When Special Agent Dale Cooper seeks accommodations in Twin Peaks, Sheriff Harry S. Truman offers to get him a great rate at the clean and reasonably priced Great Northern Hotel. This Setting the Stage article takes a closer look at the exteriors scenes of this iconic hotel from Seasons 1-3 of Twin Peaks.
LOCATION OF THE HOTEL
According to the “Twin Peaks Access Guide to the Town,” the Great Northern Hotel is located on Great Northern Highway above White Tail Falls.
In reality, The Salish Lodge & Spa, located at 6501 Railroad Ave in Snoqualmie, Washington, sits above Snoqualmie Falls. The hotel exteriors were captured at this location, while the interiors were shot at either Kiana Lodge (Pilot Episode) or on a set in southern California.
HISTORY OF THE LODGE
Built in 1916, the hotel began as an eight-room inn – The Snoqualmie Falls Lodge. The building was completely remodeled and reopened as The Salish Lodge in 1988. Today, it is owned by the Snoqualmie Tribe who purchased the property from the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe in November 2019.
For this story, I’m focusing only on the hotel as I’m saving the falls for a separate “Setting the Stage” story.
PILOT EPISODE
The Great Northern Hotel is first seen early in the Pilot Episode. The establishing shot pans from the falls up to the hotel perched on a ridge.
The scene cuts to an establishing shot of the hotel’s sign. This shot (or a version of it) will be seen a few more times in the series. You can see the original sign prop on the fantastic Twin Peaks Props website.
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Audrey Horne is then seen leaving the hotel and getting into a Mercedes-Benz 600. This is the only time this closer view of hotel is seen in the series. As she enters the car, look for snow covered mountains in the distance (which is actually Mount Si).
The stone bollards from this scene that once graced the parking lot are now gone. Read more about them in this article.
A similar establishing shot from earlier in the episode is used again before the scene with Sylvia, Audrey and Johnny Horne. The camera panned in the earlier shot while this one is static (probably from the tail end of the earlier take).
EPISODE 1001
The same shot opens Episode 1001 just before the scene cuts to the interior of Room 315, home to Special Agent Dale Cooper. Colors look slightly different than the Pilot Episode (warm hues versus cool tones).
EPISODE 1003
The sun shines on the hotel at the beginning of Episode 1003 as the camera pans down from the hotel to White Tail Falls.
The sign makes another appearance in Episode 1003 (before the scene where Audrey Horne spies on her father’s office). This image seems to come from a longer take used in a later episode.
EPISODE 1005
The first nighttime establishing shot of the hotel is used in Episode 1005. The short scene shows a car – most likely the Mercedes Benz 600 from the Pilot Episode – parking in front of the hotel. The shot was captured just after sunset based on the colors of the sky.
EPISODE 1006
Episode 1006 opens with a moody nighttime shot of the hotel and falls bathed in blue. This is the only time this shot is used in the series, and it’s the last look at the hotel from Season 1.
EPISODE 2001
Episode 2001 of Season 2 opens with a nighttime shot of the Great Northern Hotel then cuts to Agent Cooper laying on the floor of Room 315. This shot will be seen many times throughout the remainder of Seasons 2 and 3.
The establishing shot of the hotel and falls from the Pilot Episode and Episode 1001 is reused in Episode 2001.
EPISODE 2002
Another pan up from the falls to the hotel opens Episode 2002. When the pan stops, look for part of an overhang in the upper left corner of the image.
You can read more about this now-demolished observation deck in this story on Twin Peaks Blog.
EPISODE 2004
Episode 2004 uses the same establishing shot from Episode 2002. The pan up from the falls appears slightly longer and we can see more of the observation deck overhang at the end of scene.
A nighttime shot first seen in Episode 2001 is seen again in Episode 2004. This time the colors look slightly different from the aforementioned episode.
EPISODE 2005
A “morning” establishing shot opens Episode 2005. The shot appears to be captured at sunset (versus sunrise) using a tinted polarized filter (hat tip to fellow Bookhouse Boy Travis Blue for the extra set of eyes).
The cars appears to be in similar spots, including the Mercedes Benz 600 parked at the middle right of the screen. This could mean the shot was part of a longer take which was first used in Episode 1005.
Episode 2005 also contains a unique scene only used once – a pan from across Railroad Avenue to the hotel parking lot. This shot provides a fantastic look at the area from the late 1980s.
This image from September 13, 2019 shows how much has grown around the area; all those trees weren’t present when the Pilot Episode was shot.
The pan shot from the road ends on the hotel’s sign. This sequence reminds me of the shot from Episode 1003, which means it was most likely filmed when the Pilot Episode was shot.
EPISODE 2006
The nighttime shot first seen in Episodes 2001 and 2004 appears again in Episode 2006 (albeit the color now has an orangish hue). This pan down shot from the hotel to the falls is used before Agent Cooper returns Ben Horne’s briefcase of cash.
The episode ends with the same nighttime shot, only this time the end credits are placed over the image.
EPISODE 2007
A slightly darker pan shot first seen in the Pilot Episode was used in Episode 2007 (prior to Mike the One Armed Man is seen in the hotel lobby).
Episode 2007 contains a pan of the hotel front at dusk, similar to the scene used in Episode 1005.
EPISODE 2012
In Episode 2012, the hotel exterior returns following a four episode absence. This slightly darker image of the exterior is the first time it was used in the series.
EPISODE 2013
Another pan up from the falls shot is used in Episode 2013, which was first seen in Episode 2002.
EPISODE 2014
Windom Earle knocks out the power in town in Episode 2014, so the Great Northern Hotel is seen without lights. This establishing shot cuts to Audrey and Bobby discussing ice in a room full of candles.
Ben Horne’s singing accompanies a later scene in Episode 2014. The camera pans down from the hotel to the falls, which was first used in Episode 1003.
The nighttime shot from Episodes 1005 is reused in Episode 2014.
There is a nice transition of a fire place reflection in Thomas Eckhardt’s sunglasses that fades to a nighttime exterior of the hotel. As mentioned, this nighttime images is seen multiple times in seasons 2 and 3.
EPISODE 2015
Episode 2015 also has a cool transition from a close up of the falls that fades to the hotel exterior at night. A similar pan down to the falls follows this transition before cutting to an interior scene of Cooper looking at Caroline’s photograph.
EPISODE 2016
The same pan from the falls to the hotel from Episode 2002 is recycled for Episode 2016 (noticeable because of the overhang in the upper left corner of the second image).
EPISODE 2017
The nighttime establishing shot from Episode 1005 and 2014 returns for Episode 2017.
EPISODE 2018
The sign also makes another appearance in Episode 2018. It appears to be the same image from Episode 1003.
For these next images, I’m assuming they are supposed to take place outside the Great Northern Hotel (despite the absence of the hotel building). Episode 2018 recycled part of a deleted scene from Season 1 of Johnny Horne shooting buffalo targets with a bow and arrow.
The footage was most likely captured in California (haven’t identified the location … yet). The deleted scene from Episode 1001 is titled “27 Going on 6,” which featured Dr. Jacoby, Sheriff Truman, and Agent Cooper.
I also included this exterior shot of Donna Hayward exiting her pink 1960 Rambler Six Super. This scene was also most likely shot somewhere in southern California. Donna is seen entering the Great Northern Hotel after she exits her car.
EPISODE 2020
Episode 2020 is the final time we see the exterior of The Great Northern Hotel in Season 2. The shot – a pan up from the falls to the hotel – is again a recycled clip from Episode 2013.
SEASON 3 – PART 1
Twenty-five years later, we are treated to a gorgeous image of the hotel and falls in Twin Peaks Part 1 on Showtime. This is the only time this scene appears in Season 3. I love it!
ADDITIONAL SEASON 3 SHOTS
For Twin Peaks Parts 7, 9, 10, 14, and 17 on Showtime, the same nighttime establishing shot from Episodes 2001, 2004, 2006, 2014 and 2015.
SEASON 3 – PART 14
I close this article with four images of Twin Peaks Part 14 on Showtime.
The scene takes place with Freddie Sykes and James Hurley sitting on a loading dock behind The Great Northern Hotel. Freddie reluctantly tells James how he received the green glove.
I’ve not been able to identify this southern California location. It was definitely not shot at The Salish Lodge & Spa in Snoqualmie, Washington. Looks like I have another destination to find.
