Poll results: What would you like to see happen at Paisley Park?
April 25, 2016
As Prince is mourned, questions about his unreleased recordings have been raised. According to a report from MPR News, fans seem to be split as to whether the previously unreleased tracks should ever be heard. "The lobby of Paisley Park is pretty large and underneath is the bank vault that holds his masters," said Tom Garneau, who worked as an audio engineer for Prince between 1989 and 1996. "When I left, there was 50 unreleased albums worth of music in the basement."
Garneau's comment also raises another important question: What is to become of Paisley Park?
Otherwise known as "Prince HQ," Paisley Park is the massive recording complex in Chanhassen, Minn., about 20 miles southwest of Minneapolis, that also served as Prince's occasional concert venue.
Jay Gabler shared in a blog post that Sheila E., the musician who was a longtime friend and collaborator of Prince — and who had a top-ten hit with his song "The Glamorous Life" in 1984 — says that there are plans to open Paisley Park as a museum. Later in the day, Prince's brother-in-law confirmed, "We will turn Paisley Park into a museum in Prince's memory."
Sheila E. says Prince was "working on" Paisley Park being a museum, and that his survivors plan to move forward with those plans. Prince's Chanhassen home and studio is filled with memorabilia from throughout his career, and was the site of many recordings and performances, so its transition to a museum seems a fairly natural pivot.
And that's why we asked you: What do YOU think the future plans at Paisley Park should be? This was only a poll and has no bearing on the actual plans for Paisley Park's future, but it was interesting to see where Prince fans stood on the matter.
Poll Results
When the poll closed at 2 p.m., on Tuesday, April 26, a total of 1,125 ballots had been submitted.
The options on the ballot, gathered from what was being discussed in the press and social media, were: a) keeping Paisley Park a working recording studio; b) converting it to a Prince museum; c) making it a music school; d) turning it into a club venue for live performances; or e) converting it to a private residence for Prince's family.
A write-in option on the ballot was also offered; most write-ins were some variation on the theme of "all of the above" or "most of the above," and there were several suggestions that, if Paisley Park were converting to a music school, its focus should be on younger, lower-income students.
A small number of write-ins suggested other ideas; specifically:
"Convert it to the Current's headquarters, and incorporate all tbe other options listed above." - Trish, Robbinsdale, Minn.
"Let me buy it." - Jordan, Minneapolis
"Set up multiple listening booths to hear Prince's music." - Jason, Maple Grove, Minn.
"Have the Minnesota Historical Society buy it and turn it into a music venue with a MN history focus" - P.J., Golden Valley, Minn.
"Fill it with bats. Full up with bats." - Brian, Minneapolis
"[It's] not for us to decide." - Mathias, Minneapolis
