WEB EXCLUSIVE
Travel Nerd
Can I get a witness?
In USA Network’s original series In Plain Sight, actress Mary McCormack stars as U.S. Marshall Mary Shannon, who is attached to the Federal Witness Protection Program. Shannon teams up with Marshall Mann (yes, the character’s name really is Marshall Marshall Mann, and he’s played by actor Fredrick Weller) to help witnesses establish their new lives and adapt to their new identities. The hour-long drama is shot on location in Albuquerque, but unlike many of the films and TV shows produced there, In Plain Sight is also set in the city. Check out these Duke City destinations that have made the leap to the small screen. By Ashley M. Biggers
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The Isleta Resort & Casino, just south of Albuquerque, was one filming location for the popular USA Network show In Plain Sight. |
Start your day at the Albuquerque Academy [6400 Wyoming Blvd. NE], a private middle and high school in the city’s northeast heights. The Academy, whose brick buildings look like a classic East Coast-preparatory school, appeared on the show’s third season. Although the school is private property (and the students are trying to learn a little something, after all), the community may use the 5k running path that circuits the perimeter. It’s the perfect morning workout for a U.S. Marshall looking to stay in shape, too.
While you’re in the neighborhood, head to the Journal Center, home of the city’s daily newspaper, The Albuquerque Journal. The newspaper’s ivy-covered office building [7777 Jefferson St. NE] was transformed into the façade of a hotel, complete with a bellhop, for an episode in the show's third season. If you pull into the building’s circle drive and buy a paper out of the dispensers there, you’ll be standing just where Mary Shannon did when she berated FBI agent Mike Faber (guest star Steven Webber).
Next travel down Route 66 to the The Daily Grind [414 Central Ave. SE]. Although the small coffee shop doesn’t appear on the show, it’s just the type of local spot that Mary Shannon might visit for a cup of Joe and a homemade, sugarcoated raspberry scone before heading to work.
Mary and Marshall’s home base is an office in the Sunshine Building [120 Central Ave. SW]. On the show, it’s where the inspectors research suspects, track witnesses, and receive their marching orders from their boss, chief inspector Stan McQueen (ok, well at least he tries to tell Mary what to do and the character is played by Paul Ben-Victor). In real-life, the building houses the Sunshine Theater, a performance space where everyone from indie-folk rocker Neko Case to American Idol winner Kris Allen have played. If there isn’t a concert on that day, you can also attend a movie at the Century Rio 14 cineplex or grab a bite of sushi.
While you’re downtown, swing by No Holds Barred boxing gym [110 Lomas NE] where Stan tried to rein in a former-boxer and witness with brain injuries during a third season episode. Just be sure to bring your own sparring partner because this working gym doesn’t hold anything back when fresh meat wanders through the door.
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The elegant Artichoke Cafe, in Albuquerque's East Downtown neighborhood, is a favorite of actor Fred Weller, who plays Marshall Mann on the show. |
A few blocks down, discover Albuquerque’s Old Town, which, in addition to its myriad shops and the historic San Felipe de Neri Church, was the site of one of the suspenseful resolutions to a third season episode in which Mary and Marshall capture a murderer who was in hot pursuit of one of their witnesses.
Feeling hungry? Try the Artichoke Café [424 Central Ave. SE] for elegant, American fare (including the restaurant’s namesake) then to Anodyne Pool Hall & Cocktails [409 Central Ave NW] for a post-dinner beer. We've heard that actor Fred Weller frequents both locations while he’s in town filming the show.
For your lodgings for the night, head south of town on I-25 to the Isleta Resort & Casino. The hotel’s striking architecture, which includes a glass tower, and its spacious, stately rooms appear in the show’s second season and set the scene for a face-off between the federal marshals, an undercover agent, and a world-class counterfeiter.
There are more plenty destinations where In Plain Sight has filmed around the Duke City and surrounding areas, and all are (ahem) hiding in plain sight.
