The Maryland College Town Brimming With '80s 'Brat Pack' Movie Nostalgia

Anchored by the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, is a small but lively city of 30,000 with an unexpected Brat Pack legacy. It's hard to underestimate the cultural impact of movies starring a group of young actors in the 1980s who were called "The Brat Pack," including "St. Elmo's Fire." Starring Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Judd Nelson, and Emilio Estevez, the film follows a group of friends as they navigate friendships, romances, and financial responsibilities as young adults.

The script names their school as Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., but when the production was denied filming on location due to the Jesuit university's objections to the sex and drug use in the script, Schumacher opted for the University of Maryland (UMD)'s College Park campus just 10 miles away.

There are numerous hotel choices in College Park for fans looking to connect with "St. Elmo's Fire" filming locations. The highest-rated hotel in town is the College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. It gets 4.5 stars from over 1,400 Google reviews, which cite cleanliness and easy parking across the street. Closely following with 4.4 stars from nearly 1,800 reviews is The Hotel at the University of Maryland. Guest reviews consistently mention how convenient it is to go anywhere on campus. Nightly rates at both hotels start at around $130, as of this writing.

The University of Maryland has 11 campuses, but the one in College Park is the flagship. Although founded in 1856, the university suffered a devastating fire in 1912, and only one 19th-century building on the 1,340-acre campus was spared. Nonetheless, it has beautiful brick buildings surrounding quads, making it a quintessential cinematic college setting.

Nostalgic fans looking to visit "St. Elmo's Fire" filming sites can come to Baltimore Avenue in College Park and reenact the famous opening scene. This is where cast members in graduation caps and gowns walk arm in arm with Fraternity Row, specifically the Sigma Kappa sorority house, in the background. The scene where Rob Lowe's character, Billy, goes back to his old fraternity is also shot on Fraternity Row with UMD students as extras.

The hospital where Emilio Estevez's character, Kirby, encounters Andie MacDowell's character, Dale, is Leland Memorial Hospital in Riverdale, Maryland, only 2.5 miles away. If fans would like to raise a pint in the movie's St. Elmo's Fire bar, they will be disappointed to learn that it was a set. Those scenes were shot at Universal Studios in California, according to IMDb. However, that bar was based on The Tombs, in Washington, D.C., which is still frequented by Georgetown students.

The university provides cultural performances at The Clarice and UM Terps sporting events like football and basketball. Beyond campus, the 38-acre Lake Artemesia is a favorite for bird-watching, fishing, walking paths, and biking trails that link to the Anacostia Tributary Trail System. A highlight is the historic Trolley Trail, a 3.8-mile route tracing the former streetcar line to the capital. In summer, families especially appreciate the Ellen E. Linson Splash Park, which also has pools and slides. (In colder weather, it hosts an ice rink.) A can't-miss spot is the College Park Airport, the oldest continuously operating airport in the world where the Wright Brothers once tested their aviation inventions. A museum on site tells the story of the notable accomplishments that happened here like the development of in-flight radio navigation and the first flight reaching an altitude of 1 mile. History lovers can also explore historic neighborhoods like Berwyn and Calvert Hills on walking tours. 

College Park is about 25 miles from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and less than a half hour by car from Sandy Spring, a historic gem with an adventure park and museums. A little farther, at less than an hour away, Remington is an underrated, quirky Baltimore neighborhood worth exploring.