Another The Hand That Rocks the Cradle location that I stalked while vacationing in the Pacific Northwest this past May was the ultra-modern abode which belonged to Dr. Victor Mott (aka John de Lancie) and his wife, Peyton Flanders (aka Rebecca De Mornay), in the 1992 thriller. Amazingly enough, I didn’t actually remember the Mott home from the one time I viewed the movie almost two decades ago, but my good friend and fellow stalker Kerry, who lives in Washington State, insisted I stalk the place while we were up there and drove me and the Grim Cheaper by it on our final day in Seattle. And thank goodness she did, too, because the dwelling is nothing short of spectacular! In fact, how it is possible that I didn’t remember it from the film is absolutely beyond me!
In real life, the Mott residence, which seems to have been constructed almost entirely out of windows, boasts 4 bedrooms, a whopping 6 bathrooms, and 3,750-square feet of living space. The home was actually built in 1991, the same year that The Hand That Rocks the Cradle was lensed, so my guess is that it was vacant at the time of filming which is how producers came to use it in the movie.
The Mott house is featured in quite a few scenes in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and, as you can see in the above screen captures, looks very much the same today as it did nineteen years ago when the movie was filmed. There have been a few subtle changes made to the residence over the years, of course, including the addition of a substantial amount of foliage around the front perimeter of the property, which wasn’t there at the time of the filming.
The residence’s front porch area has also been altered since The Hand That Rocks the Cradle was filmed and now features a blue-shingled overhang and brown wooden front doors, neither of which, in my never-to-be-humble-opinion, seem to fit in well with the rest of the abode. I much prefer the movie version of the front porch as to how it is currently designed.
It appears as if a window has also since been added to the rear portion of the home’s second story, as well. Other than those few changes, though, the property looks almost exactly the same in person as it appeared onscreen in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. Love it! And, although you can’t quite tell in the above photograph due to the crappy weather we were experiencing that day, the breathtaking views of Downtown Seattle and Puget Sound that were shown in the movie are the real life views that can be seen from the actual home. Sigh!
[ad]
The real life interior of the property was also used for a few scenes in the movie as well.
As you can see in the above screen capture, and as was the case with the Bartel home which I blogged about yesterday, the property’s real life address was referred to in the movie in the scene in which Marlene Craven (aka Julianne Moore) looks at the real estate flyer for Dr. Mott’s former house.
Big THANK YOU to my good friend and fellow stalker Kerry for bringing me to this location!
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: Dr. Mott’s house from The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is located at 2502 37th Avenue West in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.
The house is a couple of blocks from the home I grew was raised in, in Magnolia. In fact – my mom was the listing agent at the time of the filming and had to keep letting the crew in to film while the home was vacant. It is her silver Cadillac that is positioned in front of the house – and her name is on the sign in the yard. So we always got a kick out of those particular scenes in the movie.
The house was designed by Seattle architect Gary Ard, where I was working as an architectural designer/drafter. It was a very small office, just us two! You are correct that the film production was able to use the home as a location before it went on the market. The went in and did the shoot really quick. I think they finished in a weekend! Gary did several other homes in Ballard and Magnolia with a similar modernist style. I am not sure what happened with the entry way. Maybe the flat roof above the door collected too much water and a design change was made. If I ever see Gary again, I’ll have to ask.
My friend in Oslo, Norway sent some photos and the modern Ekeberg restaurant looked VERY familiar. I remembered Dr. Mott’s House and did a search. Notice the resemblance! Not only did a make a fun link (not sure what style this is called but on their website, the term “functionalist” is used, dating to the late 1920’s) between the two buildings but rediscovered this excellent site. Good work! Here’s a link to the site; the two buildings are almost identical!
http://www.ekebergrestauranten.com/en/History/
Great pictures! I tried to find this house when I was in Seattle, but had no success. Thanks for posting your pictures. You are awesome!
This is an amazing house. I love the movie. You’re right abt the door. Doesn’t really match the style of the house. Another amazing post !!
I love this movie Lindsay !! And your post is nothing short of amazing. I agree with you abt the door. Doesnt really go with the feel of the house. But, nonetheless a great house !!
Great post Lindsay!! I love this movie and wish to stalk these homes someday!! 🙂 I am assuming that Peyton’s baby room was filmed in the middle part of the house, because of the way the windows curve in the above screen captions. To have been able to go inside would have been awesome!! Nonetheless, I am jealous of your jaunt :o)