Twin Peaks Film Location – Blue Pine Lodge Kitchen

Kicking of the New Year with a return to the Kiana Lodge in Poulsbo, Washington. This location served as the film location of both the Packard family’s Blue Pine Lodge and The Great Northern Hotel as seen in theĀ Twin PeaksĀ Pilot. Today, I’m focusing on the kitchen which is seen briefly toward the beginning of the episode.

WHERE IS THE BLUE PINE LODGE KITCHEN LOCATED IN TWIN PEAKS?

Google Maps - Blue Pine Lodge Kitchen Door Exterior
Google Maps

Located at 14976 Sandy Hook Rd NE in Poulsbo, Kiana Lodge is a private meeting and wedding facility that originally opened in 1937. The Suquamish Tribe purchased the lodge from Bob Riebe in 2004. They welcome visitors but ask that you please call ahead to check their schedule at (360) 598-4311. They prefer visitors give paying clients privacy and to plan a visit when no events are happening.

Blue Pine Lodge in Episode 2020
2020

The location in this article is found on the right side of the original 1937 building facing a retention pond. The approximate coordinates areĀ 47Ā°41’59.9″N 122Ā°34’57.0″W.

This scene was shot on March 16, 1989 toward the end of the month-long schedule in Washington state.

I’ll be examining both the Pilot Episode and the same scenes in Part 17 from Season 3 on Showtime. The biggest difference between the two versions is the aspect ration – 4:3 versus 16:9, the latter being a slightly cropped image.

THE BLUE PINE LODGE KITCHEN

Twin Peaks Film Location - Blue Pine Lodge Kitchen
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Twin Peaks Film Location - Blue Pin Lodge Kitchen
Part 17

The broadcast version of this scene opens with an interior look at the Blue Pine Lodge Lodge. Pete Martell enters from stage right and crosses to the wood-block counter.

In the original “Northwest Passage” script, some action takes place before this scene.

EXT. THE PACKARD RESIDENCE – DAWN
Outside the huge log house, called Blue Pine Lodge, PETE MARTELL, a late-middle-aged man, sets some fishing gear in the back of a pick-up, then goes inside.

Kiana Lodge Kitchen in August 1996
August 9, 1996

In reality, the scene was shot in the kitchen that is adjacent to the dining room inside Kiana Lodge. It was the firstĀ Twin Peaks film location I ever visited so it holds a special place in my heart.

Here is a quick 36-second clip of the first time I stepped into the kitchen (my excitement level was through the roof).

PETE MARTELL KISSING KATHERINE MARTELL

Pete Martell and Katherine Martell in the Pilot Episode
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Pete Martell and Katherine Martell in Part 17
Part 17

The script continues:

INT. BLUE PINE LODGE KITCHEN – DAWN
Pete grabs a thermos of coffee and an apple, kisses his wife, KATHERINE PACKARD MARTELL, a sturdy, weathered woman, mid- fifties, fully dressed, at the table, newspaper and coffee in hand. She doesn’t react to the kiss. Pete exits.Ā 

The Stanley thermos he grabs was made in the early 60s (that’s a different article for another time). It’s cool that the yellow apple mentioned in the script also made it in the scene. Notice “Catherine Martell” is spelled with a “K” not “C”; her name changed for Episode 1001.

Pete Martell is going fishing
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Pete Martell is going fishing
Part 17

The script does not contain Pete’s “Gone fishing” dialogue.

Kiana Lodge Kitchen in August 1996
August 9, 1996

Here is a similar shot from August 9, 1996.

PETE MARTELL LEAVES TO GO FISHING

Pete Leaves the Kitchen
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Pete Leaves the Kitchen
Part 17

Pete exits the side door in the kitchen as Katherine continues reading her newspaper and enjoying a cup of coffee.

Kiana Lodge Kitchen in July 2006
Photo by Jared Lyon – July 26, 2006

Thanks to fellow Bookhouse Boy Jared Lyon, we see the side door was replaced about ten years later in July 2006.

THE SIDE DOOR OF THE BLUE PINE LODGE

Blue Pine Lodge Exterior
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Pete walked out the door that was once located on this side of the Kiana Lodge.

Pete leaving the Blue Pine Lodge
Part 17

I covered Pete’s exit from the Blue Pine Lodge in this article from February 2020. In reality, he exits the back door of the original 1937 building. We got to see that exit in extended footage used in Part 17.

Pete outside the Blue Pine Lodge
1000

The original Pilot episode cut to Pete already walking on the gravel path.

THE BLUE PINE LODGE KITCHEN TODAY

Katherine Martell in the Blue Pine Lodge Kitchen
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Katherine Martell in the Blue Pine Lodge Kitchen
Part 17

The camera hangs on Katherine for a moment after Pete exits the scene.

Kiana Lodge Kitchen
January 22, 2020

When I finally returned to Kiana Lodge after a 23 year hiatus, I discovered the kitchen area was completed remodeled.

PETE MARTELL CALLS SHERIFF TRUMAN

Twin Peaks Film Location - Blue Pine Lodge Kitchen
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Upon finding the body wrapped in plastic, Pete telephones the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department. In the script, this action takes place at a payphone on the dock.

EXT. SAWMILL DOCK – DAWN
Pete, the middle-aged man, hurriedly punches in a number on a pay phone at the end of the dock.

It’s interesting to note that Pete’s line “She’s dead, wrapped in plastic” was not in the original script. See this Quotable Peaks article for more details about this now famous line.

Blue Pine Lodge Kitchen
1000

I always thought that the windows behind Pete in this scene were the same square windows we see when Pete first enters the kitchen. It was only after researching this article that I realized that things took place on the opposite side of this room.

Adam Barnick on August 9, 1996
August 9, 1996

In the video you see fellow Bookhouse Boy and impromptu tour guide Adam Barnick direct my friend Joe Neff and me into the kitchen area. That’s when I realized they shot Pete in front of the windows to the left of Adam.

Kiana Lodge Kitchen in August 1996
August 9, 1996

This is an opposite view of the kitchen in August 1996. Notice the phone on the green dresser.

Kiana Lodge Kitchen in August 1996
August 9, 1996

This clip of me ruining Joe’s shot of the kitchen shows off the windows and ledge even more. It was this particular image that confirmed my thinking. You can see the ledge and the larger connected windows in this shot.

Additionally, the outside scenes don’t match. There is no grouping of trees that we see when Pete leaves. In stead, we see an overhang which would have been toward the front of the building.

McDONALD’S SIPPY CUP PROP AT BLUE PINE LODGE

Pete Martell on the Phone
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In the background of Pete’s scene, you see an out-of-focus McDonald’s cup sitting on the ledge (the same ledge that made me realize the shot was reversed).

Jared Lyon first identified that it was a McDonald’s mug in June 2010 for Twin Peaks Archive. Brother Jerry Horne mentioned, “The attached image is a 1983 version of the mug, and it’s not the exact version, but you can see it’s quite similar.”

So I did some additional digging and found the replica mug used in the shot.

McDonald's Sippy Cups
McDonald’s Sippy Cups

You’ll notice the mug on the left is the one Jerry mentions from 1983. Two year later, McDonald’s released a slightly revised version which placed Grimace next to Mayor McCheese (add this to the list of things I never thought I’d be writing about for this blog). The biggest difference is the McDonald’s logo is missing between the two characters in the later mug.

McDonald's Sippy Cup from 1985
McDonald’s Sippy Cup from 1985

The second mug has a copyright date of 1985.

McDonald's Sippy Cups
McDonald’s Sippy Cups

The cup was manufactured by Whirley Industries, Inc. from Warren, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1960, the company is still around today but is now known as Whirley-Drinkworks!

Blue Rose Magazine - Vinnie Guidera's Article

Of course, I could have just referred to Issue 14 of Blue Rose Magazine where my fellow author Vinnie Guidera had already identified the mug. Let’s hope the rest of this year doesn’t have me doing duplicative work.

One article down for 2021 … hundreds more to go. Happy New Year!

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.

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