Purple Reign: Celebrate Prince in Los Angeles

Prince Rogers Nelson signed his first record deal with Warner Bros. Records at age 19. The Minneapolis native would become known around the world as simply Prince, renowned for producing his own albums; playing some or all of the instruments on his recordings; electrifying live shows, an enigmatic persona and singular fashion style.

A prolific musician who released 39 albums in his lifetime, Prince sold more than 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists in music history. He won seven GRAMMYs, an Oscar and a Golden Globe among his numerous accolades. In 2004, Prince was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - his searing guitar solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is widely regarded as the best of all time.

Los Angeles has plenty of purple power, from the historic studio where Purple Rain was recorded, to film and music video locations, to the venue that Prince took over for an epic 21-night run. Read on for some of the best places in LA to celebrate Prince's purple reign.

Prince owned the Summer of 1984. Released on June 25, Purple Rain by Prince and The Revolution is the GRAMMY- and Oscar-winning soundtrack album to the hit film, which opened on July 27. With the movie's release, Prince pulled off a rare trifecta: Purple Rain topped the box office its opening weekend; the album knocked Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA off the top of the Billboard 200; and "When Doves Cry" was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The album went on to sell more than 25 million copies worldwide. In 2019, Purple Rain was added by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Tenement Alley - Warner Bros. Studios
The iconic photo of Prince on his motorcycle that was used for the Purple Rain movie poster and album cover was shot at Tenement Alley on the Warner Bros. Studios backlot. Movies that filmed there include Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Gremlins (as Chinatown in the opening scene) and the upside-down kiss in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man.

While the majority of Purple Rain was shot on location in Minneapolis, Kurt Crucial (@80slife4ever) does a deep dive into numerous scenes that were filmed in Los Angeles. Here are just a few LA locations from his fantastic roundup.

The Wiltern
In the movie's opening scene, The Revolution performs "Let's Go Crazy" at the First Avenue nightclub in Minneapolis. Kurt notes that, while the concert footage was filmed inside First Avenue, two exterior shots in the montage were filmed at The Wiltern in LA. When Prince rides his motorcycle on the sidewalk, that's actually off Western Avenue. And likewise when Morris Day steps out of his yellow Cadillac, The Wiltern's ornate box office is visible in the background.

Franklin Canyon Park
Fans can probably quote the Lake Minnetonka sequence verbatim, but did you know it was partially shot at Franklin Canyon Park in LA? Kurt tracks down the meadow from the scene when Prince teases Apollonia as she's trying to get on his motorcycle. He even discovers the remnants of the dock where Prince reminisces about the good times he had with Apollonia.

Cesar Chavez Bridge
During the "When Doves Cry" montage, Prince is filmed riding along the railroad tracks under the 101 Freeway heading towards the Cesar Chavez Bridge, less than a mile from Union Station (see below).

Purple Rain is consistently ranked as one of the best albums in music history. "When Doves Cry," "Take Me With U," "The Beautiful Ones" and the string section of "Purple Rain" were recorded in Studio 3 of Sunset Sound, located at 6650 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. Founded in 1962 by Walt Disney’s Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, the historic music facility has recorded everything from the audio for Disney’s Bambi and Mary Poppins to landmark albums such as Exile on Main St., Pet Sounds, Smile, and Led Zeppelin II and IV.

Prince recorded at Sunset Sound numerous times over the years, including sessions for Controversy, 1999, Around the World in a Day, Parade and Sign o’ the Times.

In an extended interview that was recorded in Studio 3, Prince's sound engineer, Dr. Susan Rogers said, "Prince was a pretty intuitive guy, and when he discovered this studio there was no other for him."

A four-disc Deluxe Expanded Edition of Purple Rain was released in June 2017, featuring the Prince-supervised "2015 Paisley Park Remaster" of the original album, "From the Vault & Previously Unreleased," "Single Edits & B-Sides," and a DVD of a 1985 concert in Syracuse.

Located at L.A. LIVE in Downtown LA, the GRAMMY Museum features more than 30,000 square feet of interactive exhibits and memorabilia that celebrate the power of music. The third floor showcases the history, excitement and glamour of the GRAMMY Awards.

In February 1985, Prince and The Revolution won two awards at the 27th Annual GRAMMY Awards, the first of Prince's career: Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal; and Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. The following year, Prince received the President's Merit Award at the 28th GRAMMY Awards. Prince eventually won seven GRAMMYs during his career. His albums 1999, Purple Rain and Sign o' the Times have all been inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame.

In April 2020, the Recording Academy aired Let's Go Crazy: The GRAMMY Salute to Prince. Recorded at the LA Convention Center, the all-star lineup included The Revolution, Sheila E, Morris Day and The Time, Beck, Gary Clark Jr, Common, Earth Wind & Fire, Foo Fighters, H.E.R, Juanes, John Legend, Chris Martin, Miguel, St. Vincent, Mavis Staples and Usher.

Rebecca Blake, who previously directed Prince's "Kiss" video at The Culver Studios in 1986, directed two videos for his 1991 album, Diamonds and Pearls.

"Cream" - Union Station
The album's second single, "Cream" was Prince's fifth and final Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. During the video's extended intro, Prince and his dancers Diamond and Pearl are walking through a train station played by the landmark Union Station - on their way to Minneapolis, natch - as reporters shout questions that Prince ignores.

“The City of Los Angeles is proud to have been the home away from home for a tremendous talent that touched our city." ~ Mayor Eric Garcetti

"Diamonds and Pearls" - LA City Hall
The video for the album's title track was filmed at Los Angeles City Hall in Downtown LA. The night of Prince's death on April 21, 2016, City Hall and landmarks around the world were lit up in purple in his honor.

A couple of weeks later, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti co-hosted a tribute concert on the steps of City Hall. In a statement Garcetti said, “The City of Los Angeles is proud to have been the home away from home for a tremendous talent that touched our city. We look forward to celebrating his contributions to music, Los Angeles and the world.”

As part of his Welcome 2 America Tour, Prince took over the Forum (now Kia Forum) for the epic 21 Nite Stand, a historic run that spanned April to May 2011. Prince performed in the round on a giant version of his Love Symbol. The setlist changed frequently and he welcomed surprise special guests like Sheila E and Alicia Keys.

In July 2021, the Prince Estate released Welcome 2 America, Prince's 40th studio album and the first full previously unreleased album to be released posthumously. The Deluxe Edition of the album includes a Blu-Ray of Prince's April 28, 2011 performance from the 21 Nite Stand.

In August 2017, the Prince Estate collaborated with the Pantone Color Institute™ to create Love Symbol #2, a standardized custom color to represent and honor Prince. Love Symbol #2 was inspired by his custom Yamaha purple piano, and "pays tribute to Prince’s indelible mark on music, art, fashion and culture."

Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute said: "A musical icon known for his artistic brilliance, Love Symbol #2 is emblematic of Prince’s distinctive style. Long associated with the purple family, Love Symbol #2 enables Prince’s unique purple shade to be consistently replicated and maintain the same iconic status as the man himself."

Read on for places across LA where you can spot Prince's signature color.

LA Lakers - Crypto.com Arena
The purple and gold uniforms of the Los Angeles Lakers made their debut when the team began playing their home games at The Forum in 1967. Purple was the favorite color of the Lakers’ then-owner, Jack Kent Cooke, who changed the color scheme when he bought the team and moved them from Minneapolis to LA. For some reason, Cooke always referred to the Lakers’ purple as “blue,” so Hall of Fame broadcaster Chick Hearn coined the phrase “Forum Blue and Gold” to describe the team’s home uniforms.

"Game, Blouses"
A star basketball player in high school, Prince was an avid NBA fan. In May 2016 - about a month after Prince's death - Samuel L. Jackson Instagrammed a photo of himself sitting courtside with Prince at a Lakers game at STAPLES Center (now Crypto.com Arena) on Christmas Day. His caption said that Prince confirmed the classic Charlie Murphy basketball story from Chappelle's Show.

Gem & Mineral Hall - Natural History Museum
The Gem and Mineral Hall at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) is one of the finest exhibits of its kind in the world. You’ll find every shade of purple as you explore over 2,000 spectacular specimens on display, which are only a fraction of the more than 150,000 specimens in the museum’s collection, considered the most significant in the country west of the Smithsonian.

CadZZilla - Petersen Automotive Museum
"The Vault" is the nickname for the near-mythic collection of thousands of unreleased Prince songs that were housed in Paisley Park, his Minneapolis studio-turned-museum. For car buffs, The Vault at the Petersen Automotive Museum is a bucket list experience - an extraordinary collection of 250 iconic and rare cars from around the world exhibited in a 60,000 square-foot underground space. Two tour options are available: the 75-minute Introductory Tour and the 120-minute World Tour.

Dubbed by Hagerty as "the world’s most famous custom Cadillac," CadZZilla was commissioned by ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and is now part of The Vault collection. Designed by Larry Erickson during his tenure at Cadillac, CadZZilla was built in 1989 by hot rod legend Boyd Coddington. The original 1948 Series 62 Cadillac, a two-door fastback sedan, was one of only 4,764 built and was the first Cadillac to have the distinctive tailfins. And here's another Prince connection: the Boyd Blog says the car is finished in a "rich custom purple" mixed by House of Kolor in Minneapolis.

Elizabeth Taylor - Madame Tussauds Hollywood
Elizabeth Taylor was one of the world’s greatest movie stars, renowned for her acting, beauty and glamour. Taylor’s legendary violet eyes are showcased at Madame Tussauds Hollywood, where she is immortalized as the title character from Cleopatra. The epic 1963 film is one of the most expensive films ever made, and despite mixed reviews, received nine Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture), and won four Oscars. During filming, Taylor met Richard Burton, and they began one of the most turbulent love affairs in Hollywood history.

Camellias - The Huntington Library
Located on 207 acres in San Marino, The Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens features a world-renowned rare book collection, art galleries, and more than a dozen specialized gardens arranged within a 120-acre landscape of rolling lawns. The Huntington is home to one of North America’s most comprehensive collections of camellias, featuring nearly 80 different species on display throughout the grounds. The long-blooming camellia season at The Huntington gets underway in late fall and continues through February and March.