In Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, there are two scenes that take place at the FBI field office located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Monochromatic flashbacks from this location also appear in Parts 14 and 15 of Twin Peaks: The Return on Showtime. In reality, these scenes were captured at a now demolished building in downtown Seattle, Washington. Thanks to the former InTwinPeaks.com team, I’m sharing some more details about this location.
WHERE IS THE FBI OFFICE IN TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME LOCATED?
The scenes for Twin Peaks were shot at 967 Boren Ave in Seattle, Washington. The approximate coordinates for this spot are 47°36’32.6″N 122°19’31.0″W.
Here is the location as of January 23, 2020. But it didn’t always look this way.
HISTORY OF 967 BOREN AVENUE IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
According to Seattle historian Paul Dorpat, the building that once occupied the land opened in 1907 as the Hotel Perry or Perry Apartments.
Dorpat writes on his blog: “The Perry was built on the old Judge Hanford family home site … and the ornate seven-story apartment was also completed [in 1907] for its “first life” at the southwest corner of Madison and Boren … The Perry was purchased in 1916/17 by Sister Frances Xavier Cabrini – not then yet a saint – and converted into the Columbus Sanatorium and later the Cabrini Hospital.”
St. Cabrini Hospital operated in the Seattle area until November 30, 1990. According to the Seattle Times, the hospital struggled for two years to find a buyer. Owners at the time “had wanted to remodel the oldest part of the hospital, but were told by architects the repairs would cost more than $6 million.” The hospital stopped taking patients on November 1, 1990.
FILMING FOR TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME ON SEPTEMBER 22, 1991
According to an article in The Seattle Times on September 22, 1991, David Lynch and David Bowie were reported filming in the former Cabrini Hospital. This means the crew shot in an unoccupied building since the hospital had closed almost a year earlier.
Interestingly, Bowie also shot his deleted scene from The Missing Pieces on the first floor of this building. It served as the location of the Palm Deluxe Hotel in Buenos Aires.
The InTwinPeaks.com site did such a fantastic job detailing this shooting location. The image above is a great example. The scenes appear to be shot on the seventh floor of the former building (which we will confirm in just a few moments). Let’s take a closer look at the interior locations.
IT’S 10:10 ON FEBRUARY 16
Cooper first approaches Gordon Cole on February 16 at 10:10 a.m. to warn him about the dream he had. We’ll get a better look at the buildings behind Gordon later on.
Long lost Agent Phillip Jeffries mysteriously arrives from Buenos Aires.
He approaches Gordon Cole’s desk which gives a better look outside the windows.
The circled area is the buildings that can be seen behind Agent Albert Rosenfield.
The building is actually the The Baroness Hotel located at 1005 Spring Street. According to Seattle.gov, the hotel was originally constructed as apartments in the late 1920s.
“The Baroness is one of several high rise apartment buildings constructed on First Hill in the late 1920s. It was originally constructed as an apartment hotel, with thirty apartment units and thirty residential hotel suites with a dining room on the ground floor. It is particularly distinctive for its restrained and sophisticated Art Deco ornamentation, which continues the tradition of elegant living on First Hill.”
The building was one of the last works of the architectural partnership of James Hansen Schack, a native of the Schlesweg region of German, and Arrigo Young. Schack would later help design Seattle Civic Auditorium complex. He died in 1933, shortly after the Baroness was completed.
GORDON COLE’S DESK IN THE FBI OFFICE
After Jeffries tells about his visit to the Convenience Store, he disappears. In The Missing Pieces, Cole calls for help which also gives us a great look outside his office windows.
The circled building is the windows that can be seen behind Cole.
Today, the building is known as the Chasselton Court Apartments located at 1017 Boren Avenue.
Constructed in 1923, the building is one of three similarly-sized apartment buildings constructed on Boren Street during 1923-1924. Others included the Hudson Arms Apartments (1111 Boren, 1923) and the Northcliffe Apartments (1119 Boren, 1924).
John S. Hudson and his Colonial Investment Company designed this and many other buildings throughout Seattle. According to Seattle.gov, Hudson arrived in the area around 1930 from Minnesota.
“He began studying architecture in 1910 and obtained his architecture license in 1921, but he worked primarily as a developer. He is known to have been involved with at least a dozen buildings, many of them named to recall New England—the John Alden, Paul Revere, John Winthrop, Hudson Arms, Lexington-Concord, Faneuil Hall, Lowell and Emerson. Others are the Hudson Arms, Chasselton, Northcliffe, Miramar, Loleta, Roxbury, Rhododendron and Ruth Court (now Unity Court). Harry E. Hudson primarily did designs for his brother, John Hudson, one of the major apartment developers in the Capitol Hill/First Hill area.”
AGENT DALE COOPER’S DESK
Later in the film, Cooper is at his desk speaking with Albert.
The building behind Cooper is located at 1017 Minor Ave in Seattle, Washington. Known as the Gainsborough, this high-rise building was completed in 1930.
Images from the former InTwinPeaks.com give a better look at the building.
According to Seattle historian Paul Dorpat, the building was “named after the English King George III’s favorite painter, Thomas Gainsborough.”
Designed by Earle W. Morrison on First Hill in the late 1920s, this is one of three luxury high-rise apartment buildings according to Seattle.gov.
“In the 1880s-90s, First Hill, with views and proximity to downtown, developed as the premier residential neighborhood, with the city’s finest mansions. However, by the early 20th Century, apartment buildings and residential hotels, many quite luxurious, began appearing. It was not surprising that, during the 1920s apartment building boom, some of the most urbane and sophisticated buildings were constructed on First Hill, confirming that it was still a desirable address. First Hill also had the tallest buildings outside of downtown.”
“Though matching the nearby 1223 Spring Apartments in scale and massing, the Gainsborough contains more units per floor and lacks such amenities as servants’ quarters. However, the four-to-six room apartments are larger than most, and have features such as oak parquet flooring and cove molding. It was converted to condominiums in 1980, and is well maintained, with good physical integrity, including its original wood sash. However, the original roofline has been compromised by the addition of dormers on the penthouse.”
ALBERT ROSENFIELD’S DESK
The building behind Albert’s desk would have been part of the former Cabrini Hospital. This wraps up the action in the main office, but other hospital locations were used.
THE HALLWAY
The hallway, for example, was most likely just outside the main office on the seventh floor. They probably installed the television camera just for the scene as it oddly looks out of place.
This is the same hallway used when Phillip Jeffries appears.
Remember how I mentioned they shot the scenes on the seventh floor? The elevator arrives on the seventh floor, so I’m assuming it’s just down the hall from the main office. The crew also probably moved the FBI wall logos and the American Flag from the office set to this location.
VIDEO SURVEILLANCE ROOM
The final area I’m highlighting is the video surveillance room. It’s most likely a former hospital patient room (the back door is probably the bathroom). It also appears the uncredited Security Guard (I’m guessing a member of the crew) is using a Panasonic AG-A750 Video Editing Machine on his desk.
Here’s a look at the machine courtesy of OldVCR.tv.
INTWINPEAKS.COM – FBI OFFICES
As previously mentioned, I give much thanks to the InTwinPeaks.com team for identifying this location. Below is the page about the location from the now closed site (click on the image to enlarge).
