Visiting Fort Salem
Riverview Hospital is the real Fort Salem. 2601 Lougheed Hwy, Coquitlam, BC V3C 4J2 It is built on a hill. Motherland did not film on the upper level, but it filmed extensively on the middle and bottom levels. Going around the site will involve a fair amount of walking and some parts may not be accessible for people with mobility challenges. Walking boots are advised. Please be aware that, at times, the site is used for filming and so some parts may not be available to visit.
It is a free public park, open 7am to 9pm everyday. It has car parks and is also on a bus route. Using public transport, go to Coquitlam Central station on the Sky Train, then get the 169 bus (towards Braid Station), get off at Southbound Holly Drive @ Sorrel St, stop #58080. About 5 – 6 minutes travel approx. You should be able to look up the hill and see General Alder’s Office (aka East Lawn Building).
2 West Lawn Building (derelict)
3 Industrial Services Building
5 Centre Lawn Building (Operations Building)
6 East Lawn Building (Alder’s Office)
7 Crease Unit Cafeteria Building
8 Crease Unit Building (Circe Barracks)
Start your walking tour in front of the East Lawn Building – Alder’s Office.
You are going to take a clockwise circuit of the middle level. Turn left and you will soon see the Pharmacy and the rotunda on your right. The rotunda is seen in several episodes. Perhaps the most memorable scene with these in was the ‘wetter soldiers’ scene in Ep 2.03.
Continue on till you see the Central Lawn Building. The first part of this building you get to is the entrance to the hospital from Ep 1.04. Raelle walks out of the hospital and Scylla is waiting for her.
On screen, they had a jeep parked to obscure the area in the left part of this photo. The tree Scylla was filmed sitting under is in another part of the site entirely.
Then you get to the Operations Building.
As you go past this, you see the stairs. This is where Penelope in Ep 2.10 was first spotted walking as the source of the Witch Plague.
If you go down the road a few yards, to about the second white arrow and the noticeboard, this is approximately where the false entrance gates to Fort Salem were in Ep 2.10. The scene where two guards were at the gates, the wards went down and they sounded the alarm.
Go back and up the stairs and round the back of the Centre Lawn Building. They didn’t film much at the back of the buildings, but there are a couple of things of note.
The Industrial Services Building where they filmed the Mycelium wall. Some of that was computer imagery, but it is a small space to film in. The Witchbomb was created in here.
The site of the ‘Hey Camarilla’ scene in Ep 2.10. Tally and the others stood in line with the yellow post and the Camarilla were in the alleyway. There is a similar alleyway, with the post on the right.
You will have to walk back a few yards to this one. They filmed some scenes from the Camarilla attack in the entrance to this alley, in particular some of the Tally and M dialogue. Sometimes the camera was in the alley, facing outwards.
Continue round to the front of the building again, where you see the covered walkway.
Site of more Bellweather Unit conversations. You will see it in the background of some scenes, especially in season 2. The best shots of this are in Ep 2.09
Now head down the hill.
You now have the Crease Unit (Circe Barracks) on your left and the Crease Unit Cafeteria on your right. They filmed this area from every direction and angle. You see it in so many episodes.
Right at the end are the windows that Raelle and ‘Helen’ inspected on guard duty in Ep 1.02.
From the other direction.
Adil and Gregorio were sitting and studying near the entrance to the building on the left. Raelle saw Scylla and the necros disappear round the corner at the far end. The necro building entrance is fake BTW. Raelle confronted Anacostia in Ep 2.05 about the photo she found of Scylla, at the top of the stairs in the building on the right.
Continue round Circe Barracks. You will pass the place where the Unit confront Alban Hearst standing in a mass of Witch Plague in Ep 2.10, at the side of the building. Keep going round to the front of the building.
The front of the building is the famous entrance steps.
Raelle climbed these steps in Ep 1.01. The arrival of the male witches scene from Ep 1.03. Where Tally met Gerit.
Now go back to the side of the building. With your back to the building, this is where the Unit met the torchlight procession in Ep 2.04.
Walk down the procession route to the clearing at the end, where they defended the bonfires on Samhain Night
Cross the clearing into the trees opposite. Look right and you will see a familiar group of trees.
Reverse view
Where Raelle and Scylla had their walk and Scylla picked up Raelle in Ep 1.04
The Raylla Tree. Although other people did come here, like Abigail and Adil in Ep 1.07. In Ep 1.06, Anacostia talked to Raelle here.
If you have trouble finding the tree, go through the trees to the road and find bus stop #53454. Cross the road and walk into the tree canopy to the left.
Visiting Downtown locations at Citydrop
Please be aware that these locations might be closed to the public at certain times.
Vancouver Central Library 350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 6B1Site of the Mall attack in 1.01 and Scylla’s walk through the memorial in 2.02. They filmed this in both directions. Screens hid the stairs to the lower level.
Orpheum Theatre 601 Smithe St, Vancouver, BC V6B 3L4 Ep 2.05 You can see Scylla’s staircase through a glass door on Seymour street. This is a working theatre so you may be able to go inside it when the theatre is open.
Scylla and Anacostia entered through the Granville Street entrance, walked through the mirrored foyer and went up the stairs with Shane, collected their masks at the Mezzanine and then walked down the stairs and stopped at the mid landing. Then Anacostia exits and Scylla comes down the stairs to the foyer.
Granville Street entrance, above with the mirrored foyer. Below is the main foyer, seen from above, and staircase. This is where the Exarch and the Camarilla were.
Plaza of Nations 750 Pacific Blvd, Vancouver, BC V6B 5E7 Ep 2.04 The Testing Centre entrance, with the crowds outside was a set built in front of the doors at 750. The protestors buses arrived at the top of the yellow steps. The steps have now been painted and are no longer all yellow.
The Permanent Building (outside) 330 W. Pender St V6B 3K2 In S1 the Hague scenes were filmed inside here, but the interior has been extensively redeveloped. M infiltrated this building in Ep 3.01
Visiting locations at Citydrop
Please be aware that these locations might be closed to the public at certain times.
Vancouver Film Studios 3500 Cornett Road Vancouver, BC V5M2H5 This is where most of Motherland was filmed. They don’t do studio tours.
Riverview Hospital 2601 Lougheed Hwy., Coquitlam, BC V3C 4J2, Fort Salem. This is on a hill, so there will be a lot of walking. Note there is a separate guide to visiting Fort Salem.
Veterans Park. City Hall Port Coquitlam 2580 Shaughnessy St, Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 3G3 Ep 2.06, the ‘that’s a lot not to talk about’ conversation and Ep 2.09 Morrigan’s Whisper
Matteo’s Gelato 2615 Mary Hill Rd, Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 3A9 Edwin in Ep 2.06 and Ep 2.09 takes ‘his girls’ to the café.
Ladner’s Sundance pub 6574 Ladner Trunk Rd, Delta, BC V4K 3N3 Two Rivers bar from Ep 3.03. The pub opens at 11 am and it is best to get there early so it is not crowded. The doors that Adil, Abigail and Tally entered, from both sides and the table where they sat. The bar where Alder had nachos. The back of the pub is where they filmed Elayne’s trailer and where they met the Marshalls. The cowboy and cowgirl decals on the toilet doors were put there by the Motherland set designers and left there after the end of filming.
Whytecliff Park, 7102 Marine Dr, West Vancouver, BC V7W 2T3 The beach where Tally and Abigail rescue Raelle in Ep 1.06. Quiet beach, popular with surfers. There is a car park. The lighthouse is not really there.
Interior Delusional Cabin. Murdo Frazer Cabin. Caretaker’s Cottage, 2720 Pemberton Avenue, North Vancouver, V7R 3X5 The interior cabin scenes from Ep 2.08 were filmed here as well as additional scenes with Nicte and The Spree. The exterior scenes were filmed elsewhere.
The Vault Restaurant 5764 176 St, Surrey, BC V3S 4C8 The Pizza restaurant from Ep 1.02. It is a commercial restaurant (opens at 12!) The scene at the front of the restaurant where Tally windstrikes a civilian – yes the motorbike is really there. The place where Raelle and Abigail talk while queueing. The hatch where Abigail orders is actually the opening into the kitchen and staff are in and out of there all the time in reality. Where Scylla appears and surprises Raelle.
Cloverhill Market 5996 184 Street, Surrey, BC V3S 4N4 Garage from Ep 3.01. This is near the Vault Restaurant. The garage where the minibus stops so that Abigail can contact her mother. This is what it really looks like down the side of the building. Store rooms.
Burnaby Art Gallery 6344 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby, BC V5G 2J3 Site of Memorial Hall exterior from Ep 1.03 (the interiors were filmed elsewhere) and the Anacostia / Berryessa Tansey apple walk where they discussed Anacostia’s first Beltane and saw the apples fall from the tree when Alder was taken ill. This was occasionally used in other eps.
Alder Street V6H 4E3 They didn’t film here, but where did the name Alder come from? Was this an influence?
Commercial locations. These charge for admission
Fort Langley 23433 Mavis Ave, Fort Langley V1M 2R5 This was Gallows Hill in Ep 1.02, where the recruits went for the pageant. The entrance gate where they get off the bus and Anacostia gives her speech. The stalls were at the bottom of the hill. The pageant stage was about where the log stand it, facing away from the white house at the back.
Van Dusen Gardens 5251 Oak St, Vancouver, BC V6M 4H1 Libba’s funeral. Head for the Great Lawn area and find the red chair statue. That is not seen on screen, but it is in some of the BTS materials from Ep 1.09.
ReturntoFortSalem 