios. His iconic guitars are scattered around, but they’re not alone; it’s said that he was proficient on 27 musical instruments, and many of these can be examined as guests explore the space.
Paisley Park, Prince’s former home and recording studio in suburban Minneapolis. Credit/Provider: Photo Courtesy of Paisley Park-NPG Records and Meet Minneapolis
You don’t get far in this city without encountering a mural, sign, scribble or graffiti homage to Prince. The Meet Minneapolis website lists all the major Prince landmarks so you can design your own tour with stops at his childhood home, venues where he performed, and his favourite record store, Electric Fetus. At the entrance to First Avenue, the club where he first performed Purple Rain, his star literally shines brighter than the rest, glittering gold amongst the silver stars of other Minneapolis rock royalty including Lizzo, The Replacements, Soul Asylum and Hüsker Dü.
Prince Memorial Wall following his death, at First Avenue in Downtown Minneapolis. Photo: Courtesy of Meet Minneapolis
It’s clear that the city is proud of their sexy purple gremlin, but I was surprised by many other aspects of the city that, while less brazen than Prince, are equally remarkable. It has a sincere downhome vibe for a city of half a million, as per Tim Walz who, as governor, exemplifies the “Minnesota Nice” vibe that helped take the edge off Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
And for all the friendliness, it has plenty of nature to match, with myriad parks, green spaces and trails, each carefully maintained – as well as several beautiful lakes and the mighty Mississippi River, which powered the many flour mills that earned it the “Mill City” moniker.
Minneapolis riverfront at sunset. Photo: Lane Pelovsky, Courtesy Of Meet Minneapolis
There is also an abundance of culture, thanks to it being a university town: Bob Dylan, born in Duluth, Minn., flunked out of the University of Minnesota in 1960. There are a plethora of museums, including specialized ones like the Museum of Russian Art – the only major North American institution devoted to Russian culture – the American Swedish Institute, the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Mill City Museum. There is a significant Somali population in Minneapolis, so I’d hoped to visit the Somali Museum, home to a collection of 700-plus pieces, but it was closed. On the bright side, though, that missed connection gave me more time for the contemporary art-focused Walker Art Centre – which really deserves a whole day to take in its 11 galleries, multiple landscaped areas and sculpture garden, which features 60 large-scale works within an urban park setting. The multidisciplinary institution counts more than 15,000 works in its collection.
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen Spoonbridge and Cherry, 1985-1988, Collection Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Gift of Frederick R. Weisman in honor of his parents, William and Mary Weisman, 1988, Art © Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Photo: Mike Krivit, Courtesy of Meet Minneapolis
The city’s diverse culinary landscape is shaped by chefs drawing on personal histories, cultural memory, and local ingredients to create thoughtful and evolving interpretations of their food traditions. Vinai, by chef Yia Vang, and Dian Moua’s restaurant, Diane’s Place, both serve dishes born from their Hmong roots. If you long for island-hopping in Southeast Asia, visit Christina Nguyen’s lively restaurant, Hai Hai – flush with bright, flavourful flavoured dishes inspired by the region’s famed street food vendors.
Various street-style platters at Hai Hai. Photo: Tyson Crockett
And at Owamni, the James Beard 2022 Best New Restaurant in the U.S., Indigenous food sovereignty is at the forefront – the menu intentionally excludes colonial ingredients like wheat flour and dairy, and instead spotlights ancestral foods sourced from local and Indigenous producers.
Chef Sean Sherman of Owamni. Photo: Nancy Bundt
Yes, you can eat and drink very well in Minneapolis, as I did while wandering happily from place to place, mostly with Prince as my soundtrack. One pleasant evening, with Little Red Corvette blasting a little too loudly, I ran into another famous Minneapolitan: Mary Tyler Moore – well, a statue – frozen in mid-beret toss, just like in the opening credits to her 1970s TV program. Suddenly Prince’s grinding, sexy lyrics were replaced in my head with the saccharine jingle from Moore’s show, “You’re going to make it after all…” an appropriately positive vibe for such a gentle, welcoming city.
