There are addresses that need no signage. 3420 Snelling Avenue, a two-storey white brick dwelling built in 1913, is not for sale, is not listed in any ordinary tourist guide, and looks nothing out of the ordinary from the pavement. Yet, every day, fans lay flowers, messages, and purple objects on its doorstep. This is where The Kid, the young musical genius portrayed by Prince in Purple Rain (1984), lived. And since autumn 2024, this is where one can, for a night, become that character.
A Legendary House, Long Left Abandoned
The film Purple Rain was shot in 1983 in the actual settings of Minneapolis, Prince’s hometown. The Snelling Avenue house served as the exterior for The Kid’s family scenes · the one where he returns in the evening, the one he flees from. It remained a cult address for fans for decades, visited only from the outside, often dilapidated, always silent. In 2015, a year before his death, Prince secretly purchased the property through one of his companies for approximately $117,000, and the secret was only uncovered after his passing in 2016. It was not until 2024 that the estate, in partnership with Paisley Park and Warner Bros. Discovery, undertook a comprehensive six-month renovation to transform the house into an immersive experience.
The Interior: The Kid’s World Reimagined as an 80s Palace
The design team established a precise concept: to imagine what would have happened if, at the end of the film, The Kid had returned home after achieving fame, and transformed the house into the decade’s luxurious lair. The result is a blend of purple velvet wallpaper, an abundance of mirrors, a basement conversation area, and omnipresent lavender light. Upon entering, Prince’s music plays, handwritten notes from Wendy and Lisa greet guests, and the air smells of lavender. In the kitchen, water bottles embossed with the name “Lake Minnetonka” recall one of the film’s most iconic lines. The most anticipated room remains The Kid’s basement bedroom: a sheet music for “Purple Rain” resting on the upright piano, lilac lighting, and on the bedside table, a personal demo cassette from Prince. The adjacent music lounge allows guests to try a piano, a guitar, and a drum kit, with instructions left by Wendy and Lisa for playing the chorus of the eponymous track. In the bathroom, the spa pays homage to the “When Doves Cry” music video: a claw-foot bathtub, stained-glass windows featuring the Love Symbol, purple terrycloth bathrobes, and lavender bath bombs. A dressing room showcases three original Prince outfits under glass, plus 80s reproductions accessible to guests.
A Secret Door and Seven Clues for the Curious
The experience reserves one final surprise that the organisers are keen not to fully disclose: a hidden door somewhere in the house opens into a treasure room. Inside, a faux vinyl record contains seven clues. Guests who solve the puzzle earn exclusive rewards linked to Prince’s universe, the exact nature of which remains secret. The number seven recurs throughout the experience: it is the cost of the stay ($7 per person, for up to four guests), it is the number of keys hidden in the vinyl record, and it is the artist’s favourite number. The official hosts are Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman, members of The Revolution and actresses from the film. They do not greet guests in person, but their presence is everywhere: in notes, in voice recordings accessible via QR codes, and in the audio recreation of the opening scene of “Computer Blue”.
How to Access This Experience: The Free Airbnb Icons Prize Draw
The Purple Rain house is part of the Airbnb Icons programme, a selection of extraordinary experiences offered at a symbolic price via an open application system. The initial prize draw is free. Once pre-selected, applicants are invited to explain why they deserve to win the night’s stay, and the lucky winners simply pay $7 per person upon booking. The programme was open in autumn 2024 for twenty-five consecutive nights (from 26 October to 14 December 2024), and Prince’s estate has not yet confirmed new dates for 2026. The house is within walking distance in the residential Longfellow neighbourhood, a few kilometres from the Paisley Park Museum in Eden Prairie, the other Princely sanctuary in the Minneapolis area.
For music lovers and travellers seeking extraordinary experiences alike, the Purple Rain house remains today what it has always been from Snelling Avenue’s pavement: a place where the ordinary and the mythical meet without merging. A night there is unlike any other stay. It is perhaps the very definition of what Prince sought to achieve with every song.
