In 1975, Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” caused thousands of people to fear swimming in the ocean — but it also led droves of tourists to travel to Martha’s Vineyard, where the thriller was shot.
They’re still coming — now more than ever. With the Universal flick marking its 50th anniversary this summer, the island’s visitor population is expected to swell by more than 200,000 visitors, compared to the year-round base of 20,000 residents, according to the Martha Vineyard Chamber of Commerce’s executive director Erica Ashton. Day-trippers, weekenders and second home owners will have a tough time walking into any store without finding any teeth-baring great white shark motifs through Labor Day.
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Located south of Cape Cod, the 96-square-mile Massachusetts island continues to reel in generations of movie fans a half-century later. Based on Peter Benchley’s book of the same name, the silver anniversary is being celebrated with a sundry of talks, screenings and exhibitions. With sweeping beaches, lighthouses, fishing docks and quaint weather-beaten cottages, “The Vineyard” is the quintessential summer escape. Although it was portrayed as the fictitious Amity island in the film, many of the location sites are still favorite destinations with travelers — less so for the traffic and tourist-averse year-round islanders.
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Others may be surprised that the settings of numerous scenes from the movie don’t look drastically different. “Martha’s Vineyard is a very special place, where we have [strict] zoning laws, so what you saw in 1975 is very similar to what you see today. There’s not that much that has changed,” Ashton said. “‘Jaws’ is kind of a cultural phenomenon. People are coming from all over the world, because of this summer blockbuster. They can do self-guided tours and/or we have a ton of operators that specialize in ‘Jaws’ tours.”
In Edgartown alone, movie fans will find the largely unchanged Main Street and town hall. Another backdrop in the Hollywood blockbuster, Edgartown Hardware still has the Amity Hardware sign, but the store is now housed at 61 West Tisbury Road. Its former outpost belongs to the aptly named Boneyard Surf Co. Inside of the Rockland Trust on South Water Street, the fictitious Amity National Bank sign still hangs on the wall.
The architecturally minded will appreciate the Georgian-style buildings amid cobblestone sidewalks, including the Captain Benjamin Smith House at 34 South Summer Street, which dates back to 1790. For more than eight decades the building has housed the Vineyard Gazette, which has published a commemorative “Jaws” 50th anniversary magazine. During the film’s shoot in 1974, the-then Richard Reston-run newspaper’s coverage cited how the production continued “to roam the island in much the same manner as a touring medicine show, playing in each of the island’s towns.”
That statement stands true today, given the summer swell of tourists, although they could have been retracing the summer flick’s locations on Nantucket had Mother Nature not intervened. In 1974, the production designer Joe Alves was bound for that island to scout, before a storm caused his ferry to reverse course. After learning that ferries were still operating to and from Martha’s Vineyard, Alves reportedly headed there.
Movie fans can still ride the seasonal Chappy Ferry and envision Chief Brody’s showdown about water safety with Amity’s mayor. The bare-bones ferry connects Edgartown to Chappaquiddick. Visitors who prefer to see the ferries from afar can walk to the top of Memorial Wharf.
The nostalgia for the film also runs deep with many Martha’s Vineyard residents, who were extras in Steven Spielberg’s breakout movie. The Fourth of July scene on State Beach, for example, featured 400 locals, who were shepherded around by a crew of 40 that used megaphones to give their cues. Visitors can download the SetJetters app to visit that sandy spot and other locations of their favorite scenes to recreate the moment for themselves.
Wendy Benchley, whose late first husband Peter’s book was the basis for the film, praises the four lead actors Roy Schneider as Captain Brody, Richard Dreyfuss as Hooper, Robert Shaw as Quint and Murray Hamilton as the mayor of Amityville for “each being brilliant in their own way.” She also said Spielberg was “ingenious in his work with all of the locals to make sure we got to know them,” she says. “When you don’t see them again in the movie, you really miss them. Having locals instead of actors just made people feel closer to everybody. It made them i.d. with all of these people, and feel the movie so strongly.”
Visitors can still find some of those locals on the island — albeit looking substantially more seasoned a half-century later. At the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, the “Jaws at 50: A Deeper Dive” exhibition features all kinds of memorabilia, oral histories and film props including two heads that were made for the fisherman character Ben Gardner, who drowns after a shark attack in the unforgettable “head-popping-out-of-the-boat” scene.
Some shark-centric visitors stay at the Harbor View Hotel, which served as a production hub and place for informal gatherings among the cast and crew. It’s also where Schneider, Dreyfuss and Spielberg had an off-hours food fight. The hotel’s director of marketing Jean Wong said, “Some say it was a stress release, others a celebration.”
Whether you have seen the movie or not, many venture to Aquinnah to see the Gay Head Cliffs from the historic Gay Head Lighthouse. The area is still inhabited by the Wampanoag tribe and that is the setting for the scene where Hooper, Brody and Mayor Vaughn have a showdown about warning people about the menacing great white shark. This month a new nature preserve has bowed in Aquinnah on property that was once owned by the Kennedy family. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was a summer visitor, as was her late son John F. Kennedy Jr., who perished in a plane crash off the coast with his wife Carolyn Bessette and sister-in-law Lauren in 1999.
One must-see is “Jaws” bridge, the American Legion Memorial Bridge that is located near Joseph Sylvia State Beach. Jumping off the bridge into the water is a summer ritual for thrill seekers of all ages, despite the warning signs that are posted nearby. Another picturesque setting can be found at Sengekontacket Pond, a child-friendly locale that is prime for swimming, clamming and kayaking.
Another stop near the top of many travelers’ lists is Menemsha, a quaint fishing village in Chilmark, where many go to pull up a seat on the beach or on the jetty to catch the sunset. What they won’t find is Quint’s shack, which was built for the film and swiftly dismantled afterward. New England classics like lobster rolls and clam chowder can be found at local haunts like Homeport and Larsen’s Fish Market.
Shark-themed cocktails, salads and even fudge; “Jaws”-inspired hoodies, and artists’ interpretations of the “Jaws” poster for WallPops peel-and-stick wallpaper are some of the ways that local businesses are diving into the scene. CB Stark Jewelers’ Cheryl Stark designed the three silver rings that were placed on the prop that was meant to look like the shark attack victim’s hand. The local jeweler has created a special charm for the 50th anniversary while the Martha’s Vineyard Museum is selling “Barrel Apparel” hoodies and other basics that feature a yellow barrel motif — another symbol of an adrenaline-increasing scene.
For those who want to try to actually spot a shark from above, there’s another option — bi-plane rides that lift off from the Katama Airfield and fly above South Beach, where the character of Chrissie Watkins’ fatal night swim was filmed. If that experience isn’t sharky enough, there’s always Katama Candle Co., which is selling a limited-edition “Chrissie’s Last Swim” candle in deep red “bloody” water with a shark figure breaching on the surface. The soy candle is apricot-scented as a wink to Quint’s apricot brandy.