The Palmer House is one of the most iconic locations in Twin Peaks. Much like the “two Chalfonts” at the Fat Trout Trailer Park, two houses were used – an exterior of one in Monroe, Washington and the interior and exterior of another in Everett, Washington. This article is the first a series examining the important spot that begins with a look at the home’s historic significance.
LOCATION OF THE PALMER HOUSE IN TOWN OF TWIN PEAKS
According to the “Twin Peaks Access Guide to the Town,” the Palmer family lived at at corner of Frost Avenue and Northwestern Street in Twin Peaks (number 6 on the map above).
WHERE IS THE PALMER HOUSE LOCATED IN EVERETT, WASHINGTON
In reality, the home is located at 708 33rd Street in Everett, Washington. The approximate coordinates are 47°58’25.3″N 122°13’14.4″W.
If you are interested in taking a tour of this location, please check out VisitPalmerHouse.com. Mary Reber (Mrs. Tremond in Twin Peaks Part 18) owns the house and has created a variety of tour packages showcasing this historic Everett, Washington home.
Please remember this is a private residence, so please be respectful if you are in the area. This reminder includes anyone who wants to scream at the house while standing on the street – yes, it happens. Don’t be that person.
HISTORY OF THE PALMER HOUSE IN EVERETT, WASHINGTON
To understand the history of the Palmer house, we must first look at Rucker Mansion, a grand home located just down the street at 412 Laurel Drive. Historylink.org has a longer article about this stately home so I’ll summarize below.
Built as a wedding gift, Jane Morris Rucker (1830-1907), her sons Wyatt and Bethel, and Bethel’s new wife Ruby Brown Rucker moved into the home in summer 1905. The Rucker family had moved to the area from Ohio about 15 years earlier. At that time, the tree-covered land was sparsely settled. After forming the Everett Land Company, the Ruckers helped develop the city that is Everett.
Their family home sits atop the fittingly named Rucker Hill, which has stunning views of the city and bay below. The mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and is privately owned today.
RUCKER HILL NEIGHBORHOOD IN EVERETT, WASHINGTON
The Rucker Hill neighborhood expanded in the 1910s, beginning with a small group of houses constructed along Laurel Drive.
According to the National Park Service, residents included “Everett Land Company officer Schuyler Duryee, Judge Charles Denney, and several other influential businessmen and professionals. The homes they built were large Colonial Revival, Craftsman, and Foursquare structures.”
Enter Fred C. Schoch (1877-1928), an Iowa-born baseball player who moved to Washington to play for the University of Washington in Seattle.
According to the Everett Public Library, he played ball between 1901-1903 before an injury forced a career change.
“He played college ball for the 1901 season, and then moved to Everett to join the Everett independent club as a pitcher. Schoch opened the first bowling alley in Everett. In 1902, Schoch played for a Seattle baseball team. Due to arm injuries, he stopped playing in 1903 and became an umpire for the Northwest league, which included clubs in Vancouver, Bellingham, Victoria, Spokane, and Everett.
In 1912, Schoch became an insurance agent for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. He found great success in the insurance industry, ranking as 55th (of 6,000) most successful salesmen in Washington in 1922.”
Following his success in the insurance game, Schoch built the home we know today as the Palmer house.
Wait, is it really about insurance?
THE HOUSE AT 708 33rd
Construction on Rucker Hill resumed following World War I with new homes “concentrated on the smaller, less scenic lots at the base of the hill.”
The National Park Service states that “Craftsman bungalows were built by members of the professional and managerial classes, and residents of the period included several doctors and attorneys.”
In 1923, real estate developer Charles Spreistersbach built his own English Cottage style house. He was responsible for the construction of several other homes in the district, yet it’s unclear if he built Schoch’s house.
FRED SCHOCH DIES
Only three short years after moving into 708 33rd, Fred Schoch died at the age of 51.
He is buried at Evergreen Cemetery, which is about 10 minutes from his former home. I wasn’t able locate his cause of death.
Interestingly, Jane Rucker, the pioneer of Everett who lived down the street from Schoch, is also buried in Evergreen Cemetery. Her sons constructed a pyramid to honor her in 1907. If I wasn’t planning on having my wife spread my ashes in Joshua Tree, California, I would totally want a pyramid.
PETTERSON FAMILY
It’s unclear who owned the home from 1928-1965. Online records were sparse so I’d have to conduct more research locally. One family, however, lived in the house for about 49 years.
Following the Korean War in 1953, Seattle-born Peter Andreas Pettersen married Marilyn Palm. In 1965, they moved into the home at 708 33rd Street and raised a family of five.
Pete was an automobile dealer in downtown Everett until his retirement in the mid 1980’s. On April 22, 2001, Peter passed away at his house at the age of 68.
According to her obituary on DignityMemorial.com:
“Marilyn was Miss Everett, Miss USS Boxer, and Queen of Everett’s first Scandinavian Festival. She also repre-sented Everett at many other festivals such as Wenatchee Apple Blossom Festival, Marysville Straw-berry Festival and Seafair.
After acquiring her diploma from Everett High School in 1951, she completed her four year nursing degree in just three short years. During her nursing education, she met and married her husband Peter.
She trained, then worked as a nurse at General Hospital; later working at The Everett Clinic as the weekend emergency pediatric nurse, all while raising her five children. Once her children got older, she decided to return to school and further her education. She became a nurse practitioner and saw patients at the Everett Clinic for several years before retiring in the late 80s.”
In 2010, Marilyn spoke on camera about historic homes in the area including hers. She regrets remodeling a bathroom at one point but has a great affection for her home and will probably have to be “carried out of it, feet first” (around 2-minute mark).
KING 5 in Seattle visited Marilyn in 2014 to capture this fantastic interview and tour with her when her house was placed on the market.
WHY WAS THE HOME IN EVERETT, WASHINGTON USED IN TWIN PEAKS?
Emily Heffter interviewed Marilyn on Zillow Blog on in July 2014 where she describes an encounter with a location scout.
“Marilyn Pettersen awoke one morning in 1989 in her Everett, WA home to find an agent for a film company standing at her front door.
‘When I answered the door, she said: ‘Well, I’m from the movie company and working on a movie for ABC TV. They would like to use your home in the movie,” Pettersen recalled. ‘She was a little tiny young gal, and I thought, ‘yeah, and I’m the queen of England.’
I’m assuming the “little tiny young gal” was Julie Duvic who was the location liaison for the Pilot Episode in 1989. I don’t believe they visited the Everett home on February 9 though.
The film company told Pettersen they were looking for a home that “looked prosperous, like it could belong to Palmer’s attorney father, and one that could be fixed up to look like his ‘neurotic wife’ lived there, too. ”
Granted, the article also identified Twin Peaks being in Alaska (?!). I’m guessing Ms. Heffter confused Twin Peaks with Northern Exposure, a popular CBS show airing around the same time.
MARY REBER – MRS. TREMOND – ARRIVES AT THE PALMER HOUSE
According to property records, the home was sold on September 15, 2014, only a few short months after it was listed on the market. Its new owner, Mary Reber, had no idea what was on the horizon.
On a sad side note, Marilyn Pettersen passed on October 28 that year, a handful of weeks after selling her beloved home.
Season 3 was announced on October 6, 2014. On New Year’s Day 2015, David Lynch and a small location scouting team returned to the Everett home. He remarked upon entering the house he first visited nearly 26 years earlier, ‘I love this house, they don’t make them like this anymore.”
According to a November 2017 article on Hearldnet.com, Lynch recruited the new home owner to be in the new season during a return trip a few months later.
“He said, ‘Have you ever acted?’ Mary explained, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Would you like a small part?’ I said, ‘Absolutely,’”
Mary is one of the nicest people I met in Washington state during my visits in 2019. I’ll never forget standing outside the front door similar to that now famous scene in Season 3. When she asked if I’d like to step inside, I nearly fainted. But stories from Season 3 are for another time.
PALMER HOUSE EXTERIORS IN EVERETT, WASHINGTON
I first visited the Palmer House in August 1996 after attending the 1996 Twin Peaks Fan Festival. My friend Joe and I stumbled upon it while driving throughout Everett.
During that initial visit, we took a couple of photos outside the home and left. We didn’t bother knocking on the front door. Notice the trees along the sidewalk.
Those same trees are seen in the feature film shot about five years earlier.
The house looks nearly the same 28 years after Lynch’s feature film was shot. Those sidewalk trees, however, were removed sometime in 2015-2016.
It’s a surreal feeling to see this home in real life, especially after watching Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With Me countless times since I first fell in love with the show in October 1993.
Here’s a better look at those trees along the sidewalk from the film and my visit on September 13, 2019.
Lynch is correct – homes like this are a treasure. Thank you to Mary Reber for her hospitality during my visits.
