In Episodes 1006 and 1007, we are shown the exterior spot for Dr. Lawrence Jacoby’s office in Twin Peaks. He leaves his office after receiving a video tape of Maddy Ferguson dressed as Laura Palmer. We then see James Hurley and Donna Hayward enter the office in search of more clues while Bobby Briggs plants “evidence” in James’ motorcycle. As it turns out, this location is no stranger to Twin Peaks as it was home to many interior sets created the show.
Located at 7700 Balboa Boulevard in Van Nuys, California, the location was once known as City Studios. It served as the soundstage for interior scenes from the series and film.
Constructed in 1968, the building is currently home to Occidental Studios, part of Occidental Entertainment Group Holdings which “offers a wide range of Services, Facilities, Equipment, and cutting-edge Technologies that can accommodate the needs of Feature Films, Episodic Television, Commercials, Corporate Advertising, Games, Music Videos, and many other Business and Entertainment-related purposes.”
So how did I determine this was the film location for these scenes? The building itself and surrounding landscape offered the best clues. I had looked at the location several weeks ago but dismissed it as the staircase was missing. Upon closer examination, I discovered additional details that makes me 99.99% sure it’s the spot.
Let’s break down the scenes starting with Episode 1006.
After Dr. Jacoby rushes out of his office and speeds away in his 1973 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado, James and Donna are seen entering his office.
While searching for this location, I discovered the excellent website ItsFilmedThere.com which had location images from the television show My Name Is Earl. The crew used the exterior of Occidental Studios as the setting for the Exterior Of The Crab Shack in the series. Notice the grey door on the far right wall.
I placed an image of James and Donna climbing the stairs over the location image from ItsFilmedThere.com and, BINGO, there’s a match.
Most likely the stairs and office door where constructed for this scene. And if you think about it, the location of the door and stairs is a rather odd spot for a building exit or entrance.
Bobby Briggs is seen waiting around the side of the building until James and Donna leave the area. The drain spout in this scene pretty much convinced me this was the actual film location.
Take a look at the circled drain spout in this image from Google Maps. It’s located next to the thick corner of the building plus it looks to be deformed just like the one in the series.
More proof comes from a comparison of the former City Studios exterior from 2007 versus the exterior of Occidental Studios in March 2015. Notice the bushes have been replaced by palm trees.
As you may have noticed on this site, I LOVE Google Maps. Yet there is a limitation to their incredible street view option – no images exist prior to 2007. I searched everywhere on the internet for an older image of this building without much success. If one existed from the 1990s, I’m sure I could confirm even more this was the spot.
I also noticed what appeared to be a illuminated street sign in the background from Episode 1006. At first, I thought it was a road sign directing traffic to a highway.
In reality, it’s most likely this billboard which also appears in this spot on Google Street View in 2007.
This takes us to Episode 1007. Most likely all of these scenes were shot at the same time but edited into two different episode.
After James and Donna find the cassette tape and necklace in Dr. Jacoby’s office, they depart on James’ “drugs-in-the-gas-can” hog.
Another look at that grey door seen in the background of Episode 1007. I believe they chainlink fence and trash was added to the scene.
James starts his motorcycle and drives away. Notice anything else in this scene?
On the left side of the screen, there is “T” drawn with white chalk. This is a mark which Bobby Briggs needed to hit in order to be in the shot. I know this as I’ve used similar marks for videos I’ve been in.
Even cooler is the marks for James’ motorcycle can be briefly seen as they pull away. They were used to mark where the bike should be placed.
Bobby appears from the shadows and pretends to shoot James with a gun. He appears next to a semi-truck trailer. From what I can gather, it has the word “Food” and “ties” along with a triangle logo. I’m guessing the “ties” word could be “Specialties.” The logo looks like it contains an image of a shellfish or maybe a lobster.
Despite hours of looking for a matching company name and logo in the southern California area, I couldn’t find a match. It could be a fake company or a company no longer in existence.
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