The former Brook Theater in Snoqualmie, Washington served as the film location for Mo’s Motor in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. This now demolished film location holds a special place in my heart thanks to the 1996 Twin Peaks Fan Festival and Craig Miller and John Thorne’s excellent Twin Peaks magazine, “Wrapped in Plastic.”
WRAPPED IN PLASTIC
In issue number 27 of “Wrapped in Plastic,” Craig and John published a letter I wrote about this location. That letter may have been the foundation for my obsession of finding film locations.
My letter read:
“Dear Craig and John:
Congratulations to WIP 25 and your excellent article about the 1996 Twin Peaks Fan Festival. The festival was a great experience, and I am looking forward to returning next year.
I recently watched the last – sniff, sniff – Twin Peaks marathon on Bravo on October 30-31, 1996. While watching the series, I saw “Mo’s Motor,’ from Fire Walk With Me (the scene where Mike, the One-armed Man, is yelling at Leland Palmer) in episode 2010 (#17). The scene I am describing is found between Ed Hurley telling Nadine to practice her cheers and Cooper packing his suitcase. The is a long shot of several buildings and a truck turning. The white building in the center of the shot is “Mo’s Motor.’ At this year’s Fan Festival, I learned the majority of the episodes were filmed in Malibu, California. The actual location of ‘Mo’s Motor’ is near North Bend, Washington. Does this mean the filming crews were in Washington for the majority of the series? Could this shot have been recycled from an earlier episode such as the pilot?
Enclosed is a photo of the “Mo’s Motor” building I took during the Fan Festival. Has anyone points this out before? Keep up the excellent work.
Aces,
Steven Miller”
AUGUST 10, 1996 BUS TOUR
Below is the original photograph I enclosed with the letter. It’s the only image I have of the location on August 10, 1996.
I also have a short video from the bus tour of film locations as part of the 1996 Twin Peaks Fan Festival. We stopped at both Mo’s Motor and the Intersection.
CRAIG AND JOHN RESPOND
Craig and John responded with additional images from the film and series:
“We had never noticed the ‘Mo’s Motor’ building hiding in the background of episode 2010. Nice eagle-eye work! Our guess is that this was a generic establishing shot filmed earlier and used during the second season.”
Of course, I know better now where many scenes were filmed (see: the Complete Guide to Twin Peaks Locations).
BLUE ROSE MAGAZINE
Before the Internets and social media, Craig and John’s work was my lifeline to Twin Peaks! I looked forward to every issue and read them cover to cover. Their excellent analysis, in-depth articles and acknowledgment of fellow fans was beyond appreciated.
At this point, I recommend “Blue Rose Magazine,” which carries forth the same spirit of the original Twin Peaks magazine (kind of like the Bookhouse Boys … “Men before us, men before them and after we’re gone.”). The best part is John contributes articles (and you can follow him on Twitter @thornewip).
Subscribe to the magazine by visiting http://www.bluerosemag.com.
INTWINPEAKS.COM
I’d be remiss not including a nod to InTwinPeaks.com which only fanned the flames of my quest to find all the film locations. Below is a modified page that was originally published on the now defunct site.
Here are two individual photos from the late 2000s. So sad the building is now gone.
