Confession: I never really liked Paisley Park.
In my nearly two dozen prior visits to Prince's temple to music and himself, I always found the location weirdly uninviting — a nondescript, industrial strip of highway in a suburb best known for its "Hello, Dolly!" dinner-theater productions — and the decor inside a tad cheesy, like a dental office designed by Charo. Seeing Prince perform there was always a thrill, of course. As a concert space, though, it felt stiff compared to the "real" venues he played in town, like First Avenue and the Dakota.
As a museum, though, Paisley Park works. In fact, it works almost perfectly. Several thousand fans found this out Thursday during opening-day tours.
Some of the most-heard comments were people marveling over how quickly and thoroughly the place had been converted into a museum. In a way, that's what it always was.
Being the first non-insiders to get into the 65,000-square-foot building since its makeover was as much a thrill as it was a bummer.
His death, less than six months past, felt uncomfortably fresh as we walked into the building and saw a mural of his eyes staring down at us — "to remind us he's always watching us," a tour guide told us without irony.
Next, these sad painted lyrics greeted us at the front door:
"In this trusted place U can erase
