Exterior of The Line

Twin Peaks Location – Horne’s Department Store Exterior

My parents hail from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, so I recall visiting Horne’s Department Store when I was younger. Joseph Horne (no relation to Ben or Jerry) started his self-named department store in 1849 and quickly built a large building in downtown Pittsburgh in 1879. Eventually, Horne’s was purchased by Federated Department Stores and the Horne’s name was replaced with Lazarus. But these western Pennsylvania stores had nothing to do with the Horne’s Department Store found in the first season of Twin Peaks. The location’s exterior, shot in a historic area of downtown Seattle, appears in only two episodes – 1.005 and 1.006. But did you know that this building has a connection to Snoqualmie Falls in Snoqualmie, Washington, the location that served for White Tail Falls from the series? Let’s explore this Washington State film location.

WHERE IS HORNE’S DEPARTMENT STORE LOCATED IN TWIN PEAKS?

According to the map on the inside cover of the “Twin Peaks Access Guide to the Town,”  Horne’s Department Store was located at the corner of Snow Street and Maple Street.

Horne's Department Store logo in black and white

Page 97 of the Access Guide describes the store:

While our climate affects the type of apparel Peakers don, there is a strong tradition of aesthetics involved in our choices, too. This can be seen in the wide variety of fashionable but good items available at Horne’s Department Store on Highway J. From sensible blouses of cotton and silk in a variety of colors for women of discriminating taste to the rich and nubbly plaid wool shirts for our virile men, Horne’s is a one-stop shopping center in our community. Also of interest is the perfume counter on the ground floor where international scents mingle.

WHERE IS HORNE’S DEPARTMENT STORE EXTERIOR LOCATED IN SEATTLE?

Google Maps
Google Maps

In reality, this building exterior is located around 212 Second Avenue South in the Pioneer Square Preservation District in downtown Seattle, Washington.

Steven standing outside the Baker Building in Seattle
October 11, 2019

I first visited this location on October 11, 2019. At the time, there was construction taking place outside the first floor entrance.

PIONEER SQUARE PRESERVATION DISTRICT

Pioneer Square Map
Seattle.gov

According to Seattle.gov,  Pioneer Square was “chosen by the first permanent white settlers in 1852 as the location of their new city because it was the only flat area along the deep, protected harbor on Elliott Bay.” A fire destroyed 25 blocks of the City’s central core on June 6, 1889. This prompted the Seattle City Council to require buildings to “be constructed of fire-resistant brick and stone.”

Google Maps view of Building Exterior
Google Maps – August 2008

This explains the Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style of this building which was popular in Chicago and along the East Coast at the time. This style includes a “heavy masonry base, use of the Roman arch, and varied architectural details on each floor.”

Baker Building in downtown Seattle
October 11, 2019

Beginning in the middle part of the 20th century, Pioneer Square eventually became a rather seedy part of town. Luckily, in the 1970s, a grass-roots movement helped designate the area as a national historic district. This lead to redevelopment and preservation in the square.

HISTORY OF THE BAKER BUILDING

While researching this article, I stumbled upon an outstanding article from Bob Royer published on March 16, 2014.

Cascadia Courier Article About Pioneer Square
Cascadia Courier

Bob, who worked for Gallatin Public Affairs, shared the history of this building as his company was moving into the location at the time (they have since moved offices in downtown Seattle).

Black and white image of the Baker Building
University of Washington Collections 1901

According to Royer’s article, the Baker Building was constructed in 1900 by Charles H.  Baker, president of the Seattle Cataract Company and built for the Snoqualmie Falls Power Company, both of which he owned (!!). Baker, a civil engineer, would also plat the town that became Snoqualmie.

Snoqualmie Falls advertisement
Cascadia Courier

Baker created the first underground generating station in the world at Snoqualmie Falls.  The two story Baker building in downtown Seattle was “an electrical substation that would receive the power generated at the falls and distribute it to the growing fleet of street cars in Seattle and Tacoma and ultimately to businesses and homes.”

White Tail Falls in Twin Peaks which is Snoqualmie Falls in Snoqualmie, WA
Episode 2.013

Of course, we know Snoqualmie Falls as White Tail Falls that appeared in all three seasons of Twin Peaks. Part of a second powerhouse created at the falls can be seen in the opening credits for Season 3.

Baker Building in 1956
City of Seattle – Baker Building in 1956

In February 1903, Baker announced that he was turning the substation building into an office building and planned to add three floors. Shortly after his announcement,  the Snoqualmie generating plant was destroyed in a fire and Baker’s father died leaving him unable to pay loans for the building and other investments. In 1906, timber baron George Stetson purchased the now five-story Baker Building.

The building changed hands again when Japanese businessman and tenant in the Baker Building, Masajiro Furuya, purchased it from Stetson in 1917. It was sold again to the Masin family in 1948. A powerful earthquake in 1949 destroyed the top two floors which were subsequently removed from the building. Royer noted in his article, “In 50 years, the building had gone from two floors to five floors and now back to three.”

Baker building in downtown Seattle
October 11, 2019

Royer continued, “The Masins sold the building in 2007 to a young Spokane developer, Rob Brewster and his partner, entrepreneur Michael Goldfarb.  Their plan was to add back the two stories…”

But everything stopped in 2010 due to the economic and bank crisis in the United States and the death of Mr. Goldfarb. Brewster finally received money in 2013 to complete the project.

This brings us to the on screen appearances from Episodes 1005 and 1006.

HORNE’S DEPARTMENT STORE EXTERIOR IN EPISODE 1.005

The first appearance is an establishing shot in episode 1.005. A Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department car drives by the building front.

Police car passing in front of Horne's Department Store
Episode 1.005

The script for this episode was written by Mark Frost. This establishing shot opens Act Two and the script page had a revision on November 8, 1989 (it was a yellow page).

ACT TWO

FADE IN:
11. EXT. HORNE’S DEPARTMENT STORE – DAY
Establish. A sign on an old, granite facade.

Google Maps Street View of Baker Building in downtown Seattle
Google Maps – 2008

A similar view of the front from Google Maps in 2008.

Front of the Baker Building in downtown Seattle with cars parked along the street
October 11, 2019

Here is the same view from my visit in October. The brief establishing shot in episode 1.005 continues below.

Lady and police car passing in front of Horne's Department Store
Episode 1.005
Lady and police car passing in front of Horne's Department Store
Episode 1.005
Front of Horne's Department Store
Episode1.005

As the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department squad car passes, a woman dressed in 1980s fashion walks by. I wonder who she was and where she is today.

HORNE’S DEPARTMENT STORE EXTERIOR IN EPISODE 1.006

Harley Peyton wrote the script for episode 1.006. Again, the Horne’s Department Store establishing shot opens Act Two. It was presented on a blue page dated November 8, 1989

ACT TWO

FADE IN:
8. EXT. HORNE’S DEPARTMENT STORE – DAY
Establish. The rather stolid department store, hub of local commerce.

Exterior of Horne's Department Store in Twin Peaks
Episode 1.006
Exterior of Baker Building in downtown Seattle with cars parked along the street.
October 11, 2019

Notice the 1980 Audi 5000 is still parked in the same spot as episode 1.005 but a red BMW has been added.

Exterior of Horne's Department Store with a white car driving by
Episode 1.006
Horne's Department Store Exterior with white car passing
Episode 1.006

A white 1983 Buick Skylark drives by Horne’s.

Exterior of Horne's Department Store with a Twin Peaks Sheriff's Department vehicle entering the scene
Episode 1.006

Just before the scene cuts to an interior set, we catch a glimpse of a Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department car.

FLICKR GALLERY FOR HORNE’S DEPARTMENT STORE

Image gallery from Flickr of Horne's Department Store Exterior

You can find high-resolution images of the Horne’s Department Store exterior on my Flickr account. The photos are licensed as Creative Commons, so only attribution to “Sam Howzit” is required for use elsewhere.

INTWINPEAKS.COM

I have to salute Travis Blue and Charles from InTwinPeaks.com again who originally posted about this location in the late 2000s. Below is a screen shot from the original posting with images from 2008 and 2010 (click to enlarge).

InTwinPeaks.com webpage for Horne's Department Store exterior

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.

    View all posts

One thought on “Twin Peaks Location – Horne’s Department Store Exterior

  1. This is amazing! How do you dig up this stuff? It blows my mind that the building that was used to represent Horne’s Department Store was linked to the electricity generated by the Falls.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Top