Prince bought his first home at age 22 following the success of his first two albums, For You (1978) and Prince (1979). The two-story ranch house was cream colored when he bought it, per Vogue, though he promptly repainted it purple. A studio was installed in the home, and pieces of three of his records, Purple Rain, Controversy, and 1999, were recorded at the property. He lived there until 1985 but never sold it, though the purple house was demolished in 2003. Prince’s estate sold the land in 2017 for $700,000, and, according to Southwest News Media, the owners intend to restore the last remnant of Prince: the peace sign and heart on the gate. What would become Paisley Park is located just four miles away from the Kiowa Trail property.
Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota
Before Paisley Park existed as a physical place, it was a place Prince imagined in his song of the same name. Architect Bret Thoeny, then just 23 years old, was asked to design a compound with Prince in 1985, the year after “Paisley Park” was recorded. By 1987 the space was complete. White aluminum panels cover the façade, punctuated by a limited amount of windows to ensure Prince’s privacy. The 55,000-square-foot property included “two state-of-the-art recording studios, a 12,400-square-foot soundstage, rehearsal room, [and] performance area,” according to Billboard, plus common areas and offices. Clearly, its original purpose was more professional, but Prince lived in the space off and on in a second-floor bedroom. He was living at Paisley Park during the time leading to his death in 2016. Nowadays Paisley Park is operated as a museum, concert, and event venue.
Heather Way, Beverly Hills
Referred to as a “perpetual renter” by the LA Times, Prince property hopped around a lot in LA, but he bought this Beverly Hills home in 1992 and kept it until 1997, when he sold it for $2.2 million. The Italian-style home was built in 1989 and contains more than 7,000 square feet of living space spread across five bedrooms and seven bathrooms, per its most recent public listing in 2014. Though it’s hard to say exactly what the space looked like when the musician owned it, photos from 2014 reveal a grand home with dramatic details, like a sweeping staircase and a wood-paneled study with a purple upholstered window seat and curtains.
Bridle Path, Toronto, Canada
Prince’s second wife, Manuela Testolini, was a native Torontonian, so naturally he purchased a Canadian pad. The couple were married between the years of 2001 and 2006, and this is reportedly the same time span during which he owned the sprawling 14,000-square-foot home. Though the house appears quite traditional from the outside, recent listing photos shared by Storeys reveal an interior that is about half traditional and half postmodern, replete with chrome accents and glass blocks in some rooms. It’s hard to say what exactly was on offer in the way of amenities during Prince’s time there, but nowadays there’s a full hair salon, home gym, and a tennis court.
Sierra Alta Way, Beverly Hills
When Prince offered former NBA star Carlos Boozer $70,000 a month to live in his lavish Beverly Hills home for eight months in 2004, Boozer was stunned, according to an excerpt from his book. When Prince promptly redecorated the place without asking—replacing the lions out front with his famous symbol, adding purple carpeting down the front steps, replacing the regular bed with a purple heart-shaped bed in the primary bedroom—Boozer was less than pleased. He threatened a lawsuit, but Prince quickly made right by sending Boozer an extra $500,000, and in the end, paying $95,000 a month for a full year.
77 Beverly Park Lane, Beverly Hills
Prince loved this 27,000-square-foot Tuscan-style mansion so much, he named a song after it. The musician reportedly paid $200,000 a month for the property, and he lived there from early 2008 to mid 2009. The property had a home studio where he recorded music, including the song titled after the address.
Turks and Caicos estate
This just might be the only home in Turks and Caicos with a purple driveway. Prince bought his Turks and Caicos estate in 2011, going on to purchase two adjacent parcels of land to create an even bigger property that totals over five acres and 1,625 feet of private ocean frontage. The property sold in 2019 for $10.8 million after a couple years on the market and is now available as a vacation rental, with the iconic purple driveway still intact.
The Purple Rain house, Minneapolis
Though Prince never lived there, he purchased the home featured in Purple Rain in 2015, the year before his passing. He paid $117,000 cash for the humble 1,300-square-foot property over 30 years after filming his iconic rock drama there in the ’80s. At the time of his death, Prince owned millions of dollars in property across Minnesota.