In Twin Peaks Part 14 on Showtime, Sarah Palmer visits Elk’s Point #9 Bar. While enjoying a Bloody Mary, she has an encounter with an offensive trucker who meets an untimely death. In reality, this bar is located in Snoqualmie, Washington and has been in existence for more than a century.
WHERE IS ELK’S POINT #9 BAR LOCATED?
Located at 38600 SE King Street in Snoqualmie, Washington, the bar is currently known as Smokey Joe’s Tavern. I first identified the location on Twitter just after Part 14 aired on August 13, 2017.
WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF SMOKEY JOE’S BAR IN SNOQUALMIE?
The tavern has been a popular spot for locals in the region for more than 100 years. According to a the City of Snoqualmie Landmark Registration form on a King County website:
“This building, prominently located on King Street across from the Snoqualmie Railroad Depot and the IOOF Hall, is the lower story of a two-story hotel built in 1910. The building was originally called the Hotel Snoqualmie, continuing the ownership and business of the original Hotel Snoqualmie on the corner of Falls Avenue and River Street which burned in 1908. By the late 1920s, Jacob Burton owned the hotel. The 1940 tax photo records the original two story structure with ‘Burton Hotel -Apartments-Rooms’ painted on the side. The hotel was damaged by fire (on April 2, 1960) and remodeled in the 1960s. In addition to the loss of the second story, other changes to the exterior appearance such as the covering of window openings have altered the historic appearance of the property.”
A photo from SavorSnoqualmieValley.org shows the original second story above the entrance to Smokey Joe’s Tavern. According to an October 2008 article in the Snoqualmie Valley Record, the bar was purchased by the Leland family in 2007. Prior to the Leland’s owning it, Baldwin “Baldy” Galloway and his wife Joanne ran the tavern from 1973 until 1992. The tavern was briefly named Ye Olde Lumberjacks prior to the Galloway’s purchasing it. The name wasn’t a favorite with locals so Baldy changed it back to Smokey Joe’s.
LOCATION VISIT UPDATE – NOVEMBER 19, 2019
I visited this location on September 13, 2019 during my return to North Bend, Washington after 23 years. I’ve updated this article with new location photos from this bar.
In Twin Peaks, the name of the bar is Elk’s Point #9 bar. A neon sign serves as the establishing shot for this scene and it was placed directly over the Smokey Joe’s sign.
A photo from the official Facebook page for Smokey Joe’s Tavern shows the original sign.
A nighttime shot of the Smokey Joe’s sign. Notice how the electrical box a the of the sign appears to match the one seen in the Elk’s Point neon sign image.
The words “Pull Tabs” are now covered. “Pull tabs,” which are a form of gambling in Washington State, were mentioned in that 2008 article. They must have discontinued them in more recent years as the establishment no longer has a gambling license.
The scene cuts to Sarah walking in the darkness from the back of the bar toward the door. The path she is walking on is known as Centennial Trail and it connects to the giant Centennial Log seen in the opening credits of the Pilot Episode and Episode 2001.
As Sarah walks along side the building, we can see a neon sign for Goose Island 312 beer from Chicago, Illinois.
Sarah arrives at the front door. Above it, we see the red neon sign. There is also a neon sign for Corona Light sen in the episode. During my visit in September 2019, a Pabst Blue Ribbon sign is now in the window (Frank Booth would be happy). I believe that Pabst sign is the same on seen in the episode. More on that in a moment.
A photo from the Smokey Joe’s Facebook page provides another look a the main entrance.
The scene cuts to Sarah entering the bar from the pool table area. This would be located in the back of the bar. Behind the camera is the front door that Sarah just entered a moment before. Notice the Pabst Blue Ribbon sign along the back wall of the pool room.
Sitting at the bar, Sarah orders a Bloody Mary from the bartender (played by Eric Ray Anderson).
Here are two images of the same bar – from the Smokey Joe’s Facebook page and from my visit in September 2019.
What a thrill to sit at the bar in the same spot as Grace Zabriskie.
And let’s talk about their Bloody Marys. Wow!
There was a sign advertising them on the bar when I visited.
I returned to Smokey Joe’s on September 16 just to have a spicy one. It was fantastic! Highly recommended.
A Trucker (played by John Paulsen sits in the corner of the bar drinking Rainier Ale. I love that the beverage cooler with the primary color stripes is actually found in the location. It appears the deer and antler wall decorations were added by the crew.
Of course, I sat in the same spot. I think I ordered a Rainier Ale (no bottle though).
Sarah Palmer notices the Trucker who starts speaking at her.
After downing a shot, the Trucker, sporting his awesome “Truck You” shirt, approaches Sarah. I’m surprised an official version of the shirt hasn’t been made yet. It looks like David Lynch’s handwriting on the shirt.
Sarah Palmer turns to the trucker.
She then removes her face to reveal an evil being inside.
My attempt to recreate Sarah’s face-removal shots.
After a few choice words by the Trucker, Sarah removes her face to reveal evil inside. The Pabst Blue Ribbon sign appears to be strategically placed to the left of Sarah’s face.
The effects were created by BUF who did 213 other special effect shots for Twin Peaks on Showtime.
For the shot, they said, “…The second one with Sarah Palmer needed a black and fleshy color. (Later, Lynch also added a creature inside Sarah’s face opening.) To build this effect, we needed to recreate a CG head and a CG hand based on the filmed references in order to rotoscope the animation.”
Sarah attacks the Trucker, taking a bite out of his neck. He collapses on the floor and Sarah, as if waking from a dream, screams out in terror. The bartender runs over to see the dead trucker lying on the floor.
Here’s the same spot on the ground where the trucker laid bleeding.
The scene ends with Sarah speaking with the bartender. There is a second smaller sign for Elk’s Point #9 Bar found on the front of the housing for the beer taps (which wasn’t present when I visited – bummer!).
This location has been used for other films including “Captain Fantastic,” a 2015 independent film staring Viggo Mortensen. Here are two images from the brief scene shot at Smokey Joe’s in August 2014.
I worked there when they filmed this. Pretty rad.