Did you know that Jacksonville, Florida, could easily have become the Hollywood of the world? Once considered an international winter film capital, the city played an important role in the early history of film. As the motion picture industry developed and “going to the pictures” grew in popularity, the big city on the Atlantic coast of Florida was an attractive destination for filming with its warm weather, natural settings, architectural diversity, and a location easily accessible by rail from East Coast cities.
A silent film studio was first opened in Jacksonville in 1908; more studios followed, including Metro Pictures, which eventually became MGM, now a Hollywood giant. Florida became the location for many films from the early nineteenth century on, including Midnight Cowboy in 1969, and Jaws 2, the sequel…
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Naples Illustrated (Digital) - 1 Issue, November 2022