By JAMES FRANKLIN
Associated Press writer
BALTIMORE - One of the highlights of a new Baltimore tour is a spot where a fictitious corpse was once found.
In response to constant questions from tourists, the Admiral Fell Inn in Fells Point has begun offering walking tours of locations used on NBC's ``Homicide: Life on the Street'' and feature films shot in the historic waterfront neighborhood.
State film officials say the tour's existence shows how popular Baltimore has become for film and television production. In the past six years, 19 feature films have been shot in Baltimore.
``We have a reputation as a film-friendly state,'' said Michael Styer, director of the Maryland Film Commission. ``And Baltimore has a lot of different types of architecture that has been maintained and restored. Every period is represented.''
For $25, visitors get lunch and a tour of locations around Fells Point, one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, where working tugboats are juxtaposed against a backdrop of bars, restaurants and other nightlife.
During the tours, which began in early March, visitors are taken to Brown's Wharf, where the body of ``Homicide'' character Steve Crosseti was found in the water during the show's second season.
In the episode Crosseti, played by Jon Polito, committed suicide by drowning himself in the Baltimore Harbor.
The tour's guide also notes that overlooking that spot is an apartment that was home to Meg Ryan's character in 1993's ``Sleepless in Seattle.'' Both the apartment's interior and its balcony were used in that film, said tour guide Heather Strassberger.
In that film Ryan's character also sits on a bench near the wharf and contemplates who her true love might be. Local legend has it that pondering this question on the wharf will lead one to true love, Strassberger said.
The apartment sits near the Admiral's Cup Bar and Grill, also seen in the film.
The centerpiece of the tour is Recreation Pier, which serves as the police station set for ``Homicide.'' Tour patrons, however, can't go inside.
``I thought you'd at least get to go in,'' said Morgan ``Puttie'' Loane, a Baltimore businessman who took the tour for his 65th birthday.
The Inn's promotions director Nancy Caudill said NBC wasn't comfortable letting visitors tour the set without supervision from the production company, which has left town after completing its fifth season.
One of the show's executive producers, Barry Levinson, is responsible in part for the city's thriving film industry, Styer said.
``A lot of the credit goes to two people, [Levinson], who did many of his early films here, and John Waters, who continues to make all of his films in Maryland,'' Styer said.
Levinson directed ``Diner,'' ``Tin Men'' and ``Avalon,'' all shot in his home city, and even named his production company Baltimore Pictures. Waters has shot all of his films in Baltimore, from ``Pink Flamingos'' to 1994's ``Serial Mom.''
Having those films shot in the city has helped ensure there are experienced crew members who live in the area, making the city more attractive to production companies.
U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski also helped keep Fells Point attractive for film companies by rallying to declare the neighborhood a historic area in the 1970s. The designation prevented highway officials from routing a highway through Fells Point, demolishing many of its old buildings.
In addition to its distinctive character, Styer also said Baltimore's lower costs and proximity to New York have helped.
Baltimore doubled for New York in the upcoming movie ``Washington Square,'' shot last summer in the city. One stop on the tour is Shakespeare Street, which the ``Washington Square'' crew transformed into an 1840s New York avenue by covering the street with dirt and adding some live chickens.
Adapted from the Henry James novel, the film stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Albert Finney and will be released later this year.
Most of the tour covers locations from ``Homicide,'' such as The Daily Grind, a coffeehouse on Thames St. that is a favorite of the cast and crew.
Nearby at St. Stanislaus Church, visitors may run into Father Maurice Ashley, a Catholic priest who has appeared on several episodes of the show. This season Ashley baptized the infant daughter of Detective Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) in a scene shot in one of the church's sanctuaries.
The tour ends at the Waterfront Hotel and Restaurant, which appears frequently on the show and is supposed to be co-owned by three of the show's characters.
The Waterfront is used so often that technicians have left a network of metal pipes across the ceiling, which are used to support microphones and other sound equipment during filming.