Mount Si with trees in foreground

Twin Peaks Location – It’s Your Father Intersection

Mike the One Armed Man yelling from his driver's side window while holding up his small finger with the Owl ring on it.

In a previous article, I discussed the location of Leland and Laura Palmer’s scene in front of Mo’s Motor from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. The service center is located next to an intersection that serves as the backdrop to two important scenes from David Lynch’s feature film motion picture and Twin Peaks Part 6 on Showtime. This intersection is located at the Meadowbrook Way and Park Street in Snoqualmie, Washington.

Google Maps aerial image of locations seen in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and Twin Peaks Season 3
Google Maps

The scene mostly takes place at the intersection of Meadowbrook Way SE and SE Park Street in Snoqualmie. The approximate coordinates for the location are 47°31’31.1″N 121°48’45.8″W.

The image above contains an aerial view of the intersection from Google Maps with the location of several key scenes from this spot.

INTERSECTION HISTORY

Black and white aerial view of Meadowbrook, Washington with houses and streets
Snoqualmie Valley History Museum

The intersection is  located in the former town of Meadowbrook. Arthur W. Platt and Angus J. Moffat turned the 1,200-acres of land into a successful dairy empire in the early 1900s. With the Snoqualmie Mill opening just a few years earlier, Platt thought part of his land could serve the mill workers as they went to work.

In 1923, Platt and his wife turned part of the dairy farm into the town of Meadowbrook. It had a drug store, grocery story, hotel, and movie theatre. The town was eventually annexed to Snoqualmie in 1952.

EPISODE 2010

Image from Twin Peaks episode 2010 of wet road lined with buildings and a truck turning onto a side street
2010
Road lined with buildings and tall fir trees in the distance
September 14, 2019
Road lined with buildings and tall fir trees in the distance
February 26, 2023

Before Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and Part 6 on Showtime, the intersection makes a brief appearance in Episode 2010 from season 2. It’s a quick transition shot from Twin Peaks High School to the Great Northern Hotel.

FIRE WALK WITH ME

Back seat shot Leland and Laura Palmer driving toward the intersection
Fire Walk With Me

When we next see this intersection, Leland and Laura Palmer are driving toward it after being followed by an erratic Mike, the One Armed Man.

Meadowbrook Way in Snoqualmie, WA
September 14, 2019

They are scene driving on Meadowbrook Way toward the intersection.

CROSSWALK

Aerial view of an old man using a walker with someone helping him cross the street
Fire Walk With Me

In the film, a logging truck stops at the intersection as an elderly gentleman and a woman begin crossing the street. This was a crane shot, which is something I didn’t have when visiting the location.

Corner of Intersection in Snoqualmie, WA
September 15, 2019

Here is the corner of the intersection from September 2019.

Mother and Boy on street corner
Part 6

This crosswalk would later be the spot of a tragic accident in Part 6.

Aerial shot of cars lined up on the road behind a logging truck filled with logs

Another crane shot of the intersection with the Palmer’s vehicle sandwiched between Mike’s truck and a logging truck.

black and white photo of David Lynch sitting in a director's chair with Mo's Motor building behind him and part of a crane to his right
The Mauve Zone

There’s a fantastic shot of David Lynch sitting near the corner of Park Street and Meadowbrook Way found in the 1992 Cannes Film Festival press kit. Look carefully and you’ll spot the crane vehicle which was most likely used to capture the aerial shots.

Old man and a lady crossing the street in front of a logging truck
Fire Walk With Me
Intersection along Meadowbrook Way
September 14, 2019

The gentleman stumbles while crossing the road. Beyond him is the Meadowbrook Way bridge also seen in the Pilot Episode and Part 18. Today, the intersection has way more signs.

TRAFFIC LIGHT

It also appears the traffic light may have been added to the shot.

Road lined with buildings and tall trees in the distance
2010

The transition shot in Episode 2010 doesn’t contain a stoplight. This image mayhave been shot around February 1989 (assuming it was captured as part of the Pilot footage).

It could have also been shot in 1990 when a crew briefly returned to get additional location footage for season one. Either way, it’s highly doubtful that a stoplight was added during that time.

Intersection with a tall utility pole and farm equipment
August 10, 1996

When I first visited this location on August 10, 1996, no traffic light or stop sign was present.

Stop Sign with All Way marker next to a utility pole
Part 6

My gut says an the all way stop sign was added in the 2000s and was probably a result of too many traffic accidents at the intersection. I’d have to do additional research to confirm.

Intersection
InTwinPeaks.com

Charles from the former InTwinPeaks.com visited this spot in the late 2000s and the stop sign was already installed.

MIKE CONFRONTS LELAND

Aerial view of Mike driving his white truck through intersection
Fire Walk With Me

Mike the One-Armed Man grows impatient at the wait so he zooms around the intersection narrowly missing the couple in the crosswalk.

Laura and Leland Palmer sitting in their car while Mike pulls up next to them in a white truck
Fire Walk With Me
Parking lot with trees
September 14, 2019

Mike pulls alongside the Palmer’s car and begins yelling. In the background, you can see the athletic field lights at Mount Si High School. Trees cover that spot today and a newly constructed school building appears in view.

Mike the One Armed Man sitting in his truck yelling
Fire Walk With Me
Colonial Square Apartment Parking
September 14, 2019

So much yelling while engines rev. The area behind Mike is parking for Colonial Square Apartments.

Leland Palmer sitting in the driver's seat of his car
Fire Walk With Me
Laura Palmer looking concerned sitting in the passenger seat
Fire Walk With Me

Leland stares angrily at Mike while Laura isn’t sure what to think.

Meadowbrook Way in Snoqualmie, WA with trees lining the street
September 15, 2019

The road in the background is Meadowbrook Way toward Mount Si High School.

Ray Wise as Leland Palmer looking to his left through a car winshield
Fire Walk With Me

Ray Wise does such an incredible job in this film. The range of his emotions expressed on his face are stunning.

Sheryl Lee as Laura Palmer looking concerned
Fire Walk With Me

Additional shots show Laura and Leland’s reactions to Mike’s yelling.

Red Building with piles of dirt in parking lot
September 14, 2019

The out-of-focus red building was constructed in 1939. It once housed Best Putt Forward and Bucky’s Baseball Academy.

IT’S YOUR FATHER

Mike the One Armed Man yelling while holding up his small finger with the owl ring
Fire Walk With Me

Mike yells to Laura about her father and holds up the Owl Cave ring on his little finger.

Mike the One Armed Man looking angry
Fire Walk With Me
Mike the One Armed Man yelling while holding up his small finger with the owl ring
Fire Walk With Me

While Laura Palmer is remembering the ring later in the film, we see a close up shot of Mike yelling while wearing the ring. These shots were most likely captured during the same scene but not used during the intersection sequence.

PULLING AWAY

Leland Palmer in his car pressing his steering wheel while Laura Palmer plugs her ears
Fire Walk With Me
Colonial Square Apartment Parking
September 14, 2019

Mike speeds away while Leland continues to rev his engine.

Fire Walk With Me - Leland and Laura Palmer
Fire Walk With Me
Colonial Square Apartments brick building with windows and a white door
September 14, 2019

Leland releases the brake and goes flying down Meadowbrook Way.

Leland and Laura Palmer pulling away in a blue car
Fire Walk With Me
Colonial Square Apartments brick building with windows and a white door
September 14, 2019

Notice the red door on the building in the background. This location – Colonial Square Apartments – will serve as the location of Gersten Hayward’s apartment in Part 11 from season three. Hat tip to fellow Bookhouse Boy Bob Hoag for the info.

Steven and Gersten hiding
Part 11
Inside of Colonial Square Apartments
January 24, 2020

Author

  • Steven Miller at Twede's Cafe enjoying cherry pie and coffee

    A "Twin Peaks" fan since October 1993, Steven Miller launched Twin Peaks Blog in February 2018 to document his decades-long fascination with David Lynch and Mark Frost's wonderful and strange show. With his Canon camera in hand, he's visited numerous film locations, attended Twin Peaks events and conducted extensive historical research about this groundbreaking series. Along with fellow Bookhouse Boys, he dreams of creating a complete Twin Peaks Archive of the series and feature film. Steven currently resides in Central Florida.

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