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Netflix · 2013–2018 · set in Washington, made in Maryland

House of Cards

A congressman climbs to the White House and a marriage climbs with him. The story says Washington; the crew stood in Baltimore, Annapolis and a warehouse in Joppa. Wear the part

Robin Wright at Cannes in May 2017, between the fifth and sixth seasons. Georges Biard · CC BY-SA 3.0Michael Dobbs at the Nordic Media Festival, August 2013, months after the Netflix series began. Eirik Helland Urke / Nordic Media Festival · CC BY-SA 2.0Beau Willimon at the Peabody Awards in May 2014. Peabody Awards · CC BY 2.0

The press called it a make-over

Wear the part.

When the crew took the Maryland State House in June 2013, the Associated Press said the chamber had been made over to look like the Senate. A year earlier Baltimore Fishbowl said the Peabody was in costume. Washington was something Maryland put on. Choose a pin and pin it on.

A red-brick capitol with a tall white wooden dome above trees
As itselfMaryland State House100 State Circle, Annapolis

Ten pins, ten Washington parts. Choose one and pin it on the Maryland building that played it.

A red-brick capitol with a tall white wooden dome above trees
The Maryland State House from College Avenue, Annapolis, September 2013. Martin Falbisoner · CC BY-SA 3.0

100 State Circle, Annapolis

Maryland State House

The crew made the House of Delegates chamber over to look like the US Senate for the second season.

The building was closed to the public on 17 June 2013 for the shoot while state staff worked on inside.

Annapolis is about 30 miles from Washington, where the series is set.

It is the oldest state house still in legislative use, completed in 1779.

Open every day from 8:30am to 5pm except Christmas and New Year’s Day. Adults need photo ID; bags are searched. Self-guided tour sheets are by the Archives Room on the first floor.

Where we read it
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Baltimore walking tours

Baltimore

Live marketplace results for walks round Mount Vernon and downtown Baltimore. None is built round the series; check each route for Mount Vernon Place and Calvert Street.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours
Ladew Gardens

Ladew Topiary Gardens

Monkton, Harford County

The gardens that stood in for China. Open until 31 October; closed Wednesdays. Adults $22, seniors and 13–18s $18, children 2–12 $7.

Season ends 31 October

Plan a visit

Filmed without a part to pin

These four are named in the sources for a meeting, a season or a street, with no Washington role to wear.

A neoclassical museum portico with columns above wide steps
The Baltimore Museum of Art’s front steps and portico, 2018. Baltimore Heritage from Baltimore, MD, USA · CC0

10 Art Museum Drive, beside Johns Hopkins

Baltimore Museum of Art

Frank Underwood meets the reporter Zoe Barnes in a gallery and on the front steps in season one.

The museum is free and holds the largest public collection of Matisse’s work in the world.

John Russell Pope designed its neoclassical building in the 1920s.

Admission is free. Check the museum’s site for opening days and hours.

Where we read it
A brick and stone institutional building on a city street
The Maryland Historical Society’s buildings on West Monument Street, 2017; it is now the Maryland Center for History and Culture. Baltimore Heritage from Baltimore, MD, USA · CC0

201 West Monument Street, Mount Vernon

Maryland Center for History and Culture

Season five was filmed here extensively, when it was still the Maryland Historical Society.

Founded on 1 March 1844, it is the oldest cultural institution in Maryland.

A museum and library open to visitors; check the centre’s site for hours before going.

Where we read it
A white marble column monument in a city square
The Battle Monument in Monument Square, 2011. Acroterion · CC BY-SA 4.0

North Calvert Street between Fayette and Lexington Streets

Battle Monument Square

Crews filmed season-five scenes in Monument Square on 20 July 2016.

The monument honours those who died defending Baltimore in September 1814.

A public square in the middle of Calvert Street, between the two city courthouses.

Where we read it
A street of red-brick rowhouses with white marble steps
A Bolton Hill street, 2006. The Underwood house itself is a private home and is not shown. Reading Tom from Reading, UK · CC BY 2.0

Near Park Avenue and McMechen Street, Bolton Hill

Bolton Hill

Bolton Hill gave the street scenes outside the Underwoods’ home in season two.

It has 20 blocks of late-19th-century rowhouses with red brick and white marble steps.

The Underwood house is a private home. The neighbourhood’s streets are public; please leave the house alone.

Where we read it

Annapolis · 1783–1784

It had played the capital before.

The crew dressed the House of Delegates as the Senate, about 30 miles from the real one. The building had done the job for real.

  1. In 1783 and 1784 the State House was the capitol of the Congress of the Confederation.
  2. George Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army here, and the Treaty of Paris was ratified here.
  3. The State Archives calls it America’s first peacetime capitol.
  4. Its dome is the largest wooden dome in the United States built without nails.
Where we read it
Maryland State Archives

Maryland State House

Annapolis

The capitol whose House of Delegates chamber played the US Senate. Open every day 8:30am to 5pm except Christmas and New Year’s Day; photo ID for adults, bags searched; self-guided tour sheets by the Archives Room.

Plan a visit
Historic Inns of Annapolis

Historic Inns of Annapolis

State Circle, Annapolis

Three old inns, the Maryland Inn, the Governor Calvert House and the Robert Johnson House, at 58 State Circle, the circle round the State House. Rates are on the booking page.

See the inns
A legislative chamber with rows of desks under a skylight
The House of Delegates chamber, which the crew made over as the US Senate, in 2011. MarylandGeoffrey · CC0
A large crew standing on a soundstage floor in front of built set walls with tall windows
The crew on the Joppa stages in May 2013, during a visit by Governor Martin O’Malley; the set walls stand behind them. Maryland GovPics · CC BY 2.0

Harford County · from January 2012

A West Wing in a warehouse.

Most interiors were shot in a warehouse in Joppa that held a full-scale West Wing, Oval Office included.

In 2012 it was five acres of production offices and warehouses turned into stages, with the Capitol’s interiors built too.

Season-two dialogue names Joppa as a place to hide a witness.

Joppa was founded on the Gunpowder River in 1707.

A working industrial site with no public access and no published address, so it is not pinned.

Where we read it

Malta, after Downing Street

Two letters on a notepad.

Michael Dobbs had just stepped down as Margaret Thatcher’s chief of staff when, on holiday in Malta, he sketched two letters on a sheet of paper. He called the book that followed a holiday distraction. The letters became a name.

Draw the two letters.

Where we read it
Michael Dobbs speaking on a stage
Michael Dobbs at the Nordic Media Festival, August 2013, months after the Netflix series began. Eirik Helland Urke / Nordic Media Festival · CC BY-SA 2.0
Michael DobbsWrote the 1989 novel · 2013
Ian Richardson, a portrait in colour
Ian Richardson around 1976, fourteen years before he played Francis Urquhart; no free photograph from 1990 was found. Bernard Gotfryd · Public domain
Ian RichardsonFrancis Urquhart on BBC1, 1990; he based him on Richard III
Westminster to Washington
The novel and BBC1, 1989–1990Netflix, 2013
Francis Urquhart, Government Chief Whip in the House of CommonsFrancis Underwood, majority whip in the House of Representatives
Elizabeth Urquhart, his wifeClaire Underwood, who is given storylines of her own
Mattie Storin, a junior political reporter on The ChronicleZoe Barnes, a reporter he meets in secret
Urquhart talks through the camera to the audienceUnderwood’s direct address breaks the fourth wall too
BBC1, four episodes, 18 November to 9 December 1990Netflix, a 13-episode season released at once on 1 February 2013
Where we read it

The people

Who made it.

  • Robin Wright, short blonde hair, smilingRobin WrightClaire Underwood · 2017
  • Kate Mara, dark hair pulled backKate MaraZoe Barnes · 2014
  • Mahershala Ali, smiling, in a dark suitMahershala AliRemy Danton · 2016
  • Beau Willimon, dark hair, in a suitBeau WillimonCreated it; showrunner for four seasons · 2014
  • David Fincher in glasses and a dark coatDavid FincherDirected the first two episodes · 2012

Robin Wright at Cannes in May 2017, between the fifth and sixth seasons. Georges Biard · CC BY-SA 3.0Kate Mara in Paris in March 2014, after the second season’s release. Dustin Gaffke · CC BY 2.0Mahershala Ali in Toronto, September 2016. Gordon Correll · CC BY-SA 2.0Beau Willimon at the Peabody Awards in May 2014. Peabody Awards · CC BY 2.0David Fincher in Paris in January 2012, weeks before the first season was shot. Elen Nivrae from Paris, France · CC BY 2.0

Where we read it

Claire, and 2017

Robin Wright won the Golden Globe for Claire Underwood, the first actress to win one for a role in a series made only for streaming. Kevin Spacey played Frank Underwood in the first five seasons. In November 2017 Netflix fired him after a number of people accused him of sexual misconduct. The character was written out, and Wright led the sixth and final season, cut to eight episodes.

Where we read it
Five people in evening dress holding an award on stage
Boris McGiver, Sebastian Arcelus, Beau Willimon, Jayne Atkinson and Michael Gill at the Peabody Awards, May 2014. Peabody Awards · CC BY 2.0
  1. 6seasons, 73 episodes
  2. 1 Feb 2013first season released
  3. 2 Nov 2018final season released
  4. $11.6mMaryland tax credit on season one
  5. 37time-lapse shots of Washington in the titles
Where we read it

Where it was.

Where it is now

13 places you can visit: 4 downtown, 3 in Mount Vernon, 2 in north Baltimore and 4 beyond the city. The Underwood house in Bolton Hill is a private home and the Joppa stages have no public address, so neither is on the map.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

  • General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Not open to visitors. The building is seen from Calvert Street and Guilford Avenue.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public square in the middle of Calvert Street, between the two city courthouses.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public memorial building on War Memorial Plaza; the plaza is open, the hall for events.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working Metro SubwayLink station; you need a fare to reach the platform.

  1. A long modern newspaper building with bands of windows
    The Sun building at 501 North Calvert Street, seen from Guilford Avenue, 2018. Baltimore Heritage from Baltimore, MD, USA · CC0

    501 North Calvert Street

    The Baltimore Sun building

    The Sun’s newsroom played the newsroom of the fictional Washington Herald in seasons one and two.

    Not open to visitors. The building is seen from Calvert Street and Guilford Avenue.

    Where we read it
  2. A white marble column monument in a city square
    The Battle Monument in Monument Square, 2011. Acroterion · CC BY-SA 4.0

    North Calvert Street between Fayette and Lexington Streets

    Battle Monument Square

    Crews filmed season-five scenes in Monument Square on 20 July 2016.

    A public square in the middle of Calvert Street, between the two city courthouses.

    Where we read it
  3. A grey stone memorial building with columns facing a plaza
    The War Memorial on Gay Street, 2017. Baltimore Heritage from Baltimore, MD, USA · CC0

    101 North Gay Street, opposite City Hall

    The War Memorial

    It hosted the presidential inaugural ball, the series’ first major scene, in season one.

    A public memorial building on War Memorial Plaza; the plaza is open, the hall for events.

    Where we read it
  4. An underground metro platform with a vaulted ceiling
    Charles Center Metro station, November 2017. Ymblanter · CC BY-SA 4.0

    100 West Baltimore Street

    Charles Center Metro station

    It stood in for the Washington Metro in the first episode of season two.

    A working Metro SubwayLink station; you need a fare to reach the platform.

    Where we read it

Stay

On State Circle.

Three old inns on the circle round the State House.

Historic Inns of Annapolis

Historic Inns of Annapolis

State Circle, Annapolis

Three old inns, the Maryland Inn, the Governor Calvert House and the Robert Johnson House, at 58 State Circle, the circle round the State House. Rates are on the booking page.

See the inns

Go there

In person.

The State House, Ladew’s gardens before they close for winter, and walks through Baltimore and Annapolis.

Maryland State Archives

Maryland State House

Annapolis

The capitol whose House of Delegates chamber played the US Senate. Open every day 8:30am to 5pm except Christmas and New Year’s Day; photo ID for adults, bags searched; self-guided tour sheets by the Archives Room.

Plan a visit
Ladew Gardens

Ladew Topiary Gardens

Monkton, Harford County

The gardens that stood in for China. Open until 31 October; closed Wednesdays. Adults $22, seniors and 13–18s $18, children 2–12 $7.

Season ends 31 October

Plan a visit
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Baltimore walking tours

Baltimore

Live marketplace results for walks round Mount Vernon and downtown Baltimore. None is built round the series; check each route for Mount Vernon Place and Calvert Street.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Annapolis walking tours

Annapolis

Live marketplace results for walks through historic Annapolis, most passing State Circle.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

What’s on

Nothing announced.

No screening or event for the series is announced right now.

No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.

Take it home

The book and the score.

Dobbs’s novel and Jeff Beal’s first-season score.

Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

House of Cards

Michael Dobbs

The 1989 novel the BBC and Netflix series came from; this is the 1990 Fontana paperback.

Find the book
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House of Cards: Music from the Netflix Original Series

Jeff Beal · 2 × CD, Varèse Sarabande, 2013

Jeff Beal’s score for the first season.

Live marketplace search · listings and condition change

Find a copy

Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

The cloakroom

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

15 of 15 places · 15 of 15 Moments

  • Maryland State House

    100 State Circle, Annapolis

    • The Senate

      The House of Delegates chamber, made over as the US Senate.

  • Peabody Institute

    1 East Mount Vernon Place, Mount Vernon

    • A Georgetown hotel

      The Peabody’s Centre Street entrance as the Hotel Cotesworth.

  • The Engineers Club

    Garrett-Jacobs Mansion, 11 West Mount Vernon Place

    • The secretary of state’s office

      The Engineers Club as the secretary of state’s office.

  • Maryland Center for History and Culture

    201 West Monument Street, Mount Vernon

    • Season five

      Extensive filming for season five at the Maryland Historical Society.

  • Bolton Hill

    Near Park Avenue and McMechen Street, Bolton Hill

    • Outside the Underwoods’

      Street scenes outside the Underwoods’ home.

  • The Baltimore Sun building

    501 North Calvert Street

    • The Herald

      The Sun’s newsroom plays the Washington Herald.

  • Battle Monument Square

    North Calvert Street between Fayette and Lexington Streets

    • Monument Square

      Season-five scenes in Monument Square.

  • The War Memorial

    101 North Gay Street, opposite City Hall

    • The inaugural ball

      The War Memorial hosts the inaugural ball, the first major scene.

  • Charles Center Metro station

    100 West Baltimore Street

    • The Metro

      Charles Center stands in for the Washington Metro.

  • Baltimore Museum of Art

    10 Art Museum Drive, beside Johns Hopkins

    • A meeting in a gallery

      Underwood and Zoe Barnes meet in a gallery and on the steps.

  • Gilman Hall and the Eisenhower Library

    Homewood campus, 3400 North Charles Street

    • The Sentinel

      Hopkins as Underwood’s South Carolina military college, with a library named for him.

  • Ladew Topiary Gardens

    3535 Jarrettsville Pike, Monkton

    • China

      Ladew’s gardens stand in for China.

  • Patapsco Valley State Park

    Along the Patapsco River, south-west of Baltimore

    • A re-enactment

      A Civil War re-enactment visited by the vice president.

  • Havre de Grace

    Where the Susquehanna meets the Chesapeake Bay

    • Gaffney

      Havre de Grace plays Underwood’s home town of Gaffney, South Carolina.

  • The Joppa stages

    An industrial park in Joppa, Harford County

    • The West Wing

      The West Wing and the Capitol’s interiors, built in Joppa warehouses.

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