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| 230 Strand St, Saint Helens, OR 97051, USA (Saint Helens, Oregon)
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Columbia County Courthouse
This historic building in Saint Helens, Oregon has served as the courthouse for Columbia County for over a century, but may be more familiar worldwide for its appearances in a couple of recent movies. The original Columbia County Courthouse was built circa the 1860s after the county seat was relocated to Saint Helens from Milton in 1857. The courthouse was replaced in 1906 by this particular landmark, which took its stones that still grace its façade from the nearby basalt rock quarry. The signature clock tower and bell were added four years later in 1910. In 1968, a courthouse annex was constructed, which today serves most of the county offices. Though this building is a historical landmark and representative of early Columbia County life, the courthouse has also left its mark in the world of movies as well.
Halloweentown (1998)
The Columbia County Courthouse's most familiar role is most likely its appearance in the 1998 Disney Channel Original Movie, Halloweentown. In the TV-movie, the courthouse and adjoining courtyard play a predominant role and major set piece for the fictional setting of Halloweentown. The story follows the three children Marnie (Kimberly J. Brown), Dylan (Joey Zimmerman), and Sophie (Emily Roeske) Piper, who live in the everyday world and are unknowingly descendants of witches. The suspicious trio tails their grandmother, Aggie (Debbie Reynolds), to a mysterious bus stop where they stowaway and are transported to the magical world of Halloweentown.
The courthouse and courtyard play the centerpiece of the mysterious town and are consistently featured in almost all of the exterior shots of Halloweentown. In fact, the bus arrives in the courtyard itself after flying directly over the Columbia County Courthouse. They are also the setting of the final climactic scene between the children and the film's villain, Kalabar (Robin Thomas).
For the production, the "Olde Towne" area of Saint Helens was adorned with various holiday-themed decorations to transform it into Halloweentown. The courtyard in front of the courthouse was probably the most affected as it was covered in hay and featured various Halloween props, including the giant pumpkin that plays a pivotal role in the film's climax. The courthouse itself was adorned with gargoyle statues and the like, which blended seamlessly with its already Gothic appearance.
The original film debuted on the Disney Channel on October 17, 1998 and typically screens on the network every Halloween season. The city has firmly embraced their role in the production and their own screening of Halloweentown has become an annual event at the local Columbia Theatre (which also played a pivotal role in the movie) every Halloween. While Saint Helens served as the magical city in the first film in the series, subsequent sequels were shot in British Columbia and Utah.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
The courthouse would again surface in the 2006 first-person horror film, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. The film is shot primarily in a mockumentary (or mock-doc) style as a documentary crew follows a would-be serial killer as he plans a killing spree. His goal is to elevate himself to the status of such horror icons as Jason Vorhees (the Friday the 13th films), Michael Myers (the Halloween series), or Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street) who are all presented as real figures in this satire/homage of the slasher film genre.
In Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, the courthouse doubles as a high school in the fictional town of Glen Echo, Maryland. The villain, Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel), takes the documentary filmmaker, Taylor Gentry (Angela Goethals), and her crew to the high school to explain how he forms his "target group" (or victims) and introduces the concept of the "survivor girl" (typically a virgin who is the last woman alive to confront the killer - known as the "final girl" in genre terms). The team films various cliques standing outside the school as Vernon explains the usefulness of each of the groups in terms of his planned killing spree.
In an interesting homage during the "high school" sequence of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, the camera pans the courtyard and catches three young girls playing jump rope. The three are dressed exactly the same as a similar group from a scene in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) where they sang the iconic "1, 2, Freddy's coming for you..." rhyme - bringing a little of that "Elm Street" lore to the city of Saint Helens.
Twilight (2008)
Most recently, the Columbia County Courthouse made a brief appearance in the 2008 dark fantasy, Twilight. The film is an adaptation of the first book in a series of bestselling novels by author Stephenie Meyer and follows the romance between a teenage girl and a century-old vampire. Though the books are set in northwest Washington, the filmmakers opted to move the production to Oregon for various incentives offered by the state.
The courthouse makes its appearance in the background of the dress shop scene (see Twilight (2008): Petite Jolie), as the main character of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) tags along as her friends shop for prom dresses. It can be seen out the window of the shop as the girls browse through their options. Just as the "Olde Towne" district of Saint Helens served as the setting of the city of Halloweentown, it again doubled as the city of Port Angeles, Washington in Twilight.
Interestingly enough, there are set photos that show the crew set-up directly outside the courtyard in front of the courthouse, but whatever was filmed there was apparently cut from the final theatrical release. It is possible that the shot might appear in Twilight's upcoming DVD release.
The Courthouse Today
Even as the Columbia County Courthouse appears in more feature films, it continues to serve in its official capacity. Following the move of the various county offices to the connecting annex, a museum was reportedly opened in the courthouse that features exhibits on the early maritime industry of the Columbia River, the logging industry, and even a collection of antique firearms and pioneer artifacts. Directly in front of the annex entrance is the original fog bell from the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse and later, the Warrior Rock Lighthouse on Sauvie Island. Visitors that are interested in the movie past of the location should remember to respect its official role and the various patrons it serves. |
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| Similar Destinations |
| Darkwood Haunted Mall |
| Universal Hollywood: The Chicken Ranch |
| Twilight (2008): The Carver Cafe |
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| See Also on TheCabinet.com |
| Blog: The Twilight Movie Location Travel Guide (03/20/09) |
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| Available from Amazon.com |
Halloweentown/ Halloweentown II - Kalabar's Revenge |
Behind the Mask - The Rise of Leslie Vernon |
Twilight (Two-Disc Special Edition) |
Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion |
Twilight Collector's Edition (The Twilight Saga) |
The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide (Twilight Saga) |
The Twilight Saga: Slipcased |
Twilight Soundtrack |
Twilight: The Score |
Twilight People Poster Print, 24x36 |
Twilight Movie Poster Advance Group Artwork |
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