Feeling bored in my apartment this weekend, I decided I needed to take a trip and find someplace new to spend a day. In trying to think of where to go, I came up with the idea of searching for the real Stars Hollow, CT. Stars Hollow is the fictional town that played host to the Gilmore Girls, a television show which I embarrassingly admit I used to watch. On the show its portrayed a quaint little town with lots of quirky characters and it kind of shaped my expectations of Connecticut when I moved up here. I did a quick search on the Wikipedia and discovered that show creator Amy Sherman-Palladino based Stars Hollow on the real-life town of Washington Depot, CT. And less than an hour away, it seemed perfect for a quick weekend pilgrimage.
Its wrong to compare Stars Hallow to Washington Depot simply based on their appearance. Stars Hollow is actually a Warner Bros. backlot set that was built decades earlier for films like The Music Man. So it was not meant to look like Washington Depot. Still when I arrived in the town center there were all the familiar elements: a town hall, churches, small businesses, and a central lawn. One iconic piece that did appear to be missing was a gazzebo. In comparison to the Warners’ orderly “Midwestern town” set, Washington Depot has a slightly more rambling feel set on the side of a hill. The buildings were also smaller than their television counterparts – none of the businesses were built more than a story high. Washington Depot also seems much more remote than Stars Hollow. Although it was only 20 miles away, I drove almost an hour through rural areas on winding roads to get there.
When I originally hatched my plan, I thought I would go through the town with my videocamera asking to locals about the show and whether they thought their town could be Stars Hollow. I realized that would be pretty annoying though, so instead I decided I would just try to take in as much as I could on my own. I started out with lunch at a local cafe called Marty’s. Not quite a Luke’s diner, this was more of an upscale cafe with a lot of interior design going on. There were bookshelves, dining room tables, and I ate my turkey club in a armchair at a coffee table. The food was pretty good though and the people were very friendly. Afterwards I took a walk around the shopping area and there were plenty of Stars Hollow staples: a bookstore, a antique furniture shop, a post office, a small market, and a hardware supply store. I stopped in at a gift shop called Fancy That! in search of the perfect Mother’s Day gift (still looking). After seeing most of the local fair and getting lost driving around a few times, I decided to head back.
I think the biggest thing difference that struck me about Washington Depot was it seemed higher class than Stars Hollow. I could not envision a teenage mother like Loralai Gilmore fitting in here easily and eventually owning a home. Most of the homes looked quite large and expensive and the stores were a little pricier. I did see an inn that may have been the model for the Dragonfly on the show, but it looked a little fancier than the TV bed and breakfast. Rory would not have had to gone far for a prep school education, there was a boarding school called The Gunnery right in the center of town. A couple students from there were actually getting some coffee when I was at Marty’s. Washington Depot definitely makes a model small town with just about everything you would really need and none of the excess of suburbia.
I’m not sure how I would make out in a place like Washington Depot. If I thought Bristol was boring, I imagine I would feel even more shut in in Washington Depot. If you’re looking to get away from it all though, its a very nice area. Still it was a fun to explore a little part of the state I knew nothing about and be able to tell people about it.
From one Clancy to another- you wrote well but find more worthy topics
Gilmore Girls, huh?
Real men watch ‘Charmed’.
i think it would be osome to go to the as u say stars hollow the place where the gilmore girls did thier set im glad to say im a big fan of the hole cast but my favorit out of the hole cast was loreli and rory i would love to one day go and check out the place where it was all done i think it would be fabulas and a great trip i hope one day i can
IM PROUD TO SAY IM AM A BIG FAN OF THE GILMORE GIRLS. MY HUSBAND BOUGHT THE HOLE SET FOR ME AND IM ALWAYS WATCHING THEM THEY ARE MY FAVOITE SHOWS TO WATCH . AND PERSONLY I THINK IT WOULD OSOME TO VISIT WHERE THEY DID THE WHOLE GILMORE SET I WOULD LOVE NOTHING BUT TO TAKE A TRIP TO THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS ALL DONE AND I DONT CARE WHO THINK THIS IS LAME . I WOULD ALSO LOVE TO MEET THE WHOLE CAST I DONT REALY HAVE A FAVORIT I PERSONLY LOVE THE WHOLE CAST SO I COULD SAY IT ENOUGH I LOVE THE SHOWS AND THE CAST LIKE I SAID IM A BIG BIG FANE IF I COULD WATCH THEM MORE THAN I ALREADY DO I WOULD SINCERLY MJC
AND IV BEEN LOOKING AT THE OTHERS COMENTS AND NO REAL MEN DONT WATCH CHARMED REAL MEN WATCH WHAT EVER THEY WANT
You bought the whole set? how?
i have the complete series as well. you can get it at any major big box store.
steve, do you happen to remember what the inn that looked like the dragonfly was called? there are a few in town and i was curious as to which one it is.
Its a beautiful day here in England, and i have only recently come across the Gilmore Girls amongst our tv programmes, my daughter is an avid watcher of the programme too! she’s just left college and has had more time during the summer to devote to time out with the Gilmore girls in between summer jobs!, but i find the programme uplifting and charming.I found myself wishing to have the opportunity to visit Stars Hollow and wondering if there was such aplace! lo and behold i log on to the internet and find this page! and others!! so you are not the only person who wonders about the places we see on programmes!Lucky you to be that close to visit! I too would love to meet the cast who knows perhaps One day!
Hi!
Thanks for checking out the real Stars Hollow. I’ve been wanting to do the same, but don’t live close enough to just take a drive there. I’m glad you described and compared the set with reality because I think I needed to know what the town was really like before I visit – might have felt a little disappointed if I didn’t know the truth before I got there!
Suzy
P.S Don’t be afraid to admit you liked the show! I know other guys who like it too. (If you really have to, just say it’s because the girls were hot! lol)
Acho que é um insulto para a história da televisão alguém dizer que acho embaraçoso admitir que via Gilmore Girls.
ESCREVE SOBRE TELEVISÃO QUANDO SOUBERES APRECIAR UMA ÓPTIMA SÉRIE COM UM EXCELENTE ARGUMENTO!
I love the GG and was so sad that it has been cancelled. Amazon has the complete collection of all the series, I highly recommend it. My 12 year old daughter watches them over and over and I actually think by watching it together we have become closer, because we talk about the issues and laugh along with the show together. It is a very good, real, thoughtful show, and I sure hope television picks up something half as good as GG was, because I don’t love anything that is on TV nowadays…….I guess nothing good can last forever. Anyway, thanks for sharing, I am glad to see fellow fans. It is a pilgrammage I thought about taking, and I guess I am kind of glad I didn’t, I love Stars Hollow as it is in my mind, from the show. I would be expecting to run into Luke, or Miss Patty or Kirk, you know?
I LOVE GILMORE GIRLS!!!…I HOPE I HAVE DAUGHTER LIKE RORY…=]]
I love Gilmore Girls. That is my favorite show.
hey omg all i ever wanted was to live in stars hollow like the gilmore girls.I love the gilmore girls ive seen like ever show.Its my fav show!!!Lourilie is my role moddle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hey, i just watched the season 1 in 2days. i love gilmore girls. i hoping that there would be a season 8 coming out, guess not
i love it
xD xD xD
OMG OMG OMG OMG I CANT BELIEVE THERE IS AN ACTUAL STARS HOLLOW BUT ITS NOT CALLED STARS HOLLOW
I HAVE THE WHOLE SEVEN SEASONS AND ME AND MY FRIEND HAVE PLANS TO GO TO STARS HOLLOW AND EAT CHEESEBURGERS AT LUKES BOOHYA BUT THERE IS NO LUKES:(
You should never be embarrased to admit you watch something that is critically acclaimed, well respected, and always on “Best Of” lists. Gilmore Girls was a brilliant, fantastic show. Nothing embarrasing there.
Thanks for the article. I’ve always wondered about this place.
Let me start off saying that I love Gilmore girls, and I am sooo addicted to it! I have the complete series and I watch it over and over all day everyday. I have always wanted to go on the set of Gilmore girls and to Washington Depot, to compare the two and to see what Amy and Dan got their inspiration from. Thanks so much for going there and writing about it, hopefully one day I can go and see it for myself. And if I do I would want to run into some quirky people like Kirk or Babette or even Miss Patty.
Thanks again,
Christyne
P.S. Next time please include more pictures because I couldn’t really imagine it, I would just think of the Gilmore girls set.
Wow here i was sitting thinking how amazing would it be to actualy go to stars hollow and meet all the cast from Gilmore girls. and turns out im not the only one.
i love the gilmore girls and i am so sad that the show got cancelled.
how ever i will soon be buying the whole boxset to supress my sadness lol.
glad to see others feel the same
Its good to see that there are so many Gilmore Girl fans out there. I absoloutely love the series-i have the first 3 seasons and have been watching whenever i get the chance. I’m going to Connecticut in a few weeks and i am really hoping to go and see the Gilmore Girls set and Washington Depot. I’m just addicted. I’m gutted that there isn’t going to be a series 8, but hey we’ll always have the first 7 seasons when we want to take a trip to Stars Hollow. I would love to meet the whole cast-i think they are an inspiration.
Got hooked on the gilmore girls when it first came out, have all the box sets and really wanted to visit washington depot or even new haven and hartford. was going to try and tie it into my next trip to the states (from ireland). Still think i might am really greatfull someone else did first so at least i know what to expect!!!
would love to see more pictues.
Sinead
I only came across the Gilmore Girls in December 08 on a lazy afternoon chasing channels. I just got into it in a big way and darn it’s finished. It’s now on at the silly time of 8:30am. So I miss it. I’ve found out how to get the box set of all 7 series though, so that’s on my shopping list.
I love the whole cast they’re a funny, interesting, mad uplifting bunch. Plus I’m on the look out for a Luke to make my life complete. However, it’s not likely I’ll find him in my mad Dibley like village in Lincolnshire.
Judi
OMG OMG OMG OMG Like totally…..me and my mom and friend and her mom want to go on a road trip so i thought we cld all go to stars hollow…..so here i am doing research nd theres no star hollow!!!! watta bummer!!
i love the gimlmore girl set i love the kemistry of rory and lorlie and i hope that me and my mom will be like that when i grow up to be rorys age and i hope my first boy friend is like den and i really want to move to a small town like stars hollow so can i wish i can move there when i am out of collage
We are all GG freaks! But we love it. My mom and I watch and re-watch all of the shows, we tivo them and practically know most of the scripts. Honestly, we sound like 2 kooks, but we are very intelligent and balanced chicks. And- we think it was a BIG mistake to cancel this series so abruptly. There were SO many unique characters in this town. The series, always known to be quirky, could have easily taken a whole new story line- by referencing how Lorelai and Rory go on with their lives-outside of Stars Hollow. The series could have easily been geared to feature the exceptional eclectic group of actors/acresses; Kirk, Gypsy, Babette, Miss Patti, Lane, Zach, Mrs. Kim, Sooki, Jackson, Michelle, Tayler, Paris, and Lorelai’s parents could have easily been intertwined into the scripts. We loved being invited into Lorelai and Rory’s life, but we think what all GG fans loved even more was being able to sit back and be transported to life in a town such as Stars Hollow. Seeing the town square decorated for every holiday, waiting to see what party or whacky event would be held next in the town. The story lines were whacky and wonderful. And with a little creative writing, this wonderful series could have had a much longer run.
Interesting take on Washington Depot. It must have changed somewhat from the time that I was last there. I used to do a lot of kayaking in the 80’s and the Shepaug River, which runs through/near Washington Depot, was a favorite early spring destination for use whitewater fans. Back then, it was a pretty dead place, with nothing to recommend it. To quote Harry Chapin, “I spent a week there one afternoon”…
I am a 36 year old mom with an eighteen and 12 year old daughter(s). I had my first daughter early like Lorelai but it’s my 12 year old who is a complete Rory and we have a relationship just like them. Anyway I live in a small town in MO and it is nothing like Stars Hollow. I just got into the show this year and record episodes everyday. I am actually trying to find a small town that does resemble Stars Hollow so I can relocate. I love the look of the town. If anyone has any information please let me know. And real men do watch Gilmore Girls how else are they supposed to know how to treat their moms, wives, and daughters?
MY SON-IN -LAW WORKS AT THE “WB” AND MET EVERYONE ON THE ‘GILMORE GIRLS” SHOW. HE SAID ALL THE CAST WAS REALLY NICE AND SOCIABLE TO THE CREW. HE REALLY MISSED THEM ALL WHEN THE SHOW ENDED…
After a bit of research, I have found quite a few similarities in their processes, such as their use of town selectmen, and town meetings. It is really surprising how small they really are. Living here in Phoenix, I forget how quaint life can really be. I would love to wisk my family away to a small town like that. Maybe someday when I win the lottery.
hi i’m from the Bahamas and I am a BIG FAN of the GILMORE GIRLS
I loved every moment every minute and I want to buy the who dvd set. the ladies were all fantastic and it use to feel like they were girls right down the street where i live and I related very well
it was a great show and if they can still put the show on tv am sure I’d be right in the front of my set.
I love Gilmore Girls and also am intrested in visiting the warner brothers set but i have been told they have dismanteld it and are using it for other films now. i live in England Uk an would love to visit Washington Depot some time. i am also intrestie in geting pictures of the set of stars hollow but cant seam to find any, did you get any pictures from your trip maybe you could set up a fan site for guilmore girls as the only 1 i can find is rubbish.
My daughter and I still love them. Watch them all the time. Maybe we should all write wb and try to get them to restart the series…original cast of course.