Washington Avenue Warehouse

Overview & History
The Washington Avenue warehouse was not a professional studio as such, but a converted rehearsal space which was also used for recordings from July 1985 till spring 1987. The Washington Avenue Warehouse is a building situated on 6953 Washington Avenue S. in Edina, Minnesota. It was procured in May 1985, initially to be used by The Family, who were rehearsing for their proposed live tour there from mid-May til late June, with Prince recording at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, CA and flying to France to scout locations for Under The Cherry Moon A newly bought Soundcraft console was put in the warehouse to replace the API that they had been using at the former warehouse on Flying Cloud Drive. The warehouse was ready for band recording by 8 July, when Girls & Boys became the first song tracked at there.

Studio
This third warehouse was the spaciest of the three and had offices of PRN productions nearby at 10125 Crosstown Circle, about a mile away (but in Eden Prairie). The console used in it was a Soundcraft TS-24, that was later installed in Studio C in Paisley Park Studios. Prince furthermore used the MARA MCI JH24 2” 24-Track recorder that was previously in the Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse.

Albums
The following albums have been recorded at the Washington Avenue warehouse in whole or part. Check album pages for details. Prince:
 * Parade
 * “The Black Album”
 * Dream Factory (unreleased)
 * Roadhouse Garden (unreleased)
 * Crystal Ball (unreleased)

Songs
The following songs have been recorded at the Washington Avenue warehouse:

Trivia

 * Although none of its songs were recorded there, the Washington Avenue warehouse can be seen on the cover of Sign O’ The Times. The Jeff Katz photo with the 'city' backdrop from the 'Guys and Dolls' play, borrowed from the Chanhassen Dinner Theater, is taken inside the warehouse. Images in the Sign O’ The Times Tour book were also shot in the warehouse, as was the short unreleased film Hard Life, recorded in March 1987.