Abhiroop Das
Apple TV+’s ‘Smoke‘ follows two arsonist investigators on their quest to catch two infamous arsonists, with a unique twist that blurs the lines between good and evil. The Divide and Conquer arsonist, as well as the Milk Jug arsonist, both call the town of Umberland, located somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. In an attempt to bring their reign of terror to an end, protagonists Dave Gudsen and Michelle Calderon scan the length and breadth of the town, with the neighbourhood of Trolley Town standing out as a potential lead. Both these locations play a key role in the show, both in providing a realistic background and creating a larger thematic framework for the characters to bounce off of. In doing so, they almost function as a character in of themselves, both shaping and being shaped by the story’s twists and turns.
Umberland is a Fictional Town With Vague Parallels to a Historic Tragedy
The town of Umberland, as well as the state of Orrington where it is located, are both fictional constructs of the writing team of ‘Smoke,’ led by showrunner Dennis Lehane. While these locations are the result of a creative effort, the actual filming of the show grounds them in reality. Given that ‘Smoke’ was taped mainly in British Columbia, Canada, several locations within the province double as Umberland and its constituents. Vancouver and Burnaby serve as the primary basis for many of the institutions shown throughout the narrative. As such, popular real-life centers such as Surrey City Centre, Hastings-Sunrise neighborhood, and Kootenay Street in Vancouver, as well as Hastings Street in Burnaby, all brought the fictional fixtures of Umberland to life.
A deeper look into Umberland reveals another dimension, one that can be located in history. The story of ‘Smoke’ is heavily inspired by the real-life case of John Leonard Orr, an arson investigator who was secretly also one of the most notorious arsonists ever. Many of Orr’s arsons can be pinned to the city of South Pasadena in California, including the infamous fire at Ole’s Home Center hardware store on October 10, 1984. It is likely that the arson case in ‘Smoke’ is referred to as Old Sully’s fire, which functions as a fictional analogue to the real tragedy. By extension, a case can be made about Umberland being partially inspired by South Pasadena, as they serve as the base of operation for their respective arsonists; the inspiration and the inspired.
Trolley Town Might be Partially Inspired by a Washington Neighbourhood
While Umberland spans a large area and encompasses a variety of cultures and lifestyles, Trolley Town is a small neighbourhood within the town and is likewise a fictional creation. The closer-knit structure of Trolley Town allows a magnified look into the lives of its residents, notably Freddy Fasano, the fearsome Milk-Jug arsonist. Over the course of his investigation, Dave speculates that his target is a fast food worker, which narrows his search down to a long strip of shops and eating joints along Trolley Town. The first sequence which captures the neighborhood was lensed at Hastings Street, situated in Vancouver. Further east, Hastings Street becomes a part of the city of Burnaby, and it is here that the iconic fast food joint of Trolley Town, Coop’s, found its filming location, in the form of an old Pizza Hut building at Gamma Avenue.
Given that Freddy Fasano’s character is based on Thomas Sweatt, a real-life arsonist, it’s also possible that Trolley Town draws partial inspiration from Lebaum Street in Southeast Washington, the place Sweatt called home for much of his time as a firesetter. Reportedly, he set camp there in 1992 and soon started torching houses, salons, and storefronts. This lines up with the activity of his fictional counterpart, and the concentrated nature of their arson lends credence to the idea that Trolley Town is a parallel to Lebaum Street. In a series of letters, Sweatt described his perspective on the neighbourhood, stating, “I felt like that was my world.” This is similar to how the character, Freddy, used his reign of terror to channel a sense of power and ownership over his locality.
Trolley Town may also have a secondary source of inspiration in the form of Prince George’s County in Maryland, situated near Washington’s borders. In the early 2000s, this area became Thomas Sweatt’s preferred torching site, owing to its many middle-class neighbourhoods. In ‘Smoke,’ Freddy commits acts of arson almost exclusively on people he deems as successful and happy in their lives, often targeting wealthier households with wide porches and similar attributes. This draws a connection between the type of places targeted by Sweatt and his fictional analogue, and it is possible that this fact informed the creation of Freddy Fasano’s neighbourhood. Thus, both the locations from the show are brought to life through a blend of their respective filming locations and possible historical antecedents.
Read More: Smoke: Is the Apple TV+ Show Based on a True Story?
