The Mud Nest
Baltimore, Maryland

Coming soon on Ohio66:
“Starring George Maharis” - by Rick Dailey

Ohio66 presents an in-depth look at the circumstances surrounding the departure of George Maharis from route 66 in the middle of the third season.

preview Starring George Maharis

Thanks to Doug Dawson for the photos and commentary on this episode.

(13)
(13)

The Block

Here are some of the places the boys drove through in downtown Baltimore. It seems amazing to me that so little's changed. In fact, you could probably substitute color 1961 pictures, and except for the cars and possibly the trolley car tracks still embedded in some of the streets, you couldn't tell the difference.

This is Baltimore's infamous "The Block," where stripper bars and prostitutes traditionally abounded. Police have long since chased away the streetwalkers and note that The Block was once a much bigger part of the city.

(14)
(14)

N. Charles St.

Heading north on N. Charles St., about to encounter missing person's bureau and detective played by a young Ed Asner.

(15)
(15)

The Circus Bar

The Circus Bar, where Tod and Buz stopped to watch the stage show and inquire about Buz' mother, who may have worked there the 1930's.

(16)
(16)

Washington Monument

Top of Baltimore's Washington Monument on N. Charles St.

undefined

(17)
(17)

Washington Monument

Same Washington Monument, at the corner of N. Charles and W. Monument Streets.

(18)
(18)

Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD

Here are scenes of Johns Hopkins as it looks today. Note that the red brick front seems to be temporarily closed off, due to construction or refurbishing. I hope they open this up again. I had to get pix of the statue of Jesus, around which some of the most touching scenes were filmed. It looks like nothing's changed in 41 years, including the white/black floor tiles. They wouldn't let me take my camera inside, so I had to hide it. It's all part of today's post-9-11 paranoia, I guess.

(19)
(19)

Pratt Library

Baltimore's imposing Enoch Pratt Free Library, where Tod and Buz sought evidence of Buz' mother's existence in the city.

(20)
(20)

Country Store/Gas Pump

Tiny strip mall across the street from Sunnybrook Farms and where the country store/gas pump of fictional "Hester, MD" once stood.

(21)
(21)

Girder Bridge

Heading toward Sunnybrook, MD on one of the old steel girder bridges.

(22)
(22)

Out Of Gas

A 1963 Corvette, at the very spot where Tod and Buz' 1961 Corvette ran out of gas at Sunnybrook Farms in the fall of 1961.

(23)
(23)

Gift Store

The gift store in Hess, MD, with 1963 Corvette (the author's) in the foreground.

(24)
(24)

Hess, Maryland

A shot of the real Hess, MD, just north of Sunnybrook Farms. This was probably the namesake of the episode's fictional town of "Hester," MD

(25)
(25)

Hess, Maryland

Same location as the previous shot, taken from slightly farther away.

(26)
(26)

Looking South

Looking south from Hess, MD.

(27)
(27)

Out In The Country

...past Hess, MD, near where Tod and Buz encountered what he hoped was his own family, the Colbys.

(28)
(28)

White House

Here's one last photo of a filming site from The Mud Nest. As I mentioned before, the boys run out of gas at Sunnybrook Farms, which is located just a block south of the intersection of Jarretsville Pike and Merryman's Mill Road in Sunnybrook, MD.

There are quite a few places along this country road with horse ranches and three-rail wooden fences, so after several trips up and down this road in the late 1990's I decided I'd better head home and watch the Mud Nest again and look for more clues as to where this place is.

Since the mom and pop store and gas pump a hundred yards north are long gone the only dead give-away was the big white house across the street from Sunnybrook Farms.

This house stands out because it's the only one like it, because of the unique pattern of windows on the north-facing side and perhaps even more because it features a diamond-shaped window next to the front door. While the latter isn't crystal clear in the episode, the unique windows on the side are. One good look at this house and I knew I'd finally found the place.

If you are a Route 66 fan, please consider joining the discussion group at:

groups.io Route 66 TV

Ohio66 Home Ohio66 Home...