Stars Hollow
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Stars Hollow is a fictional small town (population: 9973) in the U.S. state of Connecticut that is the setting for the CW series Gilmore Girls.
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[edit] Establishments
In the center of the town is a town square, complete with a gazebo and a statue of Casimir Pulaski. Nearly all of the town's commercial establishments are on the streets surrounding the square, with residential areas beyond. One notable exception is the Dragonfly Inn, which is removed from the common area, tucked away on Third Street [1].
- Luke's Diner - diner owned by Luke Danes, formerly Williams Hardware before the death of his father
- Doose's Market - the town's grocery store. Lorelai has also been shown shopping at an unnamed supermarket outside of town or in Hartford
- Taylor's Olde Fashion Ice Cream and Soda Shoppe - Building next to Luke's Diner owned by Luke, rented out to Taylor Doose for his ice cream parlor
- Miss Patty's Dance Studio - the site of town meetings and other major town events, and the town's former railroad depot
- Stars Hollow High School - The town's high school. The school's sport teams are called the Minutemen
- Kim's Antiques - An antique shop which is the home of Lane Kim and her mother. Contains living quarters above the shop
- Weston's Bakery - Owned by Fran Weston, until her death at which point Lorelai and Sookie buy the Dragonfly Inn from Fran's lawyer.
- Al's Pancake World - The competitor to Luke's, which specializes in international cuisine and other varied food, but retains the "Pancake World" moniker despite no pancakes being made
- Gypsy's Garage - Auto garage where Gypsy is the owner and chief mechanic
- Stars Hollow Music - Local shop where Lane buys her musical supplies. Owned by Sophie Bloom (Carole King)
- Black, White and Read Bookshop - The local bookstore frequented by Rory, and run by Andrew. Also converted into a casual movie theater setting during evenings where older films from between the 30's-60's are screened
- The town's Church/Synagogue, a shared establishment where both Christian and Jewish services are held
- Stars Hollow Beauty Supply - A beauty shop where Shane, Rory's romantic rival to Jess Mariano worked
- Gabby's Flowers
- Faretta's Barber Shop
- Le Chat Club, which sells products for cats and their owners
- Other establishments include a post office, travel agency, vintage clothing store, law office, newsstand, filling station, video rental store, and a knitting store that Mrs. Kim frequents, and a shoe store
- Kirk's Diner, which is only seen or heard of in episode 7.02: That's What You Get, Folks, for Makin' Whoopie
[edit] Town History
[edit] Founding
Stars Hollow was founded in 1779 with conflicting legends regarding how it got its name. Although some within the town doubt the theory, the traditionally accepted legend involves two star-crossed lovers who seemed destined never to be together, until separate cosmological phenomena involving stars led them to each other at the spot where the town now exists. This is celebrated annually at the Firelight Festival, shown in 1st season episode "Star-Crossed Lovers and Other Strangers" and 4th season episode "Nag Hammadi is Where They Found the Gnostic Gospels."
[edit] The Revolutionary War
There was also a "battle" fought in Stars Hollow where 12 men stood and waited for the Redcoats who never came. This battle is re-enacted annually, shown in first season episode "Love and War and Snow" and in 5th season episode "Women of Questionable Morals." This second occurrence marked the beginning of the addition of the town prostitute, who slept with the British general to delay the troops.
On the town square's gazebo is the town's Liberty Bell sign, which reads:
"The bell at Stars Hollow was cast in 1780 to celebrate the first anniversary of the town. The bell cracked the first time it was rung and weighed 2080 pounds. The strike of the bell is E-flat. On June 6, 1944 when Allied forces landed in France, the sound of the bell was broadcast to all parts of the country."
[edit] Third Street
According to the Stars Hollow Historical Society, Third Street is among the town's most important historical landmarks. In the 18th century, it was known as "Sores and Boils Alley," where sick and suffering people throughout the region came to have sores and boils lanced. A small leper colony is said to have existed there as well. On modern-day third street, one will find the newly-restored Dragonfly Inn.
Throughout its history, Third Street has also held various other names, aside from the aforementioned "Sores and Boils Alley," including "Constabulary Road," "Crusty Bulge," and a Nimblook Indian name, "Chergogagog Manchogagog Cherbonagongamog."[2]
[edit] Town Set
The town square is located on the Warner Brothers studio back lot. It is just around the corner from the exterior set for the hospital from ER.[3]
Many of the sets for Stars Hollow were also used in The Music Man, The Dukes of Hazzard, and The Waltons.[4] The Dragonfly Inn was the Waltons' home. The town's high school was the Hazzard County Courthouse. The exterior of Lorelai's house was Uncle Jesse's.
It is currently used by Warner Bros. for the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Pushing Daisies, and was also the setting for the town square in 2007's Norbit.
[edit] Location
Stars Hollow was inspired by and is loosely based on the real town of Washington Depot, Connecticut (located in the middle of the western half of the state, about 45 minutes from both Hartford and New Haven) which writer Amy Sherman-Palladino once traveled through. Sherman-Palladino later said, "Now, I've never been there in winter, when you're snowed in and you can't go anywhere, and you and your husband want to kill each other because you can't go to a movie. But at the time I was there, it was beautiful, it was magical, and it was feeling of warmth and small-town camaraderie. . . . There was a longing for that in my own life, and I thought -- that's something that I would really love to put out there."[5]
There are many clues given during the course of the show as to its location in Connecticut, but unfortunately no one town fits all clues. Hartford is supposed to be within 30 minutes and New Haven is allegedly 22.8 miles away. Towns mentioned as being close include Woodbury and Beacon Falls (generally in the central south west of the state), Litchfield, Groton and New London (in the south east). This information can't be reconciled any better.
In the liner notes for the show's soundtrack, Music from Gilmore Girls, a postcard sent by Lane from South Korea is pictured, and is addressed to Rory's home address of 37 Maple Street in Stars Hollow. The town's ZIP code is shown as 06492, the same as the real town of Wallingford. That town does not have a Maple Street, however they do have a Maple Avenue.
Washington Depot, the town Amy Sherman-Palladino mentioned as inspiring Stars Hollow, also uses a town meeting-style government and was founded in 1779. The homes and buildings in the town all match the style of that in Stars Hollow and the archetype New England town. In real life Woodbury is very close to Washington Depot. It should be noted that plenty of other Connecticut towns have village greens, gazebos or small quaint shops and give a feel much like Stars Hollow to a visitor.
Rory began to attend Chilton at the start of the series. Chilton is a prep school which seems to be located either on the south side of Hartford or in a southern suburb of the city. It is thought that the school is based on Wallingford's Choate Rosemary Hall. Stars Hollow also is on a Connecticut Transit route, as Rory commutes to and from the school using a bus from Stars Hollow's town square.
Greg Morago of The Hartford Courant writes, "Unlike the Hartford depicted on Judging Amy, the Stars Hollow of The Gilmore Girls rings true. The town's antiques shops, small businesses, schools, government and infrastructure look the part. But where Sherman-Palladino has truly excelled, despite her Clueless origins, is in her drawing of colorful Connecticut characters. The populace of Stars Hollow, from the town busybody to the town troubadour, is familiar to any Nutmegger who ever attended a town meeting."[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Layout of Stars Hollow
- ^ TVTDB.com - Gilmore Girls - 6x06: Welcome to the Doll House
- ^ Cathy Maestri. "Welcome to the unreal world". The Press-Enterprise (California). 19 December 2003.
- ^ Ken Beck. "Stars Hollow Exists Only in Hollywood". The Tennessean. 3 September 2006.
- ^ Scott Pierce. "Visit to tiny town led to show idea". The Deseret News. 22 February 2001.
- ^ Greg Morago. "The Search for Stars Hollow". The Hartford Courant. 19 September 2002.
[edit] External links
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