Twin Peaks High School in Twin Peaks used five different film locations. Today, I’m focusing on the first of these locations which served as the exterior establishing shot location in Season 1 and 2. The interiors of this location were used in the Pilot Episode and made a brief appearance in Season 3 on Showtime.
In reality, Mt. Si High School, found at 8651 Meadowbrook Way SE in Snoqualmie, Washington, was used as the exterior establishing shot in Seasons 1 and 2 as well as the interior scenes from the Pilot Episode.
Other Twin Peaks film locations are just down the street from other including the Intersection from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and Part 6 on Showtime, the Bridge from Part 18 on Showtime and the original Fat Trout Trailer Park.
There were two establishing shots of this location used – a cropped shot from Episode 1003 (seen at top) and a wider angle shot from Episode 2012.
The establishing shot was captured along Meadowbrook Way. The Google Street View images from August 2008 barely show this particular building entrance.
I found this image of the entrance taken by MDew on Mapio.
I also found this image from July 2016 by Foursquare user Kristie L. One thing you’ll immediately notice is the exterior looks much different today versus when the Pilot Episode was shot in the late 1980s.
This location for Mt. Si High School opened around 1951. The building was added onto for several years including a massive renovation in 1991 which added an additional 60,000 sq. ft. of space. Currently, the high school is being modernized and expanded again with students being welcomed to the new facility in 2019. Sadly, this means that any original interior spaces seen in Twin Peaks is gone.
I searched everywhere on the internets for photos and images from the pre-1991 renovation. The only item I found was a 1984 yearbook on the Snoqualmie Valley Museum website. The book has some color images from the interior, including yellow lockers and red striped walls.
UPDATE: JUNE 15, 2019
The old Mt. Si High School closed its doors on June 14, 2019. Demolition of the building is set for July 5. Luckily fellow Bookhouse Boys and Gals shared some final interior images from this iconic Twin Peaks location.
Today is the last day of #TwinPeaks High School. It’s doors will shut soon and demolition begins July 5th. Here are a few pictures taken during its final hours by @grrlskout. Thank you for sharing, this high school will live on forever in our memories. So will Norma and Ed. pic.twitter.com/eY4UqUmUrr
— Aaron Cohen 🔜 🌮🔔 (@ImoveCar) June 14, 2019
The location for Twin Peaks high school closes today. Demolition begins soon. So grateful to have spent time here over the years — and over the moon that I got to access some out-of-reach places thanks to the generous @grrlskout. Rest In Peace, red lockers. See you in my dreams. pic.twitter.com/D9clijGpg0
— Courtenay Stallings (@CourtenayCal) June 14, 2019
My 15 year old son is officially the last person to do the Twin Peaks “hallway dance”. See you in my dreams, TPHS… #twinpeaks #twinpeakshighschool #mtsihigh #mshs #steeplejacks pic.twitter.com/ZAbEYC0WE1
— d!e HeXe (@grrlskout) June 15, 2019
Here are some of their images:
The Pilot Episode still remains the best record of what the school looked like pre-1991 as seen below:
LOCKER ROOM
LOCKERS AND HALLWAY
ENTRANCE LOBBY
LIBRARY
CLASSROOM
COURTYARD
INTERCOM ROOM
TROPHY CASE
Of course Charles from the former InTwinPeaks.com visited the location in the late 2000s. He found a way inside but was just as disappointed to find many of the original interiors had dramatically changed. Below is a modified version of his location page that once existed on the now closed website.
Related Articles:
- Twin Peaks High School – Fire Walk With Me
- Twin Peaks High School – Fast Times at Twin Peaks High
- Twin Peaks High School – Tale of Two Bathrooms
- Twin Peaks High School – Field
- Vacant Peaks – Twin Peaks High School
