Storybrooke

"It's like a fairy tale."

- Regina Mills to an adoption agent

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.

Inhabitants

 * Agrabahn Viper
 * Albert Spencer
 * Alexandra
 * Amyra
 * Anton º
 * The Apprentice
 * Archie Hopper
 * Ashley Boyd
 * Sister Astrid
 * August Booth º / Pinocchio º
 * Aurora 2
 * Ava Zimmer
 * Bart
 * Bartender / Bartender
 * Bashful
 * Belle French
 * Bill Gozen
 * Billy †
 * Bobby
 * Bo Peep
 * Burly Man
 * Caine (dog)
 * Carol
 * Clivig
 * Cora º †
 * Cruella De Vil ºB †
 * Damon
 * Daniel
 * David Nolan
 * Denise
 * Doc
 * Donna 3
 * Dopey
 * The Dove
 * Dr. A. Montcalm
 * Dr. D. Woodmansley
 * Dr. M. P.
 * Dr. M. Thisby
 * Dr. Thatcher
 * Dr. T. Jensen
 * Dr. Whale
 * Edith
 * Ellen
 * Elsa ºB ^
 * Emma Swan º ºB
 * Ethan
 * Eric ^
 * Fisherman
 * Flying Monkeys 2 †
 * Frank


 * Friar Tuck 2
 * Gary
 * Gene
 * Gerry
 * Gnome 3
 * Granny
 * Greg Mendell º ^ †
 * Happy
 * Henry Mills º ºB
 * Hook º ºB
 * Iggy
 * Ingrid º †
 * Isaac Heller ºB
 * James / James
 * Janitor
 * J. Disla
 * Jeanne
 * Jefferson
 * Jim
 * Johanna †
 * Julie
 * Kathryn Nolan
 * Keith
 * Leroy
 * Lily Page
 * Little John 2
 * Lost Boys º
 * Lost Boy #2
 * Maleficent
 * Sister Manning
 * Marco
 * Mark / Mark
 * Mary / Mary Margaret Blanchard
 * Merry Men 2
 * Michael Tillman
 * Michael Wong
 * Mike
 * Millar
 * Miss Ginger
 * Mitchell Herman
 * Mob Girl
 * Mob Guy
 * Moe French
 * Mother Superior
 * Mr. Gold
 * Mr. Grace
 * Mrs. Grace
 * Mr. Krzyszkowski
 * Neal Cassidy º †
 * Neil Westlake


 * Nicholas Zimmer
 * Nun #1
 * Nurse
 * Nurse #1
 * Olivia
 * Orderly
 * Paige
 * Paramedic
 * Phillip
 * Pongo
 * Porters
 * Prince Neal º
 * Regina Mills
 * Rip Van Winkle
 * Robin Hood 2
 * Roland 2
 * Rona
 * Ruby
 * Sabine Schoppel
 * Sara / Sara
 * Scott
 * Sean Herman
 * Severe Nurse
 * Shadow (dog)
 * Sheriff Graham †
 * Sidney Glass
 * Sisters of Saint Meissa
 * Skinny Man
 * Spaghetti Lady
 * Spaghetti Man
 * Stephen 3
 * Steve
 * Tenaya Wilkins
 * Tina
 * Tinker Bell º
 * Tom Clark
 * Tony / Tony
 * Ursula ºB  ^
 * Valet 3
 * Walter
 * Will Scarlet
 * William Smee
 * Zelena 2

Visitors

 * Alice
 * Anna
 * Ariel
 * Chernabog †
 * Cyrus
 * Daniel †
 * Felix †


 * John Darling
 * Kristoff
 * Kurt Flynn †
 * Malcolm/Peter Pan †
 * Michael Darling
 * Poseidon
 * The Shadow †


 * Tamara †
 * Wendy Darling
 * White Rabbit
 * Wolf/Wolf
 * Wraith

Trapped in Storybrooke
When someone attempts to leave Storybrooke, something always prevents the person from actually leaving: When someone crosses the Storybrooke town line, he or she forgets everything about his or her life in the Enchanted Forest due to Mr. Gold bringing magic: As a counter effect to retaining one's memories: As a solution to regaining one's memories of his or her prior life in the Enchanted Forest: When someone tries to leave Storybrooke, he or she gets carried away by a Flying Monkey and they are turned into a Flying Monkey. Elsa creates a giant ice wall around Storybrooke so nobody can leave until she finds her sister, Anna. However, she is later unable to remove it due to Ingrid's magical influence of the wall. After Ingrid's death, Elsa manages to destroy the ice wall, but Ingrid's powers are still present, which results in everyone who crosses the town line (supposedly) never be able to come back.
 * -|Season One=
 * Ruby desires to leave for Boston, but her grandmother suffers a heart attack and that keeps her in town.
 * Ashley attempts to escape out of town to Boston so she can keep her baby, but goes into labor before exiting the border.
 * Kathryn applied to a law school in Boston and decides to move there alone, but is kidnapped by Mr. Gold before she makes it out.
 * Emma is forced to take orphan siblings Ava and Nicholas Zimmer to Boston and place them into the foster care system, but her car breaks down on the drive out of Storybrooke.
 * -|Season Two=
 * Mr. Clark is pushed out by Leroy in an experiment to see what will happen if someone crosses the town line, and he suffers memory loss.
 * Belle falls over the border when she is shot by Hook and she loses her memories.
 * Mr. Gold created a spell to allow himself to cross the border with his Enchanted Forest memories still intact. He pours a memory potion on an object of great sentimental value, and it becomes a talisman allowing the person to cross the line and keep their memories. He first tested this out on William Smee by dumping some of the potion on his hat. Then, he pushed Smee across the border with the hat. The potion works, and thus, Mr. Gold later uses it on his son's shawl and wears it as he crosses out of town.
 * Mother Superior created a memory potion, with one of the ingredients being a strand of Pinocchio's hair, in order to enable the user who drinks it to have his or her memory restored. She made two doses of the potion and gave them to Leroy. In order for the potion to work, the potion must be poured into an object of sentimental value to the one who drinks it. The dwarves find Mr. Clark's old drinking stein at the pawnshop and later use it so he can regain his memories. As for the other potion dose, Leroy hands it to Mr. Gold, which he decides to have Lacey drink it so she can become Belle again.
 * -|Season Three=
 * Little John accidentally goes past the town line and is turned into a Flying Monkey.
 * -|Season Four=
 * Hook tries to break through the ice wall with his hook, but the ice magic is strong and makes the wall unbreakable.
 * The ice wall appears on the sea when escaping by boat starts to be considered an option.
 * Robin Hood, Roland and Maid Marian cross the town line with money and a map given to them by Regina in order to save Marian from the freezing curse set on her by Ingrid. Despite his leaving Storybrooke, both Regina and Emma are of the impression that it is still possible for Robin to contact Regina from outside Storybrooke.
 * Mr. Gold crosses the town line when Belle commands him to using his dagger. He then heads to New York City. He is, however, later able to return to Storybrooke (and regain his powers) with the help of Ursula and Cruella De Vil; he is also able to communicate with Belle using an e-mail alias from New York.

Locations
For detailed location information, please see the list of Storybrooke locations.

Notable Businesses

 * Any Given Sundae^
 * Atlantic Twine & Net
 * Bravura Appliances
 * The Buck & Ear Bar and Grill
 * Cedar Fence Panels
 * Charthouse Restaurant
 * Chop Shop^^
 * Convent of the Sisters of St. Meissa
 * Craft Market
 * Dark Star Pharmacy
 * Dave's Fish & Chips
 * Duperré & Hughes^^
 * The "Everything" Notions Store
 * Fort Fish & Chips
 * Franklin's Towing & Salvage
 * Game of Thorns
 * George's Taverna
 * Granny's Bed and Breakfast
 * Granny's Diner
 * Gudrun
 * Heringers
 * Hopper Psychiatry Office
 * Jim's Pizza
 * Jolene's Art & Crafts
 * Juvelisto
 * Kisamos Greek Taverna
 * La Tandoor^^
 * Marco's Handyman & Woodwork Services
 * Marine Garage
 * Modern Fashions
 * Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer
 * Neighbor's
 * Nu-Tech Systems LTD
 * One-Stop Cobbling
 * Purbeck Shoe Store
 * The Rabbit Hole
 * Reynolds and Reynolds
 * Rod's Building Supplies


 * Royal Carpet Cleaning
 * Sara's Old Fashioned Ice Cream
 * Standard Clocks
 * Storybrooke Animal Feed
 * Storybrooke Beautification Society
 * Storybrooke Cannery
 * Storybrooke Cleaning Co.
 * Storybrooke Clinic
 * Storybrooke Coffee Co
 * Storybrooke Country Bread
 * Storybrooke Dental
 * Storybrooke Dock
 * Storybrooke Elementary School
 * Storybrooke Fish & Chips
 * Storybrooke Free Public Library
 * Storybrooke General Hospital
 * Storybrooke Gifts
 * Storybrooke Graveyard
 * Storybrooke Harbor
 * Storybrooke Hardware & Paint
 * Storybrooke Humane Society
 * Storybrooke Liquor
 * Storybrooke Mining Co.
 * Storybrooke Museum
 * Storybrooke Pet Shelter^ ^^^
 * Storybrooke Post Office
 * Storybrooke Power Inc.
 * Storybrooke Priory
 * Storybrooke Produce Co.
 * Storybrooke Real Estate
 * Storybrooke Realty
 * Storybrooke Rotisserie & Grill
 * Storybrooke Savings & Loan
 * Storybrooke Secondary School
 * Storybrooke Shipyard
 * Storybrooke Town Hall
 * Tapenade Bistro
 * Worthington's Haberdashery^^^

Trivia
On-screen Notes=

On-screen Notes

 * The town's name is a pun on "story book".
 * 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 ) or by using a Wishing Star.
 * Boston seems to be the nearest city to the town because many characters who tried to leave were heading there.
 * According to the marked route on the Darling brothers' map, Storybrooke appears to be in the location of Thomaston, Maine, a small seaport town west of Rockland.
 * Additionally, according to Emma, Boston is four hours away from Storybrooke. This may be an accurate time frame for a drive from Boston to Thomaston, taking delays and speed fluctuations into account.
 * Storybrooke's coat of arms is an apple tree.
 * Storybrooke's zip code is 04815.
 * Among the areas listed on Greg and Tamara's map of Storybrooke, are Pine Lake, Blythe Lake, Nightingale Village, Hunter's Grove, Storybrooke Centennial Park, Cove Jaune, Storybrooke Harbor, Harper's Point and Heron Island.
 * Hunter's Grove is also mentioned in a newspaper ad in "Kansas".
 * 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.
 * 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 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.
 * 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).
 * -|Production Notes=

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.
 * Changing Steveston into Storybrooke takes about ten hours.
 * The Storybrooke Clock Tower does not exist within the real Steveston and is added to location filming using optical effects.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * -|Prop Notes=

Prop Notes
Storybrooke is filled with nods to where the inhabitants come from; the Enchanted Forest:


 * The inn has pink floral wallpaper upstairs and a flower-printed couch with matching armchairs in the lounge. There are two forest paintings in the room where Greg Mendell stays.
 * The diner has forest-themed wallpaper. The adjoining hallway has pink floral wallpaper.
 * The mayor's office and the town hall have birch-tree wallpaper. There are matching birch tree logs by the mayor's fireplace. A leaf-shaped bowl is sitting on a table in the mayor's office.
 * Archie has green stripes on his office walls tapestry. 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; fitting for a former cricket. Fittingly enough, at eye level, there are mushroom ornaments on Archie's bookshelves.
 * Tree and flower motifs are decorating the walls next to Mary Margaret's bed in her loft.
 * In the pawnshop, actual birch trunks are scattered around as dividers. The wall behind the main counter has crenelated "windows" which are full of paintings of trees and woods. Similar paintings can be seen in other parts of the shop. A leaf-print curtain separates the front room from the back of the shop.
 * The Nolan House has flower printed wallpaper.
 * One of the classrooms at the Storybrooke Elementary School has tree silhouettes and falling leaves on the windows.
 * The Storybrooke Pet Shelter has silvery forest wallpaper on the counter and behind the counter, and tree silhouettes on the window panes. Above the fish tank, there is a framed picture of a winter woods scene, with birch trees. Real birch tree trunks are used as decorations.
 * Real branches and birch trees are used as decorations at the town bar.
 * Jefferson has birch tree trunks in his living room. A room in his mansion has forest-themed wallpaper and floral curtains. There's a silver tree-like rack inside the hat room.
 * In the Storybrooke Free Public Library, there is a tree shaped mirror on the wall that hides the elevator doors.
 * The wallpaper in the room where Cora appears as a ghost in Regina's house, shows branches in a forest.
 * There is a tree-like decoration with green leaves in an alcove in the restaurant where Hook and Emma have their first date.

Storybrooke is also filled with references to the maritime part of the Enchanted Forest:
 * There are two model ships in Archie's office, and a ship painting in the hallway. When Emma first visits him, there is a big sea shell on his desk.
 * There are ship paintings in the bedrooms and the lounge at the inn. There is also a ship in a bottle and a miniature rudder on the mantelpiece in the lounge.
 * There are many model ships in the pawnshop,   and a canoe hanging from the ceiling. Two ships in a bottle are sitting on a shelf.  Other maritime objects include a miniature ship's rudder, a couple of ship paintings,  and a real ship's rudder.
 * A large painting of a ship is hanging on the wall outside the mayor's main office, and there are several paintings of ships and boats inside the town hall.
 * Giant sea shells are seen in one of Mary Margaret's school classrooms.
 * There is a hand carved wooden model ship in Marco's shop.
 * Duperré & Hughes, a business located next to Granny's Diner, has a model ship on display in the window. As Regina walks through town in 1983, there are two model ships in the window.
 * There is an engraving of a ship's rudder on a cupboard in Regina's living room.
 * There is a nautical guide book, and a children's book with pop-up sailing ships, in the Storybrooke library.
 * There are two model ship in the Lakeside Mansion.
 * There is a model ship on the mantel in Mr. Gold's cabin.
 * Some references were not added for the show, but are an actual part of Steveston Village, which doubles as the town of Storybrooke:
 * The business next to the diner is called Atlantic Twine and Net. This is a real location called Pacific Twine and Net.
 * There is a business called the Marine Garage, a real location in Steveston.
 * An old, weathered row boat filled with plants is used as a decoration in the yard next to Granny's Diner. In real life, the boat is sitting next to the Cannery Cafe, which doubles as Granny's Diner for the show.
 * Storybrooke Country Bread has a ship's steering wheel on display in the window. It is an actual part of a real location known as Romania Country Bread.
 * -|Other Notes=

Goofs

 * In in "Pilot" (through a window), "The Thing You Love Most", "Snow Falls", "The Price of Gold", "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter", "7:15 A.M.", "Skin Deep" (mirrored in a store window), "What Happened to Frederick", as well as the flashbacks from 1983 in "Welcome to Storybrooke" and the 2001 flashbacks in "Save Henry", 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. By the time of the "Red-Handed", however, this storefront has become the Storybrooke Pet Shelter (more noticeable in "The Stable Boy") thanks to a false facade. The Pet Shelter is replaced by Any Given Sundae for Season Four. 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, and in "Lily", where the original Worthington Haberdashery is back.
 * The storefront next to the pet shelter changes as well, beginning as the actual La Tandoor restaurant (which is now closed) in "Pilot", "The Thing You Love Most", "Snow Falls", "The Price of Gold", "The Shepherd", "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter", "True North", "7:15 A.M.", "Skin Deep", "What Happened to Frederick" and the 2001 flashbacks from "Save Henry", before becoming the Duperré & Hughes law firm in "Broken". In "White Out", Chop Shop has also moved into the same building. The original La Tandoor sign can also be seen in an exterior shot in "Lily".
 * When Graham offers Emma a new job, the sign on the building behind Emma says Storybrooke Coffee Co. 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".
 * 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.
 * Curiously, the business next to it, which is known as Budget Appliances in real-life Steveston Village, has, unlike its neighbor, been renamed for the filming of the show (it is now called Bravura Appliances ).
 * 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. In the interior scenes in "Snow Falls", "The Shepherd", "Desperate Souls", "7:15 A.M.", "Dreamy", "Tiny", "Welcome to Storybrooke", "And Straight On 'Til Morning", "It's Not Easy Being Green", "The Jolly Roger", "The Apprentice", "The Snow Queen", "Heroes and Villains", "Best Laid Plans" and "Mother", 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 in Burnaby, is brown and made of bricks, and there is no gap between the two buildings. Also, in "The Shepherd" and "7:15 A.M.", you can see a blue/grey studio wall behind Storybrooke Country Bread. In exterior scenes, there is no such wall.
 * The wrong building seems to a used book story called "Rowan Books".

Appearances
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.