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| 235 Essex St, Salem, MA 01970, USA (Salem, Massachusetts)
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Lappin Park
Lappin Park is a park in downtown Salem, MA. It was founded on June 17, 1993. It offers places for locals and visitors alike to rest on park benches in the shade and enjoy the scenery. Since Spring of 2005, the park has also served as the home for TV Land's bronze statue in tribute to the television show Bewitched.
Bewitched Salem
In April of 1970 a fire broke out on Soundstage 4 at Columbia Picture's Screen Gems studio on Gower Street in Los Angeles. The fire destroyed the kitchen set for the television sitcom Bewitched and damaged a few others as well. Ironically, the fire's impact at its actual location was minimal compared to the effect it would have on a city on the opposite side of the USA. Scrambling to come up with a way to keep the seventh season of Bewitched from facing delays as the sets were repaired, the creators of the show decided to shoot nearly a third of that season's episodes on location. The natural choice for a location was of course, Salem, Massachusetts. Some may say that Salem was fated for something big that year. After all, the zip code for Salem is 01970!
On June 20, 1970, the cast and crew of the television show Bewitched descended on the city to film multiple episodes on location in Salem (see Salem, Massachusetts) itself as well as nearby Gloucester (see Gloucester, Massachusetts). For a city whose industries had been flagging for some time, the production brought in both money and publicity. The filming generated a good deal of excitement within the community and utilized a number of local landmarks, including the city's statues of Roger Conant and Nathaniel Hawthorne as well as the House of Seven Gables (see The House of Seven Gables) and the Jonathan Corwin House (see The Jonathan Corwin House). The cast and crew stayed at the Hawthorne Hotel during the production.
The episodes, which aired in fall of 1970, had a big impact on Salem's tourism trade. Interest in the witch trials of Salem County in 1692 had brought in a small to moderate amount of tourists in the past. However, when the city was featured on Bewitched, tourism showed a noticeable jump, helping set a trend that led to Salem becoming the tourist destination it is today.
The seventh season began on September 24, 1970 and the first two episodes acted as lead-ins for the Salem episodes. On October 8, the first episode featuring the Stephens in Salem itself was aired. Salem Mayor Samuel Zoll declared the day to be "Bewitched Day in Historic Salem." The episodes set in Massachusetts (including one featuring a visit to Gloucester) continued through to November 12. This amounted to nearly 2 months of Bewitched basically advertising Salem and its surroundings to television viewers week after week.
Bewitched Statue
"Hair of gold, eyes that twinkle
A nose that neatly twitched,
Clever, charming and enchanting
Samantha left us all Bewitched"
-Inscription upon a star resting near the feet of the Bewitched statue
On June 15, 2005, a statue commemorating the television show Bewitched was unveiled as an addition to Lappin Park. It had been 35 years since the cast and crew of the TV show had arrived in Salem. It was also nine days before the Bewitched film starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell was to open in theaters. The unveiling of the statue was attended by Bewitched actors Erin Murphy (Tabitha), Kasey Rogers (Louise Tate), and Bernard Fox '(Dr. Bombay). Also in attendance was William Asher, producer of Bewitched and widowed husband of Elizabeth Montgomery. Roughly 1,500 people were in attendance for the unveiling.
The statue itself is made of bronze and stands 7 and a half feet tall. It depicts Elizabeth Montgomery as her character, Samantha Stephens, sitting astride a broom as she hovers before a crescent moon. The statue mimics the animated opening sequence for the TV show. However, it features realistic-looking representation of Elizabeth Montgomery rather than the cartoon caricature that flew around at the beginning of each episode.
The statue is owned and maintained by TV Land as per their agreement with the city of Salem. The contract lasts one decade and it is possible that the statue may move or be removed entirely in 2015. It is one of a series of statues dedicated to classic television shows that TV Land has erected around the country.
Reaction
The unveiling ceremony was also attended by a small group of protesters. Only one was arrested. Reasons given for protest varied from complaints about the commercialization of historic Salem to concerns that it was disrespectful of the victims of the 1692 Witch Trials held in Salem County. One descendant of Witch Trial victims John Proctor and Mary Easty has been quoted comparing placing a Bewitched statue in Salem to placing a Hogan's Heroes statue outside of a "concentration camp." Other complaints about the statue's placement are from fans who feel that the statue should instead be placed in the Stephens' (fictional) hometown of Westport, Connecticut.
The statue has been vandalized on at least one occasion. Red spray paint was used to deface Samantha's head, flags were placed in her hands and the word "mockery" was scrawled on it as well. The incident happened shortly before a Bewitched convention was held in Salem.
For most, however, the statue is just a fun reminder of a classic television show of yesteryear and a nod to another root of Salem's lucrative tourist industry. It has an even deeper value for a select few... the family of Elizabeth Montgomery. William Asher was notably emotional at the unveiling of the statue. Years later in June of 2008, one of Asher and Montgomery's children paid a visit to the statue. William Asher Jr. brought his wife and child to Salem on vacation. During their stay, they lodged in the same hotel his parents had while filming the show. Upon seeing the statue, Asher's two and half year old daughter Makaela hugged it, embracing an image of her grandmother who had died nearly a decade before the child had been born. |
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| Related Sites |
Harpies Bizarre: The Salem Saga 1970
Article about the impact TV show Bewitched had on the community of Salem, MA. |
Palachi.com
Web site for Peter Alachi's books about the history of TV show Bewitched and Salem, MA. |
Wikipedia: Bewitched
Wikipedia entry for the TV show "Bewitched." |
Wikipedia: Salem, MA
Wikipedia entry for the city of Salem, Massachusetts. |
Harpies Bizarre: Lappin Park Statue
Article about the Lappin Park Bewitched Statue in Salem, MA. |
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| Similar Destinations |
| Gloucester, Massachusetts |
| Sunset Memorial Park, Norman, OK |
| John Hay Library |
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| See Also on TheCabinet.com |
| Blog: Bewitched Day in Salem! (10/08/08) |
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| Available from Amazon.com |
Cinema Salem - A Cinematic Guide to the Witch City |
Bewitched: The Complete First Season |
Bewitched - The Complete Second Season |
Bewitched - The Complete Third Season |
Bewitched - The Complete Fourth Season |
Bewitched - The Complete Fifth Season |
Bewitched - The Complete Sixth Season |
Bewitched - The Complete Seventh Season |
Bewitched 12x16 Matte Color Photo (Elizabeth Montgomery Agnes Moorehead) |
Bewitched Samantha Maquette featuring Elizabeth Montgomery |
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