Abandoned HBO Soundstage for "The Wire"




So I found out yesterday that the soundstage for "The Wire" still existed. I wasted no time in visiting it and was there almost less than 24 hours. It's one of my favorite TV shows ever and I had to see this before everyone ruined it. The building is also scheduled for demolition and they are going to build a super market on it.

Set for Season 5 "Baltimore Sun" Newspaper room...






The Sun is a real newspaper, it is our newspaper here in Baltimore. Season 5 is all about how much The Sun sucks...


From when everyone was getting laid off and they wanted to protest...


Offices...




RIP McNulty...






They are just tons of pictures of chairs and couches...


No that is not post-war Germany, that is East Baltimore. There is a certain "Clothing Factory" in that photo. This is now sitting in my living room...


One part schedule of the closing operations, one part guest book...


This is the actual soundstage. Notice how the rooms are up on top of the wooded frames I guess so they can run electrical wires and stuff under them easily...




Carcetti was the councilman who became Mayor in Season 4...


No idea what this is but it has a picture of a gas mask...


Police department set with my tripod in the reflection. Not much I could do...


Homicide division, this is where the magic happens...


McNulty's mailbox...


I'm pretty damn sure this was McNulty's desk, and/or was the desk of Bunk or someone else important. I think that sticker says "America, together we are number one." I will have to re-watch the show some day and see if I can see that in the background...




Evidence photos of the homeless murders and a couple others. Notice the red ribbon from Season 5. I'm pretty damn sure some of these got screen time up close. I took 3 of them...


I think this was from the District Attorney sets...


Another shot of the homicide office...


This is the conference room where all the higher ups of the police department would yell at the other guys and tell them what a shitty job they were doing...


A flashlight shining on the door of the Homicide Division then flipped in reverse...


This is the interogation room. They would beat up the suspects sometimes. Bubbles tried to hang himself in one of them...




I should note this place was DARK. Photos make it look like it has the lights on but those are just skylights letting in light from outside. Most of these exposures are on a tripod at 30 seconds. Some even had to be pushed in photoshop to be bright enough. I was going to hit this up again but it appeared that they had returned and set it up for use in a new show.

(Post a new comment)

	originalidad 2009-01-02 12:25 am UTC (link)
	OMG. That's the best show! I can't believe they just left all that space empty. Thank you for this post (Reply to this)

	transcribe 2009-01-02 12:25 am UTC (link)
	Very interesting! Thank you! (Reply to this)

	txkink 2009-01-02 12:28 am UTC (link)
	man, that's some great stuff they left behind.... (Reply to this)

	valree 2009-01-02 12:47 am UTC (link)
	Wow, that is super great. Thanks for sharing. (Reply to this)

	oneminutecloser 2009-01-02 01:05 am UTC (link)
	This post is awesome. It makes me sad to imagine the sets of all my favorite cancelled shows (particularly "Boston Legal") are now gone or sitting like this, dark and empty, waiting to be demolished. (Reply to this)

	deviant_man 2009-01-02 01:14 am UTC (link)
	Wow! Thank you! (Reply to this)

	featherypony 2009-01-02 01:31 am UTC (link)
	I'd never even heard of this show (I don't watch HBO at all), but this was a fascinating set of photos. It's weird that they just left all that stuff behind...did you take anything else? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	thehoodwatch 2009-01-02 01:56 am UTC (link)
	No just the "poster" which is actually just a bunch of inkjet printouts glued to a piece of poster board but I thought it was cool. I'm sure it would end up in a dumpster otherwise. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - slut_stick, 2009-01-02 10:05 am UTC

	lightworship 2009-01-02 01:32 am UTC (link)
	I JUST finished watching season 1. Great show, kind of a Law and Order meets The Shield. Did that white couch have a little blue highlighter mark on it or am i thinking of another couch? Ha (Reply to this) (Thread)

	und1sk0 2009-01-02 02:14 am UTC (link)
	oh its much, much more than that. hope you enjoy season 2 and keep watching! (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - thehoodwatch, 2009-01-02 02:55 am UTC

	shootpplnotdope 2009-01-02 01:56 am UTC (link)
	I've never watched that show, but as a stagehand I do appreciate this set in particular. By the way, you're one of the most ambitious and active frontiersmen of exploring and documenting these places I've seen in a while, hah. Good job once again. (Reply to this) (Thread)

thehoodwatch 2009-01-02 02:14 am UTC (link)

Everyone of these sets is "old" that I have posted except my first set from a TB Hospital which was the night after I took them I think. I don't want to give the impression that I'm out every day taking these pictures. I attempt to go exploring once every weekend but cold weather has put a stop to that and it's been much slower recently. I'm trying to get a new crew together to go out since the old group fell apart. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - shootpplnotdope, 2009-01-02 02:37 am UTC

	lisavollrath 2009-01-02 02:05 am UTC (link)
	Oh, I loved that show. Thanks for posting. (Reply to this)

	und1sk0 2009-01-02 02:13 am UTC (link)
	i would have looted that place like bunk on a bender (Reply to this)

	siobhan_1 2009-01-02 02:25 am UTC (link)
	That was an awesome show. Thanks for posting these. (Reply to this)

	va_ronin 2009-01-02 03:04 am UTC (link)
	One of the most interesting posts here in a long time - I lOVED this show! I would have kept SO much of that stuff, lol! (Reply to this)

	militantmonkey 2009-01-02 05:09 am UTC (link)
	Wow, that is super cool! I would have totally smuggled a little souvenir out if I was there! (Reply to this)

	soul_shinobi 2009-01-02 05:54 am UTC (link)
	The picture of the desk with the black and white copies on it--the keys on the desk distinctly caught my eye... Maybe I play too many puzzle games like Silent Hill. :) (Reply to this)

	aakatto 2009-01-02 11:57 am UTC (link)
	wow. best! ty! (Reply to this)

	realbruts 2009-01-02 01:14 pm UTC (link)
	Love your flashlight projection shot!! Very creative! (Reply to this)

	a_priori 2009-01-02 03:05 pm UTC (link)
	I'm so jealous! It must have been so much fun just to walk around in those spaces. (Reply to this)

	kaitlin__ 2009-01-03 01:36 am UTC (link)
	i kinda wanna marry you. hahah, don't worry, i'm just kidding. i'm just really jealous of all the places you've gotten to explore. how did you get into this hobby in the first place? how do you manage to find out about and sneak into all these different places? i would love to explore abandoned places but i'm not even sure how i would get started. (Reply to this)

	jhezika 2009-01-04 12:39 am UTC (link)
	I don't even know what to say besides you are the luckiest person right now. My boyfriend and I love the Wire so much, I would have traded my unborn firstborn to go to that soundstage. What an experience it must have been! (Reply to this)

	malfoymercy 2009-01-05 12:29 pm UTC (link)
	Wow. These are really cool. Especially because I live near Baltimore. (Reply to this)

	n_y_s_k_a 2009-01-06 09:39 am UTC (link)
	Did you take any of the pictures? Or is that too...? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	thehoodwatch 2009-01-06 12:33 pm UTC (link)
	I took all of these pictures. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - n_y_s_k_a, 2009-01-06 12:52 pm UTC

	chap 2009-01-06 04:04 pm UTC (link)
	Holy crap thats awesome. I wish I could take some memorabilia. You could probably put some of this up on ebay and make a pretty penny. (Reply to this)

	crono_leiva 2009-01-06 08:40 pm UTC (link)
	The photos: 6,7, and 8. The room with all the printed photos taped to the walls and with the McNulty tombstone photo on the door. That was the Locations department - I interned there for 2 weeks and had to live in that room. The Sun Times newsroom was beautifully detailed, how it is now doesn't do it justice. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	caravan70 2009-01-07 01:26 am UTC (link)
	These pictures are terrific... I think "The Wire" is certainly the best dramatic television series of all time, and it's incredible that you got the chance to tour the soundstage before it goes away. Cheers, and thanks! (Reply to this) (Parent)

(no subject) - thehoodwatch, 2009-01-07 01:54 am UTC

	new_test_leper 2009-01-07 02:05 am UTC (link)
	I am going to sound like a complete idiot but I always assumed that all the locations on the Wire were shot at actual places, not sets. This kinda blows my mind. (Reply to this)

---