How many of Minneapolis’ new ‘Purple Path’ sidewalk signs for Prince fans can you find?

It was hard to keep track of Prince’s whereabouts when he was alive. Nine years after his death, the rock icon’s hometown is making it easier to retrace his steps.

With thousands of fans expected to visit this week for the annual Celebration at Paisley Park, Minneapolis has unveiled a series of 20 temporary historical markers dubbed the Purple Path that highlights key locations in Prince’s local legacy.

Installed over the past week, the designated sites include music venues he played/slayed, studios where he recorded, murals featuring his likeness and sites of some of his “Purple Rain” movie scenes. (See the full list below.)

“People ask all the time: Where did Prince spend his time, where did he perform this time or that time,” said Christy Loy, senior vice president of destination sales for Meet Minneapolis. “This is a really fun and accessible way for them to go where he went.”

Each Purple Path location is designated by a sidewalk cling — a slip-resistant decal that sticks to the ground and withstands foot traffic. The round sidewalk markers feature Prince’s purple glyph symbol, the name of that particular site and a QR code, which can be scanned with a cellphone to call up information on the location.

Outside the Schmitt Music mural in downtown Minneapolis, for instance, the Purple Path entry that comes up reads:

“Prince’s first manager Owen Husney hired photographer Robert Whitman to take the now iconic picture of the 18-year-old artist in front of the Schmitt Music Mural for use in promotional material that landed him a major recording contract with Warner Bros. just weeks after his 19th birthday.”

Other music venues on the Purple Path include the Dakota, Bunker’s Music Bar & Grill, the Orpheum and Capri theaters and the former home of Glam Slam, which Prince owned.

Some of the nonmusical locations on the tour include the site of his first wedding, Park Avenue United Methodist Church, and the schools he attended, including John Hay Elementary on the North Side and Central High School on the South Side (both since demolished).

By design, the Purple Path focuses on sites in or near the downtown corridor where, as Loy said, “more people are walking around and are here from out of town to see a show or a Twins game.” So there’s no jump-in site at Lake Minnetonka (which wasn’t actually used in “Purple Rain” anyway, but whatever).

Funded through the Minneapolis Foundation and co-organized with Paisley Park staff — Prince’s studio complex in Chanhassen that now serves as a museum — the Purple Path logos will be on display through the fall but then must be removed in the cold weather. Loy said there’s a chance the signs could go put back another year, or they could be turned into more permanent markers.

“We’d love to see this program refreshed,” Loy said, emphasizing “the interest in Prince in his hometown doesn’t seem to be fading.”