Prince Statue Henderson
Prince fans know of the particularly purple significance that the small southern Minnesota town of Henderson holds. During the filming of Purple Rain, the area gained a bit of fame for being used as a backdrop for pivotal scenes in the movie, notably, when Prince tells his gal-pal Apollonia to purify herself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka (which actually lies about an hour north, in the film she dunks herself in the much less pure Minnesota River).
"That ain't Lake Minnetonka," he tells her after she emerges from the water.
Because of the feature, the town holds an annual mini-Prince festival to commemorate its lore, with fans making the trek to honor Prince's memory. There's even a Purple Rain route designated on the surrounding road where he drove his iconic motorcycle, and it's a tour bus stop for the most hardcore fans. The town has a red corvette inspired mural and guestbook with a mailbox marked 1999 on its main street for those that make the pilgrimage.
On June 28, the town welcomed a new visitor: a $40,000 life-size statue of Prince–all 5 feet of him–cast in bronze.
The statue came together mostly through fan support, according to Joel King of the Prince Legacy Henderson Project, with those who gave $100 having their names inscribed on a plaque. King, a retired cinematographer and cameraman, worked on Prince's Graffiti Bridge movie.
"It's kind of cool to have the statue now, especially when they're tearing down all the statues in America, and then to have a Black man on a statue is pretty cool," King told CNN. "I think it's kind of the right time, and Prince deserves it."
Check out pictures of the spot below, located next to the Henderson RoadHouse, and see just how big Prince was in person.
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