Northern Exposure, Roslyn, Washington

Sean and I are both fans of the television show, Northern Exposure, which aired from 1990 – 1995. This was one of the few shows that I caught from the very beginning, since even the ads were quirky enough to grab my attention. It was an intelligent comedy, with enough drama to keep me interested. The characters were likeable, even the irascible Maurice Minnifield.When I try to decide who was my favorite, I have to say most of them were: Chris Stevens the DJ/philosopher, Ed Chigliak the filmmaker wannabe, Ruth Anne Miller the elderly shopkeeper make the top three for me. Of course, I liked Joel and Maggie and Marilyn and Hollis and Shelly and Maurice and ….

I think every member of my book group was hooked on the show – we met on Monday evenings and would always break up in time to get home to watch the current episode. This was in the days before DVRs.

The show was set in the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska, but Roslyn provided the backdrop. Fortunately for us, it was on our route, just a few miles off of Interstate 90, although I believe anything within a hundred miles of our route would have been close enough.

Downtown Roslyn was no bigger than downtown Cicely was. Roslyn’s Cafe (actually the Roslyn Cafe with “‘s” added for the show sits one one corner, about a block from The Brick bar and restaurant where Holling and his sweetheart, Shelly, held sway. Also on main street are the storefronts for Dr. Joel Fleischman’s office and the KBHR radio station where Chris worked, most memorably as “Chris in the Morning.” Chris played an ecclectic selection of songs which was part of the show’s appeal. No moose on main street, however. We also drove up the hill to Maurice’s home, and viewed some of the other houses that were featured in the show.

So happy that we stopped here.

Cicely’s Main Street

Apparently shot through a car window

The Brick Tavern