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It has been five years since the Purple One has departed to the other side, leaving behind a powerful legacy of music and love. Prince was more than just a musical icon during his time. He was a pillar of creativity, love, and kindness; and much of his legacy still seeps through our culture today.
Prince lived and worked in Paisley Park, and select fans were more than welcome to mark the fifth anniversary of his death from inside the music royalty’s creative sanctuary. Some fans wore customized Prince clothes and shoes, leaving flowers and other mementos as a tribute to the late superstar.
Paisley Park’s sprawling atrium opened to 1,400 people who were all able to snag free reservations, while some fans paid their respects in front of a statue erected outside the front doors in the shape of Prince’s famous purple Love symbol.
The symbol originally perched atop a custom-made ceramic urn molded in the shape of Paisley Park. Once Prince’s 65,000-square-foot studio opened to the public as a museum in October 2016, the urn was moved to a less prominent spot in the atrium and eventually removed entirely from public view at the request of the late pop legend’s family.
Last Wednesday, the urn returned to the public eye for the very first time in years. Fans were holding back their tears as they got a glimpse of what remained of the pop superstar. Prince died on April 21, 2016, of an accidental fentanyl overdose at age 57, shocking fans all around the world.
Since Prince’s death, Paisley Park was transformed into a museum, and paid tours were created. The tours were shut down for the day to mark the fifth anniversary of his death.
“We celebrate his life and legacy every day at Paisley Park, a place that Prince wanted to share with the world,” Paisley Park Executive Director Alan Seiffert said in a statement. “So on this day especially, we acknowledge the incredible force and inspiration Prince is in people’s lives and open up our doors for them to pay their respects.”
For fans that weren’t able to personally go to Paisley Park, online groups remained to be adamant about celebrating Prince’s longstanding legacy five years after his unfortunate passing. Online fan groups such as Prince Army Los Angeles (PALA), a Facebook group that connects Prince fans in Los Angeles, and The BumpSquad, an LA-based Prince fan group that has existed since 2000, have paid their respects by holding their own events.
PALA and The BumpSquad demonstrated how much LA loves Prince, but the Purple One also had a soft spot for LA Prince had a palatial mansion in the Hollywood Hills for several years throwing his legendary “3121” parties and entertaining a wide array of celebrity friends such as Stevie Wonder and Joni Mitchell.
Prince also performed many memorable concerts in LA throughout his long and varied career. His final LA appearances in 2011 included an epic 21-show residency at the Forum, alongside Troubadour and House of Blues concerts.
References:
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/prince-fans-headed-paisley-park-years-death-77208873
https://www.eonline.com/videos/322606/how-prince-s-legacy-lives-on-5-years-after-death
