On February 24, 2024, Twin Peaks Day kicked off with a panel discussion between John Thorne, author and co-editor / co-producer of “Wrapped in Plastic”; Josh Eisenstadt, Director, Screenwriter and long-time Twin Peaks fan; and me about Twin Peaks film locations in California. This free panel was held as part of the Real Twin Peaks 2024 event in Snoqualmie Valley, Washington. For nearly 47 minutes, they shared stories at the Black Dog Arts Cafe in downtown Snoqualmie, Washington. The conversation was lively and offered details about favorite spots such as Buella’s Place, Richard Horne’s Rock, The Zone, Lucky 7 Insurance, Glastonbury Grove, Owl Cave and so many more. For me, this was a surreal moment in my 30-year journey with David Lynch and Mark Frost’s wonderful and strange show.
BLACK DOG ARTS CAFE IN SNOQUALMIE
The Black Dog Arts Cafe is located at 8062 Railroad Ave. SE in Snoqualmie. It was the site of several panel discussions during the Real Twin Peaks 2023 event.
Founded by Cristie Coffing in 1990, the cafe saw new ownership when Maxine Loveless, Raelynn Salvage, Seth Engle took over in 2020 The created a mostly Peruvian-influenced, vegan menu and in-house baked goods are are 100% vegan. Their mission is to serve healthy handcrafted food in an environment that promotes and supports the arts, waging culture and peace in the community.
This spot is such a great location for panel discussions as they offer a raised stage and audio-visual equipment.
I had visited the Black Dog on Thursday to enjoy a cup of coffee while reading John Thorne’s newest book about Twin Peaks season 3 titled, “Ominous Whoosh: A Wandering Mind Returns to Twin Peaks.” It’s a must read for any fan! While I loved the third season when it aired in summer 2017, I have an even greater appreciation of it now after finishing John’s book.
The cinnamon roll was delicious – fresh and airy and not sticky sweet.
For Twin Peaks Day, the cafe offered vanilla and cherry, Blue Rose-themed cupcakes.
They also had Gluten-free Owl Cave ring-inspired cupcakes with vanilla and cherry filling.
A small merchandise display near the register offered scented candles, buttons and patches.
The Double R Diner coffee mug earrings were cute.
The Owl Cave symbol charm keychains were a nice complement to the cupcakes.
“THIS DREAM PLACE…” PANEL
The panel discussion was titled “This Dream Place…” as a nod to Betty’s line from David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive.
The Black Dog Cafe posted as sign out front advertising the panel from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
For me, this was a dream place as I was sharing the stage with two legends in the Twin Peaks community – John and Josh.
In the 1990s, I recall reading every issue of John Thorne and the late-Craig Miller’s “Wrapped in Plastic.” It was a lifeline to Twin Peaks in the days before the World Wide Web and social media. John and Craig even published a few letters I wrote to them as a younger fan of the show.
Josh and I first met at the Twin Peaks Fan Fest in August 1996 during my first and only visit to Snoqualmie Valley until September 2019 (I’ve visited six times since then). I had long heard stories about Josh’s expert knowledge and ability to recite every line from the show.
Sharing the stage with these gentlemen was an honor.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PANEL
It’s impossible to cover everything we discussed during the panel but these are a few highlights.
BUELLA’S PLACE FROM TWIN PEAKS PART 1
Josh recently visited the location of Beulla’s Place from Part 1 in Season 3. This shack is located on part of the Inglewood Oil Fields in Ladera Heights, California. Unfortunately it is not accessible to the general public.
The inside of Buella’s Place. For filming, the crew constructed a wall for when Ray and Darya enter the scene.
The space is literally just a shack with zero set dressing. Everything you saw in the episode was added by the crew specifically for filming.
RICHARD HORNE’S ROCK
Josh also visited Richard Horne’s rock is located on Big Sky Movie Ranch. It’s also closed to the public. While on a scouting trip, Josh was able to visit the location.
He even stood on top of the rock to get a picture comparing him to the size of the rock.
This is what Richard Horne saw when standing on the rock and looking down.
RANCHO ROSA ESTATES
The Rancho Rosa Estates sign location in Palmdale, California looks different today than it did in the series.
Fellow Twin Peaks Blog author Vinnie Guidera visited the location in April 2023. Sadly, there are now houses behind where the sign was located.
The One One Nine house also in the same neighborhood looks different today.
When I visited in September 2020, the house had been repainted and there was a very green lawn.
SILVER MUSTANG CASINO TO CAR WASH
When I was trying to locate the Car Wash and the Silver Mustang Casino from Part 3, I used the power of deductive reasoning to find the spot. I realized that the scene must have been filmed close to other film locations in order to minimize the amount of moving the crew. It costs money and time to move a crew. By searching for car washes around the casino area, I quickly located the film location.
HOUSE AT LANCELOT COURT
Dougie Jones’ home at 25140 Lancelot Court near Las Vegas, Nevada is actually found in Stevenson Ranch, California.
The home looks mostly the same, minus the red door. If I lived there, I would totally add a red door.
OWL CAVE AND THE BAT CAVE
Fans of the Batman television series from the 1960s may recall the Batmobile speeding out of the Batcave. This cave is the same spot where Owl Cave was located.
This is the same spot where the Batmobile exited, which is found in Bronson Canyon at 3200 Canyon Drive in Los Angeles, California.
The cave entrance from Twin Peaks is found on the backside. This is how it looked in May 2013. Unfortunately, there is a fence that now blocks off entrance to the cave.
This is the inside of the cave where the crew filmed scenes.
