Twin Peaks Film Location – FBI Office in Fire Walk With Me

Twin Peaks Film Location - FBI Office in Fire Walk With Me

In Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With Me, there are two scenes that take place at the FBI field office located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Monochromatic flashbacks from this location also appear in Parts 14 and 15 of Twin Peaks Season 3 on Showtime. In reality, these scenes were captured at a now demolished building in downtown Seattle, Washington. Thanks to the former InTwinPeaks.com team, I’m sharing some more details about this location.

THE LOCATION

Google Maps
Image courtesy of Google Maps

The scenes for Twin Peaks were shot at 967 Boren Ave in Seattle, Washington. The approximate coordinates for this spot are 47°36’32.6″N 122°19’31.0″W.

Twin Peaks Film Location - FBI Office in Fire Walk With Me
January 23, 2020

Here is the location as of January 23, 2020. But it didn’t always look this way.

LOCATION HISTORY

According to Seattle historian Paul Dorpat, the building that once occupied the land opened in 1907 as the Hotel Perry or Perry Apartments.

Hotel Perry
Hotel Perry (Photo courtesy of John Cooper)
Twin Peaks Film Location - FBI Office in Fire Walk With Me
January 23, 2020

“The Perry was built on the old Judge Hanford family home site … and the ornate seven-story apartment was also completed [in 1907] for its “first life” at the southwest corner of Madison and Boren … The Perry was purchased in 1916/17 by Sister Frances Xavier Cabrini – not then yet a saint – and converted into the Columbus Sanatorium and later the Cabrini Hospital.”

Cabrini Hospital Being Demolished
Cabrini Hospital being demolished in may 1995 (photo courtesy of Paul Dorpat)
Hospital
January 23, 2020

St. Cabrini Hospital operated in the Seattle area until November 30, 1990. According to the Seattle Times, the hospital struggled for two years to find a buyer. Owners at the time “had wanted to remodel the oldest part of the hospital, but were told by architects the repairs would cost more than $6 million.” The hospital stopped taking patients on November 1, 1990.

SEPTEMBER 22, 1991

Seattle Times article on September 22, 1991
Seattle Times article from September 22, 1991

According to an article in the Seattle Times on September 22, 1991, David Lynch and David Bowie were reported filming in the former Cabrini Hospital. This means the crew shot in an unoccupied building since the hospital had closed almost a year earlier.

Interestingly, Bowie also shot his deleted scene from The Missing Pieces on the first floor of this building. It served as the location of the Palm Deluxe Hotel in Buenos Aires.

InTwinPeaks.com - Cabrini Hospital

The InTwinPeaks.com site did such a fantastic job detailing this shooting location. The image above is a great example. The scenes appear to be shot on the seventh floor of the former building (which we will confirm in just a few moments). Let’s take a closer look at the interior locations.

IT’S 10:10 ON FEBRUARY 16

Gordon Cole at his desk
Fire Walk With Me

Cooper first approaches Gordon Cole on February 16 at 10:10 a.m. to warn him about the dream he had. We’ll get a better look at the buildings behind Gordon later on.

Phillip Jeffries arrives in the office
Fire Walk With Me

Long lost Agent Phillip Jeffries mysteriously arrives from Buenos Aires.

Jeffries, Rosenfield and Cole
Fire Walk With Me

He approaches Gordon Cole’s desk which gives a better look outside the windows.

Google Maps
Google Maps

The circled area is the buildings that can be seen behind Agent Albert Rosenfield.

Building in downtown Seattle, Washington
January 23, 2020

The building is actually the The Baroness Hotel located at 1005 Spring Street.  According to Seattle.gov, the hotel was originally constructed as apartments in the late 1920s.

“The Baroness is one of several high rise apartment buildings constructed on First Hill in the late 1920s. It was originally constructed as an apartment hotel, with thirty apartment units and thirty residential hotel suites with a dining room on the ground floor. It is particularly distinctive for its restrained and sophisticated Art Deco ornamentation, which continues the tradition of elegant living on First Hil.”

The building was one of the last works of the architectural partnership of James Hansen Schack, a native of the Schlesweg region of German, and Arrigo Young. Schack would later help design Seattle Civic Auditorium complex. He died in 1933, shortly after the Baroness was completed.

GORDON COLE’S DESK

Gordon Cole at his Desk
Fire Walk With Me

After Jeffries tells about his visit to the Convenience Store, he disappears. In The Missing Pieces, Cole calls for help which also gives us a great look outside his office windows.

Google Maps
Google Maps

The circled building is the windows that can be seen behind Cole.

Chassleton Court Apartments
January 23, 2020

Today, the building is known as the Chasselton Court Apartments located at 1017 Boren Avenue.

Chasselton Court Apartments
January 23, 2020

Constructed in 1923, the building is one of three similarly-sized apartment buildings constructed on Boren Street during 1923-1924. Others included the Hudson Arms Apartments (1111 Boren, 1923) and the Northcliffe Apartments (1119 Boren, 1924).

Chasselton Court Apartment in Seattle
January 23, 2020

John S. Hudson and his Colonial Investment Company designed this and many other buildings throughout Seattle. According to Seattle.gov, Hudson arrived in the area around 1930 from Minnesota.

“He began studying architecture in 1910 and obtained his architecture license in 1921, but he worked primarily as a developer. He is known to have been involved with at least a dozen buildings, many of them named to recall New England—the John Alden, Paul Revere, John Winthrop, Hudson Arms, Lexington-Concord, Faneuil Hall, Lowell and Emerson. Others are the Hudson Arms, Chasselton, Northcliffe, Miramar, Loleta, Roxbury, Rhododendron and Ruth Court (now Unity Court). Harry E. Hudson primarily did designs for his brother, John Hudson, one of the major apartment developers in the Capitol Hill/First Hill area.”

Chasselton Court Apartments
January 23, 2020

COOPER’S DESK

Twin Peaks Film Location - FBI Office in Fire Walk With Me

Twin Peaks Film Location - FBI Office in Fire Walk With Me

Later in the film, Cooper is at his desk speaking with Albert.

Twin Peaks Film Location - FBI Office in Fire Walk With Me
Google Maps
The Gainsborough in Seattle
January 23, 2020

The building behind Cooper is located at 1017 Minor Ave in Seattle, Washington. Known as the Gainsborough, this high-rise building was completed in 1930.

InTwinPeaks
Courtesy of InTwinPeaks.com
InTwinPeaks.com
Courtesy of InTwinPeaks.com

Images from the former InTwinPeaks.com give a better look at the building.

The Gainsborough in Seattle, Washington
January 23, 2020

According to Seattle historian Paul Dorpat, the building was “named after the English King George III’s favorite painter, Thomas Gainsborough.”

The Gainsborough in Seattle, Washington
January 23, 2020

Designed by Earle W. Morrison on First Hill in the late 1920s, this is one of three luxury high-rise apartment buildings according to Seattle.gov.

“In the 1880s-90s, First Hill, with views and proximity to downtown, developed as the premier residential neighborhood, with the city’s finest mansions. However, by the early 20th Century, apartment buildings and residential hotels, many quite luxurious, began appearing. It was not surprising that, during the 1920s apartment building boom, some of the most urbane and sophisticated buildings were constructed on First Hill, confirming that it was still a desirable address. First Hill also had the tallest buildings outside of downtown.”

The Gainsborough in Seattle, Washington
January 23, 2020

Though matching the nearby 1223 Spring Apartments in scale and massing, the Gainsborough contains more units per floor and lacks such amenities as servants’ quarters. However, the four-to-six room apartments are larger than most, and have features such as oak parquet flooring and cove molding. It was converted to condominiums in 1980, and is well maintained, with good physical integrity, including its original wood sash. However, the original roofline has been compromised by the addition of dormers on the penthouse.”

The Gainsborough in Seattle, Washington
January 23, 2020

ALBERT’S DESK

Albert Rosenfield at his desk
Fire Walk With Me
Albert Rosenfield at His Desk
Fire Walk With Me

The building behind Albert’s desk would have been part of the former Cabrini Hospital. This wraps up the action in the main office, but other hospital locations were used.

THE HALLWAY

Empty Hallway in FBI Office
Fire Walk With Me

The hallway, for example, was most likely just outside the main office on the seventh floor. They probably installed the television camera just for the scene as it oddly looks out of place.

Phillip Jeffries in the hallway
Fire Walk With Me

This is the same hallway used when Phillip Jeffries appears.

Elevator in Fire Walk With Me
Fire Walk With Me
Elevator Fire Walk With Me
Fire Walk With Me

Remember how I mentioned they shot the scenes on the seventh floor? The elevator arrives on the seventh floor, so I’m assuming it’s just down the hall from the main office. The crew also probably moved the FBI wall logos and the American Flag from the office set to this location.

VIDEO SURVEILLANCE ROOM

video surveillance room
Fire Walk With Me

The final area I’m highlighting is the video surveillance room. It’s most likely a former hospital patient room (the back door is probably the bathroom). It also appears the uncredited Security Guard (I’m guessing a member of the crew) is using a Panasonic AG-A750 Video Editing Machine on his desk.

Panasonic Editing Machine
Photo courtesy of Oldvcr.tv

Here’s a look at the machine courtesy of OldVCR.tv.

INTWINPEAKS.COM

As previously mentioned, I give much thanks to the InTwinPeaks.com team for identifying this location. Below is the page about the location from the now closed site (click on the image to enlarge).

InTwinPeaks.com

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