Twin Peaks Location – Leland Palmer Learns of Laura Palmer’s Death

Early in the Twin Peaks pilot, we see an emotionally powerful scene as Sheriff Harry S. Truman informs Leland Palmer of his daughter Laura Palmer’s death. The scene takes place in the lobby of The Great Northern Hotel. In reality, the scene was shot at Kiana Lodge located on Bainbridge Island in Washington state.

WHERE IS THE SCENE OF LELAND PALMER LEARNING OF LAURA PALMER’S DEATH LOCATED?

Located at 14976 Sandy Hook Rd NE in Poulsbo, the Kiana Lodge opened in 1937 for Seattleites looking for an escape from the city. Today, the Suquamish Tribe owns this private wedding and meeting location. While they welcome visitors, they ask you give their paying clients their privacy and plan to visit when there are no events going on. Call ahead to check on their schedule – (360) 598-4311.

The scene where Leland Palmer was informed of Laura’s passing took place inside the original 1930’s building. The approximate coordinates are 47°41’59.4″N 122°34’57.2″W.

In the “Creating Twin Peaks” documentary by Charles de Lauzirika featured on the Twin Peaks Definitive Gold Box DVD set, we catch some behind the scenes footage from this scene being shot at Kiana Lodge. Filming took place on March 20, 1989 during one of the last full days of filming in Washington state.

GREAT NORTHERN HOTEL OFFICE

According to the Dec. 7, 1988 first draft of “Northwest Passage” by David Lynch and Mark Frost, Leland Palmer takes his call from Sarah Palmer in a Great Northern Hotel Office.

INT. GREAT NORTHERN HOTEL OFFICE – MORNING
A waiting room with a large picture window looking out on the front lawn. Leland Palmer enters and picks up the phone.

LELAND
Leland Palmer…

I visited Kiana Lodge on February 22, 2023 where I took several shots of the lobby where Leland took the call. The doorway in the middle of both images leads to the dining room where the Norwegians were listening to Ben Horne talk about the town of Twin Peaks.

The “Front Desk” found in the pilot episode was removed long ago.

This was one of the first Twin Peaks film locations I visited on August 9, 1996 just before the start of the 1996 Twin Peaks Fan Festival. You can see how much hasn’t changed in nearly three decades.

Leland continues his walk across the lobby to a small table with a black telephone.

The front doors of this building appear in the background as Leland crosses to sit. You can see the Exit sign is still in the same spot but I think the hardware was updated.

Leland sits on a small couch and picks up the phone. As he sits down, look at the glass doors behind him.

You can see that the door hinge looks very similar to what appears in the episode.

I wouldn’t be surprised if these are the same hinges that were seen during filming in 1989. Unless the doors were replaced, there was probably no need to replace the hardware.

LELAND TAKES SARAH PALMER’S CALL

After picking up the phone, the scripted dialogue pretty much remains the same between Leland and Sarah. She is wondering where Laura is, why didn’t she go with Leland, and perhaps she is with Bobby.

While the small couch is long gone, you can find a small round table and two chairs in the same spot. Look carefully behind Leland to spot a metal doorknob.

Based on the shape and patina, I believe it’s the same doorknob found at Kiana Lodge today! I love finding some of these original details seen on screen nearly 35 years ago.

The previously mentioned behind the scenes footage catches Ray Wise as Leland Palmer noticing Sheriff Truman. I’m thinking David Lynch is at the left side of the image sporting his iconic hat that is part of his director’s uniform.

SHERIFF TRUMAN INFORMS LELAND PALMER

The script then calls out the action of Leland seeing Sheriff Steadman, which was Sheriff Truman’s original name.

Looking out the window, Leland sees Sheriff Steadman drive up, park and walk towards the hotel.

In the broadcast version, Leland sits with his back to the front doors so he doesn’t notice Truman arriving until he speaks with the Desk Clerk

Looking out towards the lobby he sees Steadman, speaking to the DESK CLERK, who points in to where Leland is on the phone. The Sheriff sees Leland, locks eyes with him and starts walking towards him.

The Desk Clerk was played by the late Diane Caldwell. Her character was named location liaison Julie Duvic who worked on Twin Peaks. She was part of the group who traveled to Snoqualmie Valley, Washington On February 9, 1989 for a location scouting trip. We will see her character return later in the episode with Audrey Horne at the Concierge Desk.

LELAND
(the first hint of alarm, to himself)
Sheriff Steadman…

The Sheriff reaches Leland, hat in hand. Leland covers the mouthpiece of the phone.

STEADMAN
Mr. Palmer…

LELAND
Is this about Laura?

STEADMAN
I’m afraid it is, sir.

We hear Sarah screaming for Leland over the phone.

LELAND
Having heard the news, he goes back to the phone.

LELAND
(trembling, trying to stay calm)
Sarah, I’m on my way home… please, Sarah.

The behind the scenes footage sort of captures Leland speaking with Truman. One of the giant log poles in the lobby blocks Michael Ontkean from view.

Every time I research a scene with Ray Wise, I’m even more impressed with his performance in the series and feature film. What an incredible actor!

Take a second look at the locks on the front doors. The one on the right appears to be the same one that appears in the Pilot episode. The Kiana team added a second lock much later (notice how the gold color on the left lock hasn’t faded as much as the original on the right).

MISSING PIECE – LELAND CALLS JANICE HOGAN

There is an extra scene in the script that doesn’t appear in the broadcast version. Leland Palmer calls his neighbor Janice Hogan.

He hangs up. Picks up and struggling to remember the number, unsteadily punches it in.

LELAND
Janice, this is Leland, oh God…
(he’s momentarily overcome, then)
…I want you to go next door and stay with Sarah until I get there– please just do it. He hangs up.

The character appears briefly in a scene with Sarah Palmer in her living room. She was played by Marjorie Nelson and received credit at the end of the Pilot, even though she had no on-screen speaking role and was never identified by name. You can read more about her missing scenes at the Palmer House in this article.

The action continues with Leland thinking he should inform Ben Horne about the situation.

STEADMAN
Let me drive you, sir.

Palmer nods, points vaguely back towards the meeting room.

LELAND
I, uh, should tell Mr. Horne and the…

STEADMAN
I’m sure they’ll understand.

Ben Horne (Richard Beymer) then enters the scene. The scripted dialogue is pretty much the same as the episode.

Benjamin Horne appears in the doorway.

HORNE
Leland, we’re ready to go over the contracts…
(sees him)
Leland?

LELAND
My daughter’s dead.

The behind the scenes footage captures Ray Wise saying his final line before leaving the scene.

The last image we get in this scene is a slow pan down from the black telephone that Leland Palmer dropped after hearing the news. I tried searching for the number – 224-8004 – but I was unable to find a match. The area code was scratched out so it’s difficult to say where it’s from.

I combined shots from that slow pan into one long image. Thanks to Photoshop’s Generative AI tools, I filled in some of the details that shows how the scene could have looked the day the scene was shot.