Storybrooke, Maine is a Land Without Magic location featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. It first appears in the first episode of the first season of Once Upon a Time.
History
In the Enchanted Forest, the Evil Queen cast a Dark Curse, which sends all of the inhabitants to a newly created town in a Land Without Magic called Storybrooke. The curse, prophesied by Rumplestiltskin, can be broken in twenty-eight years by Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter Emma. To protect their infant daughter, a magic wardrobe is constructed that brings her to another land just before all of the Enchanted Forest is engulfed in the curse. In a secret deal with the Blue Fairy, Geppetto guarantees his own son, Pinocchio, is one of the two to be saved. Both children end up in the Land Without Magic and are placed in the same foster home, but Pinocchio later abandons Emma. ("Pilot")
In the days after the curse is enacted, the Evil Queen lives as the mayor of Storybrooke, Regina, and while at first pleased with the other residents' miseries, she grows bored with her new life. One flaw in creating Storybrooke is it becomes visible to outsiders, and when two strangers, Kurt and Owen, arrive in town, Regina attempts to usher their leaving. Eventually, she takes a liking to Owen and wishes for him to stay, although Kurt refuses. Through her manipulation, Sheriff Graham arrests Kurt, who flees Storybrooke with his son, however, they are caught at the town border. While Kurt surrenders himself, Owen escapes town, with Regina's permission. Later, she kills Kurt and buries him in the woods. ("Welcome to Storybrooke")
Eighteen years later, Regina adopts a baby boy, who she names Henry. When he shows signs of possible illness, she sleuths for information on his birth parents, eventually learning his birth mother is Emma Swan, the prophesied savior. After deciding to keep Henry as her son, Regina drinks a memory potion to forget his birth mother's identity. ("Save Henry")
Henry, at ten years old, gains a fairytale book from his teacher as a means to inspire hope in his life. Within its pages, he finds a photo of Snow White and Prince Charming's infant daughter and mysteriously realizes her name is Emma. Coming to believe Storybrooke is under the Evil Queen's curse, Henry brings Emma to Storybrooke, and she later stays in town out of concern for his happiness. With her arrival, the curse gradually weakens and time begins to move forward again. After a few days, Emma becomes a sheriff's deputy, and after the sheriff's death, she gains her predecessor's job. As sheriff, she is unknowingly reuniting people who would otherwise be separated due to the curse's effects. ("Going Home," "Pilot," "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter")
The town becomes rocked by a scandal when Mary Margaret's affair with David is made public. Kathryn, David's wife, opts to allow them to be together as she decides to leave for Boston. Regina, unwilling to let the lovers be happy, sets up Mary Margaret for Kathryn's death, leading to her arrest when evidence is found. With help from August, Emma figures out Regina's plot, just before Kathryn is found alive after being secretly freed by Mr. Gold. To make Emma accept her role as curse savior, August attempts to make her believe in magic, but she refuses. Believing Regina is dangerous, Emma then tries leaving town with Henry, but the boy persuades her out of it. Regina, on the other hand, extracts a poisoned apple from the past Enchanted Forest, in a bid to get rid of Emma. However, Henry ends up eating it, falling into a coma, and later dying. In a final farewell, Emma kisses his forehead, accidentally emitting true love's kiss, which breaks his curse as well as the Dark Curse. As everyone regains memories of their past lives, Mr. Gold combines a bottle of true love, Mr. Gold combines it with well water to bring magic into Storybrooke. ("What Happened to Frederick," "Red-Handed," "The Stable Boy," "The Stranger," "An Apple Red as Blood," "A Land Without Magic")August sends Neal a postcard from Storybrooke. The purple fog clears, and Mary Margaret and David reunite as Snow White and Prince Charming and finally meet their daughter Emma. Meanwhile, Mr. Gold, who is fierce because Regina kept Belle in psychiatric ward for 28 years, summon a Wraith to have Regina suck by it. To stop it from destroying Storybrooke, Regina, Emma, Mary Margaret and David reunite and try to send it to Enchanted Forest through Jefferson's Hat. The hat does not work until Emma touches Regina. The Wraith is sucked in while grabbing Emma and forcing her into the vortex. Mary Margaret jumps in after her. David and Regina are left behind. ("Broken")
In the fallowing days, David and Henry try to find a way to bring back Emma and Mary Margaret. While they deal with Hook, who wants to kill Mr. Gold for killing his love, and Cora who wants to get back to her daughter, thanks to Aurora, she and Henry can communicate in Netherworld because they were both under the sleeping curse once and this is a side affect. In Storybrooke, Mr. Gold doesn't want Cora to come back because he thinks she is a threat for everyone but Regina believes in Henry about Emma and Mary Margaret coming in here instead of Cora. So with the help of Regina, they come back to Storybrooke. But in the meantime, Hook and Cora found a way to get to Storybrooke, too. And his ship sails through the gloom with Cora aboard. ("Queen of Hearts", "We Are Both", "The Crocodile", "Tallahassee", "Into the Deep")
After Regina was suspected for killing Archie, which in the reality Cora disguised herself as Regina and killed someone else and make him look like Archie; Emma, Mary Margaret and David do not believe Regina so with that way Cora gets what she wants. İn the meantime Mr. Gold wants to find his son. With the help of Emma's unpaid favor, she, Henry and Mr. Gold head to New York City. However, they find out that Mr. Gold's son Baelfire is also Henry's father Neal. ("The Price of Gold," "The Cricket Game," "Tiny," "Manhattan")
While they are still in New York, Hook found them and stabs Mr. Gold with his poison laced hook. The only way to save Mr. Gold's life is to get back to Storybrooke as soon as possible. Emma receives news from Mary Margaret and David via phone about Regina and Cora's search for the dagger. After they come back to Storybrooke, the war begins and Cora gets closer to stab Mr. Gold with the dagger and become the new Dark One. As Mr. Gold manipulates Mary Margaret to kill Cora with the enchanted candle that could restore Mr. Gold's life by taking Cora's, she immediately regrets for what she did. However, Cora dies before Mary Margaret is able to do something. ("The Queen Is Dead," "The Miller's Daughter")
The outsider who entered Storybrooke a few days ago comes more suspicious. Meanwhile , Neal invites her fiance Tamara to Storybrooke so she can properly meet and speak with Emma and Henry. Greg had a run-in with Regina at the diner. She cannot seem to understand why he is so familiar to her, but shows up at his guest room with the realization he is Owen. Demanding to know where his father is, Regina plays it off that she let Kurt leave town and never saw him again. He doesn't believe her. Before August reverted back to child, he was trying to warn them about a woman which they'll find later that this woman is Tamara and Greg and Tamara work together for Home Office and they came to Storybrooke to get rid of the magic but then realized something more valuable : Henry. In the meantime Tamara shoots Neal and with the magic bean he goes back to the Enchanted Forest. As Greg and Tamara take Henry to Neverland; Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Regina, Mr. Gold and Hook set on a mission to rescue Henry. ("The Outsider," "Welcome to Storybrooke," "Selfless, Brave and True," "And Straight On 'Til Morning")
After they went, the residents of Storybrooke activate a cloaking spell, which Mr. Gold gave it to Belle just before he leaves, around the city limits; however, two mysterious strangers arriving from Minnesota in a convertible manage to cross the town border just in time. ("And Straight On 'Til Morning", "Dark Hollow"
Five days later, a mermaid known as Ariel emerges from the ocean. She has been sent on a mission by Mr. Gold, to retrieve a magical weapon from his pawnshop. Ariel seeks out Belle, and together, they find what Ariel is looking for: Pandora's Box. Before Ariel is able to leave with the item, the two strangers, who are revealed to be John and Michael Darling, overpower the women and steals Pandora's Box from them. Fortunately, Ariel and Belle are able to break free, just in time to stop the brothers from destroying Gold's weapon. After she hears their story, Belle convinces the brothers that the box is the only way to stop Peter Pan and free their sister, Wendy Darling, who has been Pan's prisoner for over a century. Ariel leaves for Neverland, taking Pandora's Box with her. ("Dark Hollow")
As Ariel returns to Storybrooke and reunite with her true love, Henry and rest of crew return From Neverland. Unbeknown to them, Peter Pan switched his body with Henry who is now trapped inside Pandora's Box along the way. When they realize that Henry is actually Peter Pan, they head to Regina's Heart Vault where Mr. Gold notices something is missing : The Dark Curse. Shortly afterward, Pan activates it with the heart of the thing he loves most. Regina learns that in order to undo Pan's curse, she must destroy the scroll. Mr. Gold manages to return Henry and Pan to their respective bodies, by using the wand of the Black Fairy. However, Pan has one last trick up his sleeve, and quickly overpowers Gold. In order to save his family, Gold kills his father by stabbing him with the Dark One's Dagger, sacrificing his own life in the process. As Pan's curse approaches, Regina realizes that destroying the scroll comes at a heavy price: Storybrooke will be erased from the map, and everyone will be transported back to the Enchanted Forest, prevented from ever returning — except Emma and Henry. At the town border, Emma and Henry say their goodbyes to their friends and family. Regina tells Emma that when the curse is undone, the memories Emma and Henry have from Storybrooke will be gone. She gives Emma a gift: New memories of a happy life, where Emma never gave up Henry for adoption, so they'll have always been together. Emma and her son drive across the town border just as the magic fog closes in on their family. Storybrooke vanishes from the world.[1] ("The New Neverland," "Going Home")After a year, Snow White recasts the Dark Curse, bringing everyone back to Storybrooke, but due to the Wicked Witch's machinations, they forget the past year in the Enchanted Forest. The only clue, as proof a year has gone by, is Mary Margaret's pregnancy. The Wicked Witch, brought along by the curse, blends into town as a midwife named Zelena. In her farm cellar, she keeps a revived Mr. Gold as her prisoner. Through some means, she also causes some of the townspeople to vanish and turns them into her pet monkeys. Regaining her lost memories with Hook's aid, Emma returns to town, where she teams up with Regina to sleuth out the curse caster, who manages to escape before they apprehend her. After David and Hook witness someone turning into a flying monkey, it is believed the Wicked Witch cast the new curse. ("New York City Serenade," "Witch Hunt")
Zelena, desiring to change her past with a time spell, requires several ingredients; Mary Margaret's child, David's courage, Regina's heart and Mr. Gold's brain. After Zelena collects David's courage, Mr. Gold escapes and reverts to Neal. Following recovery at the hospital, Neal helps Emma look for Mr. Gold, not knowing he and his father are in the same body. Upon realizing the truth, he begs Emma to separate him from Mr. Gold's body, although it'll kill him, so his father can reveal the Wicked Witch's true name. After being exposed, Zelena escapes and reappears at the diner during a funeral wake for Neal, where she reveals herself as Regina's half-sister and challenges her to a duel. There, she fails to steal Regina's heart, which has already been removed and placed under Robin Hood's care. Threatened by Emma's light magic, Zelena curses Hook's lips so he can take away her powers, and not if, the savior's family will die. Desperate to break the curse, Emma attempts to make Henry believe in magic by giving him the storybook. From touching it, he regains his lost memories, but it is Regina's true love for him, which breaks the curse. ("The Tower," "Quiet Minds," "It's Not Easy Being Green," "The Jolly Roger")
After Regina broke the curse, the crew finally defeat her, remove her necklace and put her in jail. When Mr. Gold arrives the Sheriff's Station, he tells her that Neal died because of her, he promised him to have his revenge and Rumpelstilstkin never breaks a deal. He stabs her with the dagger. Her body transforms into a statue, which he shatters into pieces. Unbeknownst to him, Zelena's life force flees her body before it shatters, and activates the time spell. Afterwards, Emma and Hook suckes up by the time portal. While they try to find a way to get back to present time, they meet a woman who was almost executed by The Evil Queen. They agree with bringing her with them too. But a revised Zelena has already killed her and took her form. Later it's found that this woman is the wife of Robin Hood who is with Regina now but none of them knows that Marian is actually Zelena. She angrly pisses off Emma. In the meantime, they brought someone else from the past too. ("Kansas (Episode)," "Snow Drifts," "There's No Place Like Home," "Heart of Gold")
The Ice Queen, has arrived in Storybrooke. Leaving a trail of ice behind her, she emerges from the barn and slowly makes her way into the town. Then she cast a giant ice wall all around Storybrooke until she finds her sister, Anna. The next day Emma and others find her and realize that she doesn't remember how she got here and she just looks for her sister, then they agree to help her. But The Snow Queen a.k.a. Ingrid is their big threat now. In the meantime Regina and Henry are now working together to find the author to make him to change the fate where villains always lose. After a couple of days, when Emma and Hook are watching Emma's video tape, they notice that Ingrid was Emma's foster mother and Emma does not remember any of this. In the meantime, now Gold found the Sorcerer's Hat, he plans to use it for freeing himself from the dagger with the help of Hook whose heart was ripped out by Mr. Gold. But then they realize that Ingrid is up to something : The Spell of Shattered Sight. With it, everyone will begin to see the worst in their loved ones and turn on each other, destroying themselves. After the arrival of Anna and her fiancee Kristoff, they understand that the only way this spell breaks is Ingrid's death. But with Ingrid finally seeing what her sister thought about her after Ingrid accidently killed her other sister, she realizes what she has done and sacrificed herself in order to break the spell. But before that, she gave Emma and Elsa's memory. After that Elsa, Anna and Kristoff return their home, Arendelle. ("A Tale of Two Sisters", "White Out", "Rocky Road", "The Snow Queen", "Smash the Mirror", "Fall","Shattered Sight", "Heroes and Villains")
With "Marian"s sickness relapses because of Ingrid, Regina sees the only way she can live is Robin Hood, Roland and Marian leave the town. Robin kisses Regina and says goodbye to her one last time. ("Heroes and Villains")
While Mr. Gold is almost achieving to get free from his dagger, Belle finds him and with the power of the dagger, she commands Mr. Gold to leave the town. ("Heroes and Villains")
While Emma, Mary Margaret, Regina, Hook and Belle are trying to defeat the Chernabog who they accidently let out from the Sorcerer's Hat, Mr. Gold and Ursula reunite with Cruella De Vil. After they help the heroes about the Chernabog crisis, Emma and the others let them in to Storybrooke. But unbeknown to them, Ursula and Cruella let Mr. Gold in, too. Two days later, Mr. Gold, Ursula and Cruella team up and resurrect Maleficent from her ashes with the help of the bloods whose belong to Mary Margaret and David who wronged to Maleficent in the past by having her lose her child. After ursula reunites with her father and goes back to the Enchanted Forest, the crew understand that Mr. Gold is trying to fill Emma's heart with darkness. To stop it, they need the Author. After they free him from the book, he quickly runs away but then Mr. Gold convinces him to write a happy ending for him. With Cruella kidnapping Henry, Regina desists on the mission which rescuing Robin Hood from her sister Zelena just for now and focuses on saving Henry with Emma. After Emma kills Cruella, which means Mr. Gold gets closer to have what he wants, Emma goes with Regina to find Maleficent's daughter and also her former friend Lily. After they convince her to come back to Storybrooke, the trio head to Cassidy Apartment where Robin and "Marian" lives now. After Regina's long insestences, Zelena finally reveals herself and says that she's pregnant. The next day they all head back to Storybrooke. Emma finally forgives her parents for hiding the truth about Emma's darkness. In the meantime Lily reunites with her mother and decides to stay for a week. But at the same time, The Author, Isaac, starts to write a storybook where villans win the day. ("Darkness on the Edge of Town," "Unforgiven," "Poor Unfortunate Soul," "Best Laid Plans," "Sympathy for the De Vil")
With Mother Superior's help, the Apprentice, who was sucked by the Sorcerer's Hat because of Hook who was Mr. Gold's control back then, is freed from it. In a race to stop Isaac from changing their stories, Emma, Regina and the Apprentice run to the pawnshop to confront the Author. However, Isaac rewrites new lives for everyone in his book, "Heroes and Villains", before they can stop him. Henry finds himself completely alone in Storybrooke. Desperate, he searches for his family outside of town and eventually tracks down Isaac, and learns from him that everyone is another storybook. Henry uses the door illustration key on the "Heroes and Villains storybook", and both are sucked into the story. After Henry undoes what Isaac did and reverts everything to normal, he becomes the new author, but after realizing that the power to change reality is too much for anyone to have, Henry snaps the magic quill in half. With Mr. Gold's near demise, the Apprentice absorbs the darkness in his heart and traps it in the hat, but the dark power escapes. Before the Apprentice passes out, he tells them the Sorcerer's name is Merlin and they mus find him. To save everyone, Emma allows the darkness into her body, causing her to become the new Dark One. ("Operation Mongoose Part 1," "Operation Mongoose Part 2")Inhabitants
Currently in Storybrooke
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Formerly in Storybrooke
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Unknown Inhabitants
The following is a list of Storybrooke inhabitants who have not appeared on screen.
Visitors
Currently in Storybrooke
Formerly in Storybrooke
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Note:
No number indicator This individual came to Storybrooke via the first Curse
2 This individual came to Storybrooke via the second Curse
3 This individual came to Storybrooke via the third Curse
º This individual came to Storybrooke by means other than the Dark Curse
†: This individual is deceased
^ This individual left Storybrooke willingly
x This individual left Storybrooke unwillingy
i This individual was brought to Storybrooke as an inanimated figure, such as statue, puppet or corpse
u It is currently unknown how this person came to Storybrooke
Notable Businesses
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Notes:
1: The Storybrooke Pet Shelter is replaced on the set by Any Given Sundae from "White Out".
2: Any Given Sundae is replaced by the The Three Bears Day Spa from "Street Rats".
3: La Tandoor is replaced by Duperré & Hughes in "Broken". In "A Tale of Two Sisters", Chop Shop has also become part of the same building.
4: These business names never appear on-screen.
5: The "Hats" sign can be glimpsed in "The Thing You Love Most"[95] and "The Price of Gold";[96] however, only the H and the T, and parts of the middle letters, as well as additional signage saying "[obscured] away" and "sample styles", can be seen on-screen.
6: Hats is replaced by an unidentified dental clinic in "We Are Both" (it can also be seen in "The Thing You Love Most", even though the hat store was glimpsed earlier in the episode). The dental clinic bears the same sign as the real-life Harmony Dental Studio in Steveston Village.[97] However, only the word "Dental" can be clearly deciphered on-screen.
7: For the sixth season, a portable pawnshop set is put up in the lane next to It's POSH!,[98] the building that previously doubled as the pawnshop;[99] meaning that It's POSH! is now a separate business located next to the pawnshop.
8: Worthington's Haberdashery is replaced by the Storybrooke Pet Shelter in "Red-Handed".
Trivia
On-screen Notes
- The town's name is a pun on "story book".
- Storybrooke functions as a consolidated city-county, a US municipality with the combined authority of a county and city. This is evidenced in various ways:
- Graham, and later Emma Swan, is Sheriff of Storybrooke County[100]: a county sheriff in the US is an elected official with the highest police authority in a county. Storybrooke's police cruisers also reflect this office. ("Desperate Souls")
- Storybrooke's Sheriff also maintains the duties of a chief of police, a generally appointed official with the highest police authority in a city. This is also reflected on the cruisers, which bear the town's seal.
- Mayor Regina Mills had the authority to appoint a candidate for election to the office of Sheriff. (Many Sheriff's elections are conducted with one candidate in the US, however they are generally not appointed). A city's chief of police is generally appointed by the city's mayor. ("Desperate Souls")
- Graham, and later Emma Swan, is Sheriff of Storybrooke County[100]: a county sheriff in the US is an elected official with the highest police authority in a county. Storybrooke's police cruisers also reflect this office. ("Desperate Souls")
- Storybrooke can be accessed by other worlds in the following ways: Via the Land Without Magic at the Storybrooke town border, via the magic wardrobe, using the ashes of the wardrobe combined with the waters of Lake Nostos, using a magic bean to create a portal, via a rabbit hole (the latter only works after magic is brought to Storybrooke[101]) or by using a Wishing Star. ("Pilot", "Queen of Hearts", "Down the Rabbit Hole", "Fall")
- Boston seems to be the nearest city to the town because many characters who tried to leave were heading there. According to Emma, Boston is four hours away from Storybrooke. ("Pilot," "The Price of Gold," "What Happened To Frederick," "A Land Without Magic")
- According to the marked route on the Darling brothers' map,[102] Storybrooke appears to be in the location of Thomaston, Maine, a small seaport town west of Rockland. ("Dark Hollow")
- Four hours may be an accurate time frame for a drive from Boston to Thomaston, taking delays and speed fluctuations into account.
- Storybrooke's town arms is an apple tree.[103] ("Fruit of the Poisonous Tree")
- Storybrooke's zip code is 04815.[104] ("Dreamy," "The Queen Is Dead," "Only You")
- The local morning show is called "Good Morning Storybrooke", and airs at 7:00 AM. ("Tiny")
- Storybrooke's radio station is called WOLF 98, and is the "home of the original party animals". ("The Apprentice")
- A rail line passes through or near the town, though it is not clear whether Storybrooke itself is visible to anyone aboard the train (though as the train sounds its whistle as it bears down on Cruella De Vil's vehicle, its inhabitants can be seen). ("Enter the Dragon")
- When Emma and Regina confront the Evil Queen at the beach, three swans are swimming in the water.[105] This sis a direct reference to Emma's last name. ("I'll Be Your Mirror")
- An article in the Storybrooke Daily Mirror mentions a location called Sonnet Hill Orchard Park.[106] ("The Thing You Love Most")
- Another article mentions a location called Harestock Bridge.[107] ("The Shepherd")
- Among the areas listed on the map of Storybrooke, are Pine Lake, Blythe Lake, Rowan Hill, Nightingale Village, Hunter's Grove, Alder Park, Edith's Orchard, Storybrooke Centennial Park, Cove Jaune, Storybrooke Harbor, Heron Island and Harper's Point.[108] ("Manhattan," "The Queen Is Dead," "Lacey")
- Hunter's Grove is also mentioned in a newspaper ad in "Kansas".[109]
- Among the numerous streets listed on the map, is one called Westlake Street; a reference to Neil Westlake, a graphic designer and production staff member on the show. ("Lacey")
- The Storybrooke map that Mr. Gold shows Emma mentions a location called Brock Lake.[110] ("Smash the Mirror")
- The map that Hook finds in the pawnshop mentions a location called Villar's Point.[111] ("Smash the Mirror")
- When Isaac is caught, a direction sign in the background says "Sperling".[112] ("Operation Mongoose Part 2")
Production Notes
- Location filming of Storybrooke scenes takes place in Steveston Village, a suburb of the city of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. However, a portion of Storybrooke's main street has also been recreated within The Bridge Studios in Vancouver, primarily for use during night scenes, with the set for Granny's Diner located behind its facade.[113]
- Changing Steveston into Storybrooke takes about ten hours.[114]
- The Storybrooke Clock Tower does not exist within the real Steveston and is added to location filming using optical effects.[114]
- According to show creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, Storybrooke is meant to be timeless, which is why it has cell phones and computers, but also old phones and older cars. It is meant to look timeless, like a mix of everything.[115]
- Sara's Ice Cream is a real-life Steveston Village business that features Once Upon a Time inspired ice cream names and flavors such as Once Upon a Thyme, Cinderella’s Carriage, Entirely Emma, Mr. Gold and Grumpy's Road.[116][117]
Disney
- A garden pinwheel of Disney's Tinker Bell appears on a house lawn in Storybrooke in "Pilot,[118] "Operation Mongoose Part 1"[119] and "The Price".[120]
- Advertisement for computers with the Encom logo from the movie Tron appears several times in the show:
- Outside the Marine Garage in 1983.[121] ("Welcome to Storybrooke")
- When Storybrooke looses its power due to Elsa's ice wall.[122] ("White Out")
- When Emma leaves the diner in "Rocky Road".[123]
- As the shards from Ingrid's spell fall from the sky.[124] ("Fall")
- Just before Merida is about to look through Henry's storybook.[125] ("Dreamcatcher")
- In the opening shot of the scene everyone returns to Storybrooke in "An Untold Story".[126]
- When Hook and Emma have their first date, the waiters are dressed like Tony, the kelner from Lady and the Tramp, and according to the menu, the restaurant itself is called Tony's.[127] The candles in a bottle and the table cloths[128] are similar to the ones seen in the famous movie scene. ("The Apprentice")
Lost
- The voice of Bill Gozen, the Storybrooke meteorologist, is one of Lost's creators, Damon Lindelof.[129] ("7:15 A.M.," "Tiny")
- Regina's secret meeting in the woods takes place at Access Road 23. 23 is one of the Lost numbers.[130] ("Fruit of the Poisonous Tree")
- Emma crashes her police cruiser into a street sign where the roads are numbered 4 and 23,[131] two of the Lost numbers. ("Fruit of the Poisonous Tree")
- Henry' horse is in stall 8,[132] which is the second Lost number. ("The Doctor")
Popular Culture
- As Emma is driving through Storybrooke, the man on the radio says, "That was Left of the Dial by The Replacements"; a reference to a song on the rock band's 1985 album Tim. ("The Apprentice")
Props Notes
- Despite Storybrooke being supposedly hidden from the rest of the world by various curses, it is not completely cut off, as the first season reveals that the Internet is available, as is both modern cell phone and smart phone/BlackBerry service (both despite the fact the town is supposed to be otherwise trapped in the 1980s). Regina is known to use a BlackBerry. ("What Happened to Frederick", "Dreamy", "Enter the Dragon")
Set Dressing
- Clocks are a subtle background theme in Storybrooke, where time was frozen for twenty-eight years. Henry,[133] Mary Margaret[134] and Mr. Gold[135] all have a collection of clocks, and there is a business called Standard Clocks,[136] whose storefront is filled with clocks.[137] (This business and the storefront were added for the show, and do not exist in the real Steveston Village.[138]) ("The Thing You Love Most," "Skin Deep," "What Happened to Frederick," "Heart of Darkness," "The Stable Boy," "The Stranger," "We Are Both," "Welcome to Storybrooke")
MARITIME REFERENCES
The seaside town of Storybrooke is filled with maritime props, in the form of model ships, ship paintings, ships in bottles, ship's rudders, sea shells, boats, books and businesses:
- There are model ships in in Archie's office,[139] the pawnshop,[140][141] Marco's shop,[142] the storefront of Duperré & Hughes (a business located next to Granny's Diner)[43][143] the Lakeside Mansion[144] and Mr. Gold's cabin.[145] ("The Thing You Love Most," "That Still Small Voice," "The Stranger," "Broken," "We Are Both," "The Miller's Daughter," "Welcome to Storybrooke," "A Tale of Two Sisters")
- There are ship paintings in Archie's hallway,[146] the bedrooms[147][148] and the lounge [149]at the inn, the town hall[150] (which has paintings of boats as well[151]) and the Pawnshop.[152] ("The Price of Gold", "Desperate Souls", "The Return", "An Apple Red as Blood", "We Are Both", "Witch Hunt", "A Curious Thing")
- There are several giant sea shells in one of Mary Margaret's school classrooms.[153] A big shell[154] and a bowl of shells[155] are used as decorations in Archie's office. ("The Thing You Love Most", "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter", "A Bitter Draught", "Street Rats")
- There are ships in bottles in the pawnshop[156] and the lounge at the inn.[157] and ("True North", "Witch Hunt")
- There is a miniature rudder in the pawnshop[158] and on the mantelpiece in the lounge at the inn.[157] The pawnshop also contains a real ship's rudder.[140] Storybrooke Country Bread has a ship's steering wheel on display in the window.[159] (This is an actual part of a real location known as Romania Country Bread[160]) There is an engraving of a ship's rudder on a cupboard in Regina's living room.[161] ("The Shepherd", "The Stranger", "We Are Both", "Witch Hunt")
- A canoe hangs from the ceiling in the pawnshop.[162] An old, weathered row boat filled with plants is used as a decoration in the yard next to Granny's Diner.[163] (In real life, the boat is sitting next to the Cannery Cafe, which doubles as Granny's Diner for the show.[164]) ("The Thing You Love Most", "The Shepherd")
- There is a nautical guide book,[165] and a children's book with pop-up sailing ships,[166] in the Storybrooke library. ("Smash the Mirror")
- The business next to the diner is called Atlantic Twine and Net,[31] (a real location called Pacific Twine and Net[167]) and there is a business called the Marine Garage (a real location in Steveston Village[168]).
REFERENCES TO THE ENCHANTED FOREST
Storybrooke is filled with nods to where the inhabitants come from; the Enchanted Forest:
- The inn has pink floral wallpaper upstairs[147][169] and a flower-printed couch with matching armchairs in the lounge.[170] There are two forest paintings in the room where Greg Mendell stays.[171] ("The Thing You Love Most," "Selfless, Brave and True," "Witch Hunt")
- The diner has forest-themed wallpaper.[172] The adjoining hallway has pink floral wallpaper.[173] ("Red-Handed," "Lacey")
- The mayor's office[174] and the town hall[175] have birch-tree wallpaper. There are matching birch tree logs by the mayor's fireplace.[174] A leaf-shaped bowl is sitting on a table in the mayor's office.[174] ("The Thing You Love Most", "Broken")
- Archie has green stripes on his office walls tapestry.[176] This is a subtle a reference to his former life as a cricket; crickets live among the grass. Above the green, there is wallpaper which depicts a forest at sundown. The trees are well above eye-level;[177] fitting for a former cricket. Fittingly enough, at eye level, there are mushroom ornaments on Archie's bookshelves.[178] ("The Thing You Love Most", "The Cricket Game")
- Tree[179] and flower motifs[180] are decorating the walls next to Mary Margaret's bed in her loft. ("True North," "Heart of Darkness")
- In the pawnshop, actual birch trunks are scattered around as dividers.[181] The wall behind the main counter has crenelated "windows" which are full of paintings of trees and woods.[182][183] Similar paintings can be seen in other parts of the shop. A leaf-print curtain[184] separates the front room from the back of the shop. ("The Shepherd," "Desperate Souls," "The Return," "We Are Both")
- The Nolan House has flower printed wallpaper.[185] ("The Shepherd")
- One of the classrooms at the Storybrooke Elementary School has tree silhouettes and falling leaves on the windows.[186] ("The Shepherd")
- The Storybrooke Pet Shelter has silvery forest wallpaper on the counter and behind the counter,[187] and tree silhouettes on the window panes.[187][188] Above the fish tank, there is a framed picture of a winter woods scene, with birch trees.[187] Real birch tree trunks are used as decorations.[189] ("7:15 A.M.", "Red-Handed", "The Return")
- Real branches[190] and birch trees[191] are used as decorations at the town bar. ("Skin Deep")
- Jefferson has birch tree trunks in his living room.[192][193] A room in his mansion has forest-themed wallpaper[194] and floral curtains.[195] There's a silver tree-like rack inside the hat room.[196] ("Hat Trick")
- In the Storybrooke Free Public Library, there is a tree shaped mirror on the wall that hides the elevator doors.[197] ("A Land Without Magic")
- The wallpaper in the room where Cora appears as a ghost in Regina's house, shows branches in a forest.[198] ("The Miller's Daughter")
- There is a tree-like decoration with green leaves in an alcove in the restaurant where Hook and Emma have their first date.[199] ("The Apprentice")
- In Emma's house, there is a framed picture of a winter woods scene,[200] which she uses to hide the stolen Squid Ink. ("Birth")
Goofs
- When Emma and Henry first arrive in Storybrooke, Steveston Village, which doubles as the town of Storybrooke on the show, has not been redressed for some of the shots. The following real-life Steveston business names appear on-screen: Pacific Net & Twine,[201] Romania Country Bread[201] Serenity,[202] Nikaido[202] and Splash.[202] In addition, the prop sign on the building that doubles as Mr. Gold's pawnshop for exterior scenes has not been put up.[203] However, in a different shot, the sign on Serenity is gone (but not replaced), and Nikaido has been transformed into Standard Clocks.[204] In "The Thing You Love Most", the local businesses have been redressed and transformed. Pacific Net & Twine has become Atlantic Twine & Net,[31] Romania Country Bread has become Storybrooke Country Bread,[58] Serenity has become Modern Fashions[58] and Splash has become Neighbors.[59] ("Pilot")
- In in "Pilot" (through a window),[204] "The Thing You Love Most",[205] "Snow Falls", "The Price of Gold",[206] "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter",[94] "True North",[207] "7:15 A.M.",[208] "Skin Deep" (mirrored in a store window),[209] "What Happened to Frederick",[210] as well as the flashbacks from 1983 in "Welcome to Storybrooke"[211] and the 2001 flashbacks in "Save Henry",[212] the blue storefront next to Granny's Diner is called Worthington's Haberdashery. It is located in the former site of Artisans Galleria on Moncton Street in Steveston Village, where Once Upon a Time films.[213] By the time of "Red-Handed", however, this storefront has become the Storybrooke Pet Shelter[214] (more noticeable in "The Stable Boy")[215] thanks to a false facade. The Pet Shelter is replaced by Any Given Sundae for Season Four.[216] However, stock footage appears to have be used briefly in an exterior shot of the diner in "Heroes and Villains", where part of the old Pet Shelter sign can be glimpsed,[217] and in "Lily", where the original Worthington Haberdashery is back.[218]
- The storefront next to the pet shelter changes as well, beginning as the actual La Tandoor restaurant (which is now closed)[219] in "Pilot",[220] "The Thing You Love Most",[205] "Snow Falls", "The Price of Gold",[206] "The Shepherd",[221] "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter",[56] "True North",[222] "7:15 A.M.",[223] "Skin Deep",[224] "What Happened to Frederick"[210] and the 2001 flashbacks from "Save Henry",[212] before becoming the Duperré & Hughes law firm in "Broken".[43] In "Season Four, Chop Shop has also moved into the same building.[225] The original La Tandoor sign can also be seen in an exterior shot in "Lily".[218]
- La Tandoor and Worthington's Haberdashery can also be seen in an exterior shot in Underbrooke in "Ruby Slippers", where stock footage from the first season seems to have been used; even though previous episode have established that the storefronts next to the Underbrooke Diner are the Underworld versions of Any Given Sundae and Duperré & Hughes.
- In the outdoor scenes filmed in Steveston Village, the buildings located across the street from Granny's Diner do not precisely match the buildings seen from inside the diner, filmed inside a studio. In exterior scenes, on the left side of Storybrooke Country Bread, there is a blue wooden building, with a gap of approximately ten meters between the two buildings.[226] In the interior scenes in "Snow Falls",[227] "The Shepherd",[228] "Desperate Souls",[229] "7:15 A.M.",[230] "Dreamy",[231] "We Are Both",[232] "Child of the Moon",[233] "Tiny",[234] "Welcome to Storybrooke",[235] "And Straight On 'Til Morning",[236] "It's Not Easy Being Green",[237] "The Jolly Roger",[238] "The Apprentice",[239] "Fall",[240] "The Snow Queen",[241] "Heroes and Villains",[242] "Best Laid Plans",[243] "Mother",[244] "The Dark Swan",[245] "Siege Perilous",[246] "Only You",[247] "A Bitter Draught"[248] and "The Other Shoe",[249] there is a completely different building next to Storybrooke Country Bread. This building, which is part of a set on Stage 4 at The Bridge Studios[250] in Burnaby, is brown and made of bricks, and there is no gap between the two buildings. Also, in "The Shepherd"[228] and "7:15 A.M.",[251] you can see a blue/grey studio wall behind Storybrooke Country Bread. In exterior scenes, there is no such wall.[226]
- The wrong building seems to a used book story called "Rowan Books".[234][235][236]
- The wrong building also appears in the Underworld version of Storybrooke in "Labor of Love".[252]
- When Graham offers Emma a new job, the sign on the building behind Emma says Storybrooke Coffee Co.[74] However, when Graham gets out on the police car, you can clearly see a circular sign on the side of the building, which says "Steveston Coffee Co".[253] ("The Price of Gold")
- When Graham offers Emma the job as deputy sheriff, as he says, "Why don't you think about it", in the background, you can see the name "Steveston" on the sign of a business next to Kisamos Greek Taverna.[254] ("The Price of Gold")
- In "The Price of Gold", as Emma and Henry cross the street after leaving the loft, in the background, you can see a real-life business called Steveston WineMakers.[32]
- Curiously, the business next to it, which is known as Budget Appliances in real-life Steveston Village,[255] has, unlike its neighbor, been renamed for this episode (it is now called Bravura Appliances[32]).
- However, Bravura Appliances becomes the real Budget Appliances in "Best Laid Plans".[33]
- When the Wolf walks way from Graham, a window pane in the background says "Pacific Net & Twine",[256] the real name of the Steveston business which doubles as Atlantic Twine & Net[31] on the show.[257] ("The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter")
- After Mr. Gold and his team leave the Blanchard Loft in "Best Laid Plans", a direction sign pointing to "Steveston General Store - second hand goods" can be seen on a building.[258] This is a real business in Steveston Village, the town which doubles as Storybrooke on the show.[259]
Appearances
Once Upon a Time: Season One | ||||||||||
"Pilot": | "The Thing You Love Most": | "Snow Falls": | "The Price of Gold": | "That Still Small Voice": | "The Shepherd": | "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter": | "Desperate Souls": | "True North": | "7:15 A.M.": | "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
"Skin Deep": | "What Happened to Frederick": | "Dreamy": | "Red-Handed": | "Heart of Darkness": | "Hat Trick": | "The Stable Boy": | "The Return": | "The Stranger": | "An Apple Red as Blood": | "A Land Without Magic": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
Once Upon a Time: Season Two | ||||||||||
"Broken": | "We Are Both": | "Lady of the Lake": | "The Crocodile": | "The Doctor": | "Tallahassee": | "Child of the Moon": | "Into the Deep": | "Queen of Hearts": | "The Cricket Game": | "The Outsider": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
"In the Name of the Brother": | "Tiny": | "Manhattan": | "The Queen Is Dead": | "The Miller's Daughter": | "Welcome to Storybrooke": | "Selfless, Brave and True": | "Lacey": | "The Evil Queen": | "Second Star to the Right": | "And Straight On 'Til Morning": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
Once Upon a Time: Season Three | ||||||||||
"The Heart of the Truest Believer": | "Lost Girl": | "Quite a Common Fairy": | "Nasty Habits": | "Good Form": | "Ariel": | "Dark Hollow": | "Think Lovely Thoughts": | "Save Henry": | "The New Neverland": | "Going Home": |
Mentioned | Mentioned | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Mentioned | Appears | Absent | Appears | Appears | Appears |
"New York City Serenade": | "Witch Hunt": | "The Tower": | "Quiet Minds": | "It's Not Easy Being Green": | "The Jolly Roger": | "Bleeding Through": | "A Curious Thing": | "Kansas": | "Snow Drifts": | "There's No Place Like Home": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
Once Upon a Time: Season Four | ||||||||||
"A Tale of Two Sisters": |
"White Out": |
"Rocky Road": |
"The Apprentice": |
"Breaking Glass": |
"Family Business": | "The Snow Queen": |
"Smash the Mirror": |
"Fall": | "Shattered Sight": |
"Heroes and Villains": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
"Darkness on the Edge of Town": |
"Unforgiven": | "Enter the Dragon": | "Poor Unfortunate Soul": |
"Best Laid Plans": | "Heart of Gold": | "Sympathy for the De Vil": |
"Lily": | "Mother": | "Operation Mongoose Part 1": |
"Operation Mongoose Part 2": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
Once Upon a Time: Season Five | |||||||||||
"The Dark Swan": | "The Price": | "Siege Perilous": | "The Broken Kingdom": | "Dreamcatcher": | "The Bear and the Bow": | "Nimue": | "Birth": | "The Bear King": | "Broken Heart": | "Swan Song": | |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | |
"Souls of the Departed": | "Labor of Love": | "Devil's Due": | "The Brothers Jones": | "Our Decay": | "Her Handsome Hero": | "Ruby Slippers": | "Sisters": | "Firebird": | "Last Rites": | "Only You": | "An Untold Story": |
Appears | Mentioned | Appears | Mentioned | Appears | Absent | Mentioned | Mentioned | Mentioned | Appears | Appears | Appears |
Once Upon a Time: Season Six | ||||||||||
"The Savior": | "A Bitter Draught": | "The Other Shoe": | "Strange Case": | "Street Rats": | "Dark Waters": | "Heartless": | "I'll Be Your Mirror": | "Changelings": | "Wish You Were Here": | "Tougher Than the Rest": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Absent |
"Murder Most Foul": | "Ill-Boding Patterns": | "Page 23": | "A Wondrous Place": | "Mother's Little Helper": | "Awake": | "Where Bluebirds Fly": | "The Black Fairy": | "The Song in Your Heart": | "The Final Battle Part 1": | "The Final Battle Part 2": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland | ||||||||||
"Down the Rabbit Hole": | "Trust Me": | "Forget Me Not": | "The Serpent": | "Heart of Stone": | "Who's Alice": | "Bad Blood": | ||||
Appears | Mentioned | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | ||||
"Home": | "Nothing to Fear": | "Dirty Little Secrets": | "Heart of the Matter": | "To Catch a Thief": | "And They Lived...": | |||||
Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears | Absent | Absent |
Once Upon a Time: Specials | ||||||||||
"Magic is Coming": |
"The Price of Magic": | "Journey to Neverland": | "Wicked is Coming": | "Storybrooke Has Frozen Over": | ||||||
Archive | Archive | Archive | Appears | Archive | ||||||
"Secrets of Storybrooke": | "Dark Swan Rises": | "Evil Reigns Once More": | "The Final Battle Begins": | |||||||
Archive | Appears | Archive | Absent |
Other Appearances | ||||||||||
|
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.
References
Land Without Magic Locations | |||
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