The Wire Tour west · West in The Wire Tour
All Destinations | Europe | Asia | North America | Africa | South America | Oceania | Hotels
West in The Wire Tour
West in The Wire Tour
West Baltimore is where it all begins, right on Lexington and Fulton Ave where Snot Boogie, the man of unfortunate name and unfortunate life laid dead in the street. While nearly the whole of the drug gang plotlines theoretically take place in West Baltimore, only the first season was extensively shot here. The directors found East Baltimore's relatively treeless streets much easier to film in, as they could film throughout at least three of the seasons without losing seasonal continuity. To reach the series opening scene, head up MLK Jr Ave, turn left onto W Fayette St, then after going a ways, right on Fulton Ave and up two blocks to Lexington. The scene was filmed on Lexington on the block just to the left. As you drive through West Baltimore, keep a lookout for the famous horse cart fruit vendor in good weather—he's very much real, and quite the living legend.
Turn right on Lexington and turn right onto Mount St. Go about four blocks and look for the Viva House (44 S Mount St) soon after crossing Hollins St, where Bubbles cooked and served at the soup kitchen. Turn left on Lombard and left again onto Gilmor St to get back to Lexington St. You will pass by beautiful Union Square on the right, with the HL Mencken Fountain in the center. Mencken, the "Sage of Baltimore" lived at 1524 Hollins St at the north of the square for 67 years, and to this date, despite the surrounding urban decay, this remains one of West Baltimore's best kept, wealthiest, and safest neighborhoods.
Turn right on Lexington to go back east towards MLK Jr Blvd. Once you reach Amity St, look left—the second building on the right is the famous Poe House. In the show, a lost tourist asks a local kid where the Poe House is. The local accent pronounces Poe and poor the same way, so the perplexed boy responds, "uh, take your pick!" Fortunately, you brought your Wikitravel map, so you won't have to reenact this silly scene. While closed for winter, the house of Edgar Allen is open for a small fee and tour from April to early December, Th-Sa noon-3:30PM. Just go up to the front door and knock. Street parking right on Lexington couldn't be easier.
Continue east on Lexington and turn left onto Fremont. You are now in the thick of The Terraces, a mixed use public housing complex that replaced the once blighted and now demolished Lexington Terrace high rise public housing projects, which served as inspiration for Franklin Terrace, the high rises controlled by the Barksdale Organization.
Make a left on Saratoga St and then a right onto Arlington Ave. When you reach Lafayette Ave, turn right and look immediately on your right for the church where Bubbles attended AA Meetings. You can't miss the brightly painted red doors. Continue east on Lafayette, turn left on Fremont, after following Fremont for several blocks, turn right on Presstman St and then right down Pennsylvania Ave. While not a filming location, it's worth a short drive down this street to get a sense of history. This stretch of Pennsylvania Ave was once the heart of African-American culture and commerce in the city, but still has not quite recovered from the devastation of the 1968 riots following the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. In recent years, though, things have been slowly but surely improving.
Turn left on Preston St to enter the McCulloh Homes, the low rise housing projects that served as location for much of the drug trade in Season One. It's hard to see from the street, but The Pit, where D'Angelo plied his product is just behind the fourth building on the right.
Turn left on McCulloh St to continue your tour through the McCulloh Homes and look left in the middle of the first block for the harmonica and dance statues of a boy and girl, featured several times throughout the series.
Continue up McCulloh to Lanvale St and turn left. On the second block look right for Bethel Church, which was home to one of the prominent and politically powerful church groups throughout the series. At the end of the block turn right onto Division St, then turn right back onto Lafayette, then left back onto McCulloh. Right on the corner with Wilson St is Carlton C Douglas Funeral Services, which served as the West Baltimore headquarters for the Barksdale organization throughout the first three seasons.
Time to turn around to get back to Lafayette—make a left on Wilson, a left on Druid Hill Ave, and then a left back onto Lafayette Ave. This will take you into the relatively small neighborhood of Bolton Hill, which while not featured on TV, is undoubtedly Baltimore's most beautiful old neighborhood and a great place for a little aimless drive.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about The Wire Tour
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in The Wire Tour - updated May 2024
SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount The Wire Tour hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!
>>> SEARCH FOR DEALS <<<
WHERE TO TRAVEL NEXT IN 2020
The Wire Tour Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
