Remember the totally hip, pretentious coffee shop, the Leaning Tower of Pizza? That was actually a real pizza joint in Wilmington, but it didn’t serve coffee on the show. The exterior was a building on Front Street. The interior scenes were shot on a soundstage, because apparently, real pizza places don’t look good on camera. Shocking, I know.
And what about the Icehouse, the local restaurant where Pacey worked and later bought? That was a real location too! It’s a historic building in downtown Wilmington that’s been a bar and music venue for decades. If you’re lucky, you might feel Pacey’s frustrated cooking spirit wafting from the kitchen.
Dawson S Creek House Wilmington Nc at Donna Hammonds blog
The School of Very Dramatic Teens
Capeside High School, the epicenter of homework, longing stares, and overheard conversations? That’s not a real school. The exterior was actually a building at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), specifically the Fisher University Union. The interiors were all soundstage magic. So no, you can’t enroll to take a class with Mr. McPhee.
It’s honestly hilarious how a college building was transformed into a high school. It explains why all the “teenagers” looked like they were pushing thirty. It was a logistical masterpiece of pretending.