Hillwood is the city where Arnold lives, and where most events of the show Hey Arnold! take place. It is located in Washington state, as revealed in the episode "Road Trip" and evidenced throughout other episodes. The city's name is never said aloud in the series, though it can be seen written in several locales throughout the series.
Real-life inspirations[]
"Welcome to Washington State" sign, at the end of the episode "Road Trip". This adds credence to the notion that Hillwood is located in the state of Washington.
Inspirations from the aforementioned cities and various others can be seen throughout the show:
Hillwood is named after Hillwood Elementary, a school which Craig Bartlett and art director Brian Mark had attended in Seattle growing up.
During production, Bartlett traveled to Seattle, Portland, and Tacoma where he took black-and-white photos of old buildings like Pioneer Square and the Victorian houses, for the show's artists to use as reference.
Elk Island (pictured above, top right), according to Gerald in "Wheezin' Ed", is located on the Skookumchuck River. The Skookumchuck River is located in Lewis and Thurston Counties in Washington State. Also in this episode, Sheena's uncle Earl mentions Ivar's Restaurant, a local seafood chain established in 1938. They are scattered throughout Washington State.
Elk Island is most likely based on Washington's real-life Skagit Island, which is seen from Snee-Oosh beach to the north from Seattle. Bartlett's production company, Snee-Oosh, Inc., was named after this area.
The episode "The Pig War" follows the events of the titular Pig War, a real-life event which took place on the boundary between what is now the state of Washington and British Columbia. The war took place on Elk/Skagit Island in the show, though in real-life, it took place on Washington's nearby San Juan Islands.
Sunset Arms is located underneath what resembles Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct (seen in the river cityscape above). The bridge was also a reference to Portland's Fremont Bridge, which overlooks Victorian houses.
Also in the Hillwood cityscape (see above, top right), buildings can be seen that resemble those of Seattle. A building in the center has a bottleneck-shaped top resembling Seattle's 1201 Third Avenue Tower, while a building to the center-left behind the viaduct resembles 1600 Seventh Avenue, and a further-left building (left of the viaduct) resembles the Smith Tower.
Sunset Arms's address is "4040 Vine St", which is a real-life address in Riverside, California. In some episodes it is written as "4040 Vineland", which was the real-life address of the Games Animation Inc studio in Los Angeles, California.
The opening of "Dino Checks Out" shows a beach shoreline, which is most likely Washington's real-life Puget Sound.
During the episode "Old Iron Man", Jimmy Kafka confirms that he and Grandpa Phil worked together during construction of the Grand Coulee Dam. The Grand Coulee Dam is located in Grant and Okanogan counties in Washington State. Construction began on July 16, 1933 and was opened on June 1, 1942.
In "On the Lam", Harold, Stinky, and Sid jump into a boxcar that says "Wanatchee Northern"; it is a misspelling of "Wenatchee", a city in central Washington State.
In "The Beeper Queen", after Big Bob hurts his back, he recalls a meeting at the Big Bob's Beepers where an important figure is "flying in from Buffalo" to attend and to close a deal. In the United States, Buffalo is a city in New York State, suggesting Hillwood is not located in New York (as the executive could've driven instead of flying if that were the case).
At the end of "Road Trip", Helga and Miriam are seen entering Washington State before the credit roll. Originally headed for South Dakota on a trip, this confirms that Hillwood is located somewhere in the Evergreen State.
In "Veterans Day", Martin mentions that "the capital is only a day's drive from here.", though Phil says it's 18 hours, when Washington, D.C. is actually a 40 hour drive from Washington State, and a 3-4 hour drive from New York. In real-life, the city where it takes an 18 hour drive to D.C. is Kansas City, Missouri.
In "Big Bob's Crisis", Big Bob says he and the family are going to walk barefoot to Oregon to live in a commune. Portland is 61 hours walking distance from Seattle.
In the Sunset Arms boarding house, Arnold's grandparents have a picture of Seattle's Space Needle hanging on the wall.
In several episodes that depict Phoebe's room, such as "Phoebe Skips", there is a poster that advertises "Tacoma Marine Park". Tacoma is a city in Washington State located on Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle and northeast of Washington's capital, Olympia. Additionally, Tacoma does have a Marine Park, although in real life, Marine Park is a recreational waterfront area rather than a marine wildlife park.
In the episode "Summer Love", Helga and her family go on vacation, and in Helga's guest room, there is a poster for Cape Cod. While it's never stated how long the trip took, in real-life, Cape Cod is about four hours from New York, 47 hours from Portland, and 46 hours from Seattle.
The radio station MJZZ may have been inspired by the jazz radio station KMHD (89.1 FM), which can be heard in the Portland, Oregon area.
As the country radio station KDUDE starts with a "K", this indicates Hillwood is likely west of the Mississippi River.
The monkey enclosure at the zoo in "Monkeyman!" resembles the chimpanzee enclosure at the Oregon Zoo prior to its 2018-2020 renovation.
Mountains are often visible in the distance behind the Hillwood skyline, similar to the mountains seen in Portland and Seattle.
Redwood forests similar to those of the Pacific Northwest are seen outside of Hillwood.
The bridge seen in several episodes as a prominent landmark resembles the Brooklyn Bridge. Hillwood's brownstone buildings, stoops, boarding houses, and subway are also similar to those of Brooklyn.
Hillwood's subway also contains features similar to that of light rail transit. This is most likely inspired by Portland, Oregon's MAX Light Rail.
P.S. 118 uses a numbering system akin to that of New York City schools. P.S. 118 is also a real-life school in St. Albans, which is a residential community in the New York City borough of Queens.
Classroom 206 is a reference to Seattle's area code of 206.
Lila is said to be from Pleasantville. While "Pleasantville" is a common name in fiction for unrealistic, idyllic locations, it is also a real-life village in Westchester County, New York.
The Great Ole Opry, in "Mr. Hyunh Goes Country", is a reference to the real-life Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Also in the episode, the host of country music station KDUDE is fittingly named Nashville Ned.
Hawk Mountain, as mentioned in the "Sally's Comet" episode, is a real-life place located near Allentown, Pennsylvania. When Arnold and Gerald set out to the mountain, they pass a sign indicating the mountain is 74 miles away. In real-life, this Hawk Mountain is 120 miles from New York. There is also a Hawk Mountain located in Alberta, Canada, which is 791 miles from Portland and 618 miles from Seattle. Neither of the real-life Hawk Mountains have the hawk-shape of the one in the show.
Also in "Sally's Comet", Hillwood's clock tower Big Barney is a reference to London's Big Ben.
Quigley Stadium is a reference to Chicago's Wrigley Stadium. Quigley Stadium is also a real-life stadium in West Haven, Connecticut and was home to the West Haven Yankees from 1972 to 1979. However, the stadium used in the series bears no resemblance to the actual Quigley Stadium.
Hillwood's baseball team is called the Black Sox, a reference to the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Red Sox.
Mickey Kaline's name is a combination of New York Yankee Mickey Mantle and Detroit Tiger Al Kaline.
Dino Spumoni is a reference to big band/swing crooners Dean Martin, who was popular in Los Angeles, and Frank Sinatra, who was popular in New York.
Some characters have accents similar to Brooklynites.
Native American art can be seen throughout the show similar to the art of the Salish peoples from the Pacific Northwest.
Arnold wears a flannel undershirt (oftentimes mistaken for a kilt); flannel was a popular clothing item in 1990s Seattle.
The city is shown to be hilly in some episodes, similar to San Francisco and Seattle.
The waterfront district seen in some episodes resembles that of Seattle.
In "Pigeon Man", Pigeon Man mentions how Arnold and friends "reminded me of me when I was growing up on 23rd Street"; 23rd Street is a real-life street in Portland.
A bridge similar to Portland's Burnside Bridge can be seen in some episodes. In real-life, the Burnside Bridge connects east and west Portland over the Willamette River, similar to how the Hey Arnold! bridge leads to downtown Hillwood over the city aqueduct.
While Bartlett's original vision for Hillwood started with Portland, Seattle, and Brooklyn, Steve Lowtwait and the other background artists also brought in influences from their own hometowns such as Los Angeles and Chicago (with river bridges similar to Chicago's being seen in some episodes).
Hillwood's Victorian-style houses (such as Gerald's house) were based on houses that Steve Lowtwait had seen on a trip to San Francisco, as well houses that Craig Bartlett saw when attending art school in Nob Hill, Portland.
A view of Hillwood's skyline.
In the Hillwood skyline (see right), a building resembling a mix between San Francisco's Transamerica Pyramid and New York City's Empire State Building can be seen.
The aquarium in the "Field Trip" episode is likely based upon the Oregon Coast Aquarium, which is most famous for helping to bring back the orca Keiko (the animal star of Free Willy) and keeping him for two years. However, the aquarium in the episode is shown to be a cruel and neglectful one with animals not being taken care of properly or mocked at.
Also in "Field Trip", the Sun sets in the west when Arnold and Grandma set Lockjaw free. The Sun sets in the west on the West Coast of the United States, further supporting the Pacific Northwest setting.
The Great Fire of '69, mentioned in "Pigeon Man", is a reference to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
In "Four-Eyed Jack", Ernie says "I've been hearing some pretty funny sounds come from down there. Like someone gagging on a hoagie"; hoagie is a common term for a submarine sandwich in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In the episode "Haunted Train", the engine has "Great Northern" written on its tender; the Great Northern Railway was a 19th/20th century railroad running from Saint Paul, Minnesota to Seattle, Washington. The engine itself resembles Northern-type steam locomotives such as Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700, Milwaukee Road 261, and Santa Fe 3751.
In the episode "Big Caesar", a stone arch bridge is seen that also has the words "Great Northern" painted on it. This references a famous photo where the Great Northern Railway's Empire Builder train crosses under a Minneapolis stone arch bridge.
Also in "Big Caesar", the titular Big Caesar, a legendary giant fish who lives in the City Lake, is a reference to a 1987 news story where police found a half-ton sturgeon in Lake Washington.
In one episode, two street signs can be seen that say "Crip St" and "Blood Ave" respectively. The Crips and Bloods are prominent rival gangs from Los Angeles, California, who were most notably involved in the East Coast–West Coast gang war of the 1990s.
In the episode "Teachers' Strike", "Walla Walla" is one of the coffee flavors that Mindy offers. Walla Walla is a real-life city in Washington State.
In the episode "Spelling Bee", Arnold wants to buy a keyboard for $500. Oregon is one of the few states where $500 would be enough to buy it; it would not be enough in other states due to sales tax.
In Craig Bartlett's map of Greater Hillwood (see bottom right), islands in the Hillwood sound resemble Washington's San Juan Islands, with a north-west one particularly resembling Whidbey Island.
