Stars Hollow Layout: Notes From Kate

Kate was kind enough to write in with her observations of the Stars Hollow Layout! Enjoy! - Cordia

You recently talked about being surprised that the High School was right across from Luke's.  It actually is and always has been. I'm the type of person who needs to know exactly where everything is in shows I love - I like to get the interior and exterior layouts straight in my head. 

I've attached a satellite view of the WB lot and added labels. This shows that they have been storing the gazebo over by Lorelai's house for the last few years. (You did know that the building that is the exterior of Lorelai's house is the exterior of Sookie's house on the other side?)
They did do a little creative editing because Luke wouldn't be able to see the entrance of the school from the diner door, but it really is directly across the street. 

The gazebo was always in the middle of the square and remained there for several years after production finished. But in the last few years they were using the outdoor set for other productions and it must not have been what they needed in that space. So they put it in storage over at the edge of the lot - I was tickled when I found it on the satellite view. I'm sure it is now back in its rightful place. Actually, that square looks odd without it!

Lorelai's house is not next door to Mrs Kim's - that's Sookie's house next door. We see that it's next door a few times - notably in the Thanksgiving episode. It makes sense that Luke could see the fire from the diner. We will also notice where the house is in an episode in S5 when Jackson, Sookie and Lorelai drive up to it on a golf cart.  But Sookie's house and Lorelai's house share the same building (facades only of course - the interiors are on a sound stage).  Lorelai's house is on the back of Sookie's and is more hidden in the woods. 


Here are a couple of shots that show the double house (circled in red). Notice that the gable runs from the front of Sookie's house to the front of Lorelai's house. In the pictures further below you can see that Sookie's house has the gable on the left side and Lorelai's house has the gable on the right side. In the one picture I've inset a smaller red circle where you can see the corner of her porch and the trunk of the beech tree that is often visible onscreen. 


On the other side of Sookie's house is the Twickham House. It's kind of hidden under the trees, but I circled it in green on each of the pictures. In the one picture you can see Babette's little house - circled in white.  Mrs Kim's house is circled in orange on a couple of the pics and I circled the square in yellow on the first one.