Here is the house from John Waters’ Serial Mom! I had tried finding information about this home forever ago, but it wasn’t until it came up for sale that it’s location was discovered. So when I dragged my friend to Baltimore in March ‘09 I pulled right into the driveway and started snooping around. I was 99.9% sure nobody was currently living there so I wasn’t too scared to peak in the windows. :)
Then in December ‘09 I went back to Baltimore by myself (I need new friends!) and I wanted to stop by the house again just to check if it was still for sale…and it was! This time, there were people doing yard work so I asked if they would mind if I just took some quick pictures and the guy said that the current owner was actually there! So of course I told him I drove all the way from Ohio. Before I knew it, the owner was walking out to greet me and he was just as happy to show the house as I was to see it!
He said that he lived in the upstairs with his father during filming and that I’d be amazed at all the stuff that went into prepping the house for the movie. For example, the shot of Kathleen Turner looking out onto the driveway was filmed inside the tiny mud room! A cabinet was built next to the window so that when we see Kathleen from the outside it looks like she’s actually in the kitchen. He also said there was a special camera rigged up in the master bedroom for the close-up shots used when Kathleen was bird watching with binoculars.
All the interiors of the Serial Mom house were filmed on a sound stage except the scene where Kathleen Turner smashes the Faberge Egg. That was filmed in the actual living room of this house even though its supposed to be Rosemary Ackermans house next door. The owner said you can see some of his antique furniture and that his mom (who is deceased) would have FLIPPED if she had seen the color they had painted her living room for that scene.
The one thing still left in the house today is a mini Serial Mom poster just above the living room fireplace. It wasn’t until I got a closer look that the owner pointed out that his fathers picture had been added to it as a little reminder of their contribution to the John Waters legacy.
We finished the tour outside the garage where I found out the asking price is $600,000 which seems reasonable considering the house is amazing and it’s back yard is the Country Club of Maryland golf course. I even got a little souvenir…one of the old shingles from the slate roof that was sitting in the garage! Believe me, if I had the money I’d buy this place and move to Baltimore tomorrow. And I wouldn’t allow gum inside.
