Bellevue · Vancouver · Seattle4 chambers

Heart in 1977, Nancy Wilson second from left and Ann Wilson third from right · CBS Portrait publicity photograph · Public domain

Heart

Mike Fisher took the name White Hart and swapped the animal for the organ. So here the band is the organ: four chambers, four stretches of Ann and Nancy Wilson’s life. Make it beat.

The beat · 4 chambers · 11 places

Beat

Blood comes in at Bellevue, goes out across the border, comes back to Seattle and is pumped out to the honours. Each beat fills the next chamber.

The heart, its chambers and their order are our drawing. Every place in them, and what is said about it, comes from the sources one click away.

0 of 4 chambers full. The heart is empty. Press Beat.

Press Beat and the first chamber fills: its places come up here, each with a photograph, what happened and how to visit.

Chamber I · Bellevue and Seattle Center · 1964–1968

Pancakes and opera

The Seattle Center Coliseum lit up at night in about 1963 — Seattle Center Coliseum at night, about 1963, three years before the Beatles played it. Seattle Municipal Archives from Seattle, WA · CC BY 2.0

25 August 1966 · Seattle Center

The Beatles in the Coliseum

On 25 August 1966 the Beatles played the Coliseum, and the sisters were in the crowd; both remembered it as a turning point.

The Beatles played the building twice: once in August 1964 and two shows on 25 August 1966. It opened in 1962 as the Washington State Pavilion for the Century 21 Exposition.

Today it is Climate Pledge Arena, home of the Seattle Kraken.

Rebuilt inside its old roof as Climate Pledge Arena. Walk round it at Seattle Center; go in for a game or a show.

Sources

The Lake Hills neighbourhood sign beside a road in Bellevue — The Lake Hills neighbourhood sign on Lake Hills Boulevard, Bellevue, 2018. The family house is not shown. Mark Yasuda · CC BY-SA 4.0

Early 1960s · Lake Hills

The living room

After moving with their father’s Marine Corps postings, Taiwan among them, the Wilsons settled in Bellevue, a Seattle suburb, in the early 1960s. Nancy was six when they arrived; the family lived in the Lake Hills neighbourhood.

Sundays, Nancy remembered, meant pancakes and opera, with their father conducting in the living room.

On 9 February 1964 the sisters watched the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, the moment both later named as their call to play rock.

Named, not mapped. A neighbourhood of private homes: the house is not named or mapped here. The photograph is the neighbourhood sign on Lake Hills Boulevard.

Sources

The modern front of Sammamish High School in Bellevue — Sammamish High School in Bellevue in 2022, rebuilt since Ann Wilson’s day. DemonDays64 · CC BY 4.0

1968 · 140th Avenue SE

Class of 1968

Ann went to Sammamish High School, where their father taught English, and graduated in 1968. Shy because of a stutter, she turned to music.

Nancy went to the newly opened Interlake High School. The school opened in 1959 and was rebuilt in two stages, finished in 2004 and 2017.

A working school: see it from 140th Avenue SE and don’t go in.

Sources

Nancy Wilson playing guitar on stage in 1978 — Nancy Wilson on stage with Heart in 1978. Jim Summaria, http://www.jimsummariaphoto.com/ · CC BY-SA 3.0

Chamber II · 1972–1975

Across the border

Mike Fisher had gone to Canada rather than report for the draft; Ann met him at a show in about 1971 or 1972 and followed him north.

Nancy joined in 1974. The band played shows around their new home in Vancouver, then made a record there.

Pictured: Nancy Wilson on stage in 1978.

Sources

The Mushroom Studios building on West 6th Avenue, Vancouver, in 2011. Dilbert2000 · CC BY 3.0
West 6th Avenue · 1975
Into the hillside
The band recorded Dreamboat Annie here, when it was Can-Base Studios, with the producer Mike Flicker.
Flicker said the studio was built halfway into a hillside; it ran an Ampex 16-track and a tube console. Mushroom Records put the album out in Canada in September 1975, and it sold 30,000 copies there in the first few months.
Al Reusch built it at this address in 1966. The console installed in 1971 had served United’s Studio A in Hollywood since 1957. The building was sold in 2013 and stopped being a studio; the old console had already gone to Toronto.
No longer a studio since 2013. See the building from West 6th Avenue only.
Sources
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The old Montreal Forum on rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, now shops and cinemas, in 2014. Jeangagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0
Rue Sainte-Catherine · October 1975
Overnight to Montreal
In October 1975 they were offered the opening slot for Rod Stewart at the Forum the day before the show, and flew overnight from the West Coast to play it.
Magic Man was first played on the radio by CJFM in Montreal, while the band were on tour playing small clubs.
The Forum opened in 1924 and was the Canadiens’ home until 1996; it is now a cinema, shops and restaurants.
Now shops, restaurants and a cinema: walk straight in from rue Sainte-Catherine.
Sources
The Peace Pagoda in Japantown, a few blocks east along Post Street from where Winterland stood. FASTILY · CC BY-SA 4.0
Post and Steiner · 1975
Under Jefferson Starship
In 1975 the writer Blair Jackson saw Heart second or third on a Winterland bill under Jefferson Starship, just after Dreamboat Annie came out. They closed on a Led Zeppelin cover and won an encore.
Dreamboat Annie went on to reach number 7 in the United States and sell more than a million copies.
Winterland was an ice rink from 1928; Bill Graham made it a rock hall in 1971. It closed at New Year 1978–79 and was later knocked down for apartments.
Gone: apartments stand on the corner of Post and Steiner. The photograph is the Peace Pagoda in Japantown, a few blocks east along Post Street.
Sources

Chamber III · 2212 4th Avenue · 1977

Studio A or Studio B?

After the break with Mushroom, the band moved to Kaye-Smith Studios in Seattle to start again. Little Queen was recorded and mixed here from February to April 1977.

Mike Flicker described the two rooms at Kaye-Smith. Which room?

Choose a room.

Chamber IV · 2010–2013

The honours

Ann Wilson smiling at the Walk of Fame ceremony in 2012 — Ann Wilson at the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony for Heart’s star, 25 September 2012. Angela George · CC BY-SA 3.0

The tall entrance doors of the Kennedy Center Opera House — The entrance to the Opera House at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., in 2013. Farragutful · CC BY-SA 3.0

Opera House · 2 December 2012

A Stairway for Led Zeppelin

At the Kennedy Center Honors gala on 2 December 2012, with Led Zeppelin among the honorees, Ann and Nancy played Stairway to Heaven in the Opera House.

Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, was on drums, with an orchestra and two choirs arranged by Rob Mathes. It drew a standing ovation, and Robert Plant’s eyes filled; CBS showed it on 26 December.

Nancy recalled warming her fingers backstage, where it was cold and draughty. A limited iTunes single of the performance went to number one on the iTunes rock chart.

The Kennedy Center’s lobbies and terrace are open to walk; the Opera House is in with a ticket. Led Zeppelin’s own places are in their World.

Sources

Nancy Wilson at the Walk of Fame ceremony in 2012 — Nancy Wilson at the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony for Heart’s star, 25 September 2012. Angela George · CC BY-SA 3.0

Pictured either side: Ann and Nancy Wilson at their Walk of Fame ceremony, 25 September 2012.

The curving metal Experience Music Project building with the Space Needle behind it — The Experience Music Project building, now the Museum of Pop Culture, with the Space Needle behind, 2009. Acroterion · CC BY-SA 4.0

Seattle Center · 2010

A Night at Sky Church

Before their 2011 cross-Canada tour, Heart filmed A Night at Sky Church at the Experience Music Project.

The Frank Gehry building is now MoPOP; Sky Church, its concert room for up to 800, is named in homage to Jimi Hendrix. It stands next to the Space Needle, and the monorail runs through it.

MoPOP opens daily, 10am to 5pm, when we checked. Sky Church is its main music room.

Sources

Museum of Pop Culture

MoPOP and Sky Church

325 5th Ave N, Seattle WA 98109

The museum where Heart filmed A Night at Sky Church. Open every day, 10am to 5pm, when we checked; tickets on its site.

Plan a visit

Hollywood Boulevard · 25 September 2012

A star

On 25 September 2012 Ann and Nancy Wilson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is in the Recording category, at 6752 Hollywood Boulevard, in front of the Musicians Institute.

A week later, on 2 October, their fourteenth studio album, Fanatic, came out.

On the pavement outside the Musicians Institute; free to see at any hour.

Sources

The Nokia Theatre building at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles — The Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live in 2008; it is now the Peacock Theater. Minnaert · CC BY-SA 3.0

L.A. Live · 18 April 2013

The Hall of Fame

On 18 April 2013 Heart were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame here. The original six played Crazy on You together for the first time in 34 years.

Chris Cornell inducted them, calling the sisters heroes to musicians in Seattle. Barracuda followed, with Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam.

The theatre is now the Peacock Theater.

Now the Peacock Theater, at L.A. Live by the convention centre. In with a ticket.

Sources

Where it is now

Every chamber full: 10 places to go.

In Seattle, the Coliseum and MoPOP share Seattle Center, and Belltown’s 4th Avenue is a short walk south; Bellevue is across Lake Washington. Vancouver is a trip of its own; Montreal, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington are separate cities.

Where it is now

10 places you can visit, from Seattle Center to the Kennedy Center. The family home in Lake Hills is private, so the neighbourhood is named, not mapped.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Rebuilt inside its old roof as Climate Pledge Arena. Walk round it at Seattle Center; go in for a game or a show.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working school: see it from 140th Avenue SE and don’t go in.

Seattle Center Coliseum at night, about 1963, three years before the Beatles played it. Seattle Municipal Archives from Seattle, WA · CC BY 2.0
334 1st Avenue North, Seattle Center (now Climate Pledge Arena)
Seattle Center Coliseum
On 25 August 1966 the Beatles played the Coliseum, and the sisters were in the crowd; both remembered it as a turning point.
Rebuilt inside its old roof as Climate Pledge Arena. Walk round it at Seattle Center; go in for a game or a show.
Sources
Sammamish High School in Bellevue in 2022, rebuilt since Ann Wilson’s day. DemonDays64 · CC BY 4.0
100 140th Avenue SE, Bellevue
Sammamish High School
Ann went to Sammamish High School, where their father taught English, and graduated in 1968.
A working school: see it from 140th Avenue SE and don’t go in.
Sources

Stay

A room by Pike Place.

An old downtown hotel, a walk from 4th Avenue and Seattle Center.

The Moore Hotel

The Moore Hotel, Seattle

1926 2nd Ave, Seattle WA 98101 · See the site

An old-fashioned downtown hotel two blocks from Pike Place Market, a walk from Belltown’s 4th Avenue and Seattle Center. No air conditioning; rates are shown when you book. Pictured: the 4th Avenue studio building.

See rooms

Go there

Sky Church and the cities.

MoPOP, music tours in Seattle and walks in Vancouver.

Museum of Pop Culture

MoPOP and Sky Church

325 5th Ave N, Seattle WA 98109

The museum where Heart filmed A Night at Sky Church. Open every day, 10am to 5pm, when we checked; tickets on its site.

Plan a visit

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What’s on

Nothing dated yet.

No dated event was listed when we checked.

No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.

Take it home

The first two chambers on vinyl.

Dreamboat Annie (1975), Little Queen (1977) and the sisters’ own book.

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Dreamboat Annie

Heart · 12-inch LP, Mushroom (Canada), 1975

The first pressing, out in Canada in September 1975, made on West 6th Avenue.

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Little Queen

Heart · 12-inch LP, Portrait, 1977

Recorded and mixed at Kaye-Smith, with Barracuda from Studio B.

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Kicking & Dreaming

Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson with Charles R. Cross

The sisters’ own story, published in 2012.

Find the book

Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

The full record

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

Search all places and Moments Current state Sort

11 of 11 places · 14 of 14 Moments

Lake Hills, Bellevue
Lake Hills neighbourhood, Bellevue, Washington (the house is private and not identified)
- The Ed Sullivan Show
  At home in Bellevue, the sisters watch the Beatles on television and decide to play rock.
Seattle Center Coliseum
334 1st Avenue North, Seattle Center (now Climate Pledge Arena)
- The Beatles in Seattle
  The sisters see the Beatles at the Seattle Center Coliseum.
Sammamish High School
100 140th Avenue SE, Bellevue
- Class of 1968
  Ann graduates from Sammamish High School, where their father teaches English.
Mushroom Studios
1234 West 6th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia
- North to Vancouver
  Ann follows Mike Fisher to Canada; the band forms there and Nancy joins in 1974.
- Dreamboat Annie
  The debut album is recorded at Can-Base, later Mushroom Studios.
Montreal Forum
2313 rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, Montreal
- Overnight to Montreal
  A day’s notice to open for Rod Stewart at the Forum.
Winterland
Post and Steiner Streets, San Francisco (now apartments)
- Under Jefferson Starship
  Heart play low on the Winterland bill and earn an encore.
Kaye-Smith Studios
2212 4th Avenue, Belltown, Seattle (later Bad Animals and Studio X)
- Barracuda in a day
  Written, rehearsed and recorded in Studio B in one day.
- Little Queen
  The third album is recorded and mixed at Kaye-Smith.
- Bad Animals
  The sisters go into partnership on the studio and give it their album’s name.
Sky Church, MoPOP
325 5th Avenue North, Seattle Center
- A Night at Sky Church
  A live film recorded at the Experience Music Project.
The Walk of Fame star
6752 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles
- A star on Hollywood Boulevard
  Ann and Nancy Wilson unveil their Walk of Fame star.
Kennedy Center Opera House
2700 F Street NW, Washington, D.C.
- Stairway at the Kennedy Center
  Stairway to Heaven for Led Zeppelin, with Jason Bonham on drums.
Nokia Theatre L.A. Live
777 Chick Hearn Court, Los Angeles (now the Peacock Theater)
- The Hall of Fame
  Inducted by Chris Cornell; the original six play together again.

Heart

Beat

Pancakes and opera

The Beatles in the Coliseum