One thing I love about Twin Peaks is meeting other Bookhouse Boys and Gals who are just as passionate as me about the little things that make the show both wonderful and strange. During a recent visit to southern California, I spent a day with fellow film location hunter Ivan Bukta looking for the best spots in the series. During our visit to Franklin Canyon Park in Los Angeles, we explored quite an obscure scene from episode 2.009 (#16) in season two.
THE LEGEND OF OWL PIPE
We weren’t the first to visit this spot. The former InTwinPeaks.com site dubbed this location “Owl Pipe,” and Brad Dukes, author of “Reflections: An Oral History of Twin Peaks,” remarked on Twitter, “I remember getting poison ivy trying to get the perfect shot.” Our visit during a slightly overcast and rainy morning in southern California promised to be a memorable one.
To set the stage, we need to return to the end of episode 2.009 where Agent Cooper, Sheriff Truman, Agent Rosenfield and Major Briggs are decompressing after Leland Palmer looked toward the light.
Scott Frost, Harley Peyton, and Robert Engels wrote between September 21 to October 8, 1990, with at least three revisions. This scene is briefly mentioned on the last page.
If he was real. If he was here and we had him, trapped,
and he got away … where is Bob now?
They look at each other. No one has the answer.
DISSOLVE TO:
28. EXT. WOODS – NIGHT
The wind blows fiercely. We move through the woods, slowly at first, then gathering speed. We stop in a clearing. the wind stops, abruptly. We hear something moving through the underbrush.
SMASH CUT TO:
29. AN OWL
Flying, into frame, full face, screeching in an unearthly high pitch.
CUT TO BLACK:
While it’s not mentioned in the script, there is a cut to Cooper holding a paper coffee cup just after Truman asks, “…where is Bob now?” Such foreshadowing for Season 3.
WHERE IS THE OWL PIPE FROM TWIN PEAKS LOCATED?
The scene was filmed around 2300 Franklin Canyon Drive, which is located next to where Deputy Hawk finds Major Briggs in Episode 2021.
The 605-acre park was host to numerous scenes from Twin Peaks Season 2. Yet it has a rich history that dates back to the early 20th Century according to the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority:
“The park has a history steeped in the forces that created the bustling metropolis of Los Angeles’ oil and water. In 1914, William Mulholland and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) began construction of a reservoir in upper Franklin Canyon to distribute water newly brought from the Owens Valley. The family of oil baron Edward L. Doheny used the canyon as a summer retreat and a place to graze and water their cattle. The Doheny family built the Spanish style home in lower Franklin Canyon in 1935.”
I mention this as Owl Pipe could have played a key part in Los Angeles’ history. The image above shows a closer look at overgrown location as of May 26, 2019. Can you spot Owl Pipe? Let’s dissect the brief scene to explain how we got to the pipe.
OWL PIPE IN TWIN PEAKS EPISODE 2.009
The scene is short, very short.
It begins with the camera moving around a crashed BWM E3 in a ravine.
The car is NOT Dick Tremayne’s 1977-1980 BWM i320 as seen in episode 2.012. So Little Nicky did not crash the car … besides it’s a few episodes too early.
The pink-hued scene continues with the camera walking along the ravine.
We actually get a brief look at this seen in color version in episode 2.010 when Dale Cooper chases after Major Briggs disappears into the bright, white light by their campsite.
The camera then passes under a giant metal pipe to reveal the first glimpse of “Owl Pipe.”
VISITING THE OWL PIPE LOCATION
This is a look at Owl Pipe on July 13, 2010 during my first visit to this location. As you can see, the pipe is easily seen protruding out from the side of the ravine.
I revisited this spot on April 21, 2012 but not much had changed in the span of two years.
When I visited in 2019 with Ivan, it was a completely different experience.
Ivan remarked that he had been trying to find the pipe during recent visits to Franklin Canyon Park. At first, he thought the pipe was the giant one located in the upper right corner of the image above. It’s no wonder he didn’t see the actual Owl Pipe as the wilderness has completely covered it!
The next challenge was navigating down into the creek bed as there wasn’t an easy way down from the road. Eventually, Ivan took a leap of faith and scurried down the side where the wood pylon is located in the bottom right corner of the image above.
I took an image of Ivan snapping photos of the infamous pipe. You can barely see it on the left side of the image above.
Perhaps my FOMO kicked in, so I soon joined him down in the creek bed. What did I find?
A side-by-side comparison shows just how much the area has changed since the episode was shot in late 1990. Heck, it’s even changed since my first visit in 2012.
We couldn’t help by pose by Owl Pipe after navigating the overgrown, Poison Oak-filled area. Worth it? Totally.
VIDEO OF OWL PIPE
I even created a short video that may sound vaguely familiar to those who recall the scene.
THE GIANT OWL AT OWL PIPE IN TWIN PEAKS
Back to the episode … the camera passes under Owl Pipe and stops as a brilliant white light fills the frame.
A negative image of a giant owl flies toward the screen. As it approaches, the owl turns to full color. The screen pauses and fades to black.
The owl is the same one seen at Owl Cave in Episode 2,018.
Footage of this owl was captured on October 26, 1990 by director Todd Holland and a camera operator named Sparks.
The owl was provided by Steve Martin’s Working Wildlife (not the comedian) and the blue screen footage was used for the remainder of season two.
INTWINPEAKS.COM – THE REAL OWL PIPE
As mentioned earlier, I have to give credit to InTwinPeaks.com who first posted about Owl Pipe. Below is a tribute page from the former site complete with additional images of the pipe from the late 2000s.
