Is Historic Plymouth a New Movie-Making Mecca?
PLYMOUTH, Mass. — In this place sometimes known as America's hometown, schoolchildren and tourists flock to see Plymouth Rock, a replica of the Mayflower and the place where the Pilgrims and Mashpee Wampanoags Indians shared the first Thanksgiving meal.
But the staid and historic image of Plymouth could soon be tempered by a decidedly modern attraction: a $488 million film and television studio, complete with 14 sound stages, a 10-acre back lot, a theater, a 300-room upscale hotel, a spa and 500,000 square feet of office space.
The thought of turning Plymouth into a movie Mecca has won the enthusiastic support of many residents, but some don't like the idea of adding Hollywood to their history.
"We don't need you; we've already got Plymouth Rock," says Laurien Enos, one of just three of 116 Town Meeting members who voted last month against allowing the developers to build the studio on a golf course here, about 40 miles south of Boston.
While Enos and others worry about traffic and Hollywood glamour changing their town, most residents have embraced the studio.
More than 1,100 people showed up at a recent jobs fair hosted by the project's developers.
"I think it's a great idea," said Renee Stoddard, a waitress at The All-American Diner. "It's going to bring lots of jobs and more people into Plymouth, and more business for us. It couldn't be a better time for that. We get plumbers and carpenters in here all the time and they're saying there's no work."
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But the staid and historic image of Plymouth could soon be tempered by a decidedly modern attraction: a $488 million film and television studio, complete with 14 sound stages, a 10-acre back lot, a theater, a 300-room upscale hotel, a spa and 500,000 square feet of office space.
The thought of turning Plymouth into a movie Mecca has won the enthusiastic support of many residents, but some don't like the idea of adding Hollywood to their history.
"We don't need you; we've already got Plymouth Rock," says Laurien Enos, one of just three of 116 Town Meeting members who voted last month against allowing the developers to build the studio on a golf course here, about 40 miles south of Boston.
While Enos and others worry about traffic and Hollywood glamour changing their town, most residents have embraced the studio.
More than 1,100 people showed up at a recent jobs fair hosted by the project's developers.
"I think it's a great idea," said Renee Stoddard, a waitress at The All-American Diner. "It's going to bring lots of jobs and more people into Plymouth, and more business for us. It couldn't be a better time for that. We get plumbers and carpenters in here all the time and they're saying there's no work."