Fifty Years Later, ‘Jaws’ Still Haunts Martha’s Vineyard—Here’s Where to Feel It
Most towns would have long since packed away the shark props and moved on. Not Martha’s Vineyard. Five decades after Steven Spielberg turned this quiet New England island into the fictional Amity, the film hasn’t faded—it’s become part of the landscape. When the director arrived in 1974, he barely needed to change a thing. The cedar-shingled houses, the working harbors, the salt-crusted docks—they were already Amity. And they still are.
Every summer, fans arrive with cameras and a healthy fear of the water. They find an island that wears its Hollywood history lightly. Kids still leap from the American Legion Memorial Bridge, known to everyone as the “Jaws bridge.” Fishermen untie their lines before dawn in Menemsha Harbor. And on crowded beaches, you’ll still see people scan the surf, half-joking, half-serious, looking for a fin.
What sets Martha’s Vineyard apart is how the locals feel about the movie. Unlike some destinations that keep Hollywood at arm’s length, Vineyarders have embraced the film. It helps that Spielberg captured the place honestly—no fake storefronts, no exaggerated charm. The island simply played itself.
You can chase the movie or ignore it entirely. Edgartown, which stood in for Amity’s town center, still looks like a film set: white captain’s houses, ice cream shops, and the iconic Edgartown Lighthouse. South Beach (Katama Beach) stretches for three miles of open Atlantic, where the bonfire scene was shot—though Chrissie’s swim happened closer to the bridge. State Beach offers the bridge jump that’s become a summer rite. Menemsha remains a working fishing village, rugged and real, where you can buy a lobster roll and eat it on the pier as the sun sets.
For the truly dedicated, take the Chappy Ferry—a three-minute crossing to Chappaquiddick Island—and drive to Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge. That final shot of the shark’s demise? Filmed here, at the edge of the world. Getting to the Vineyard is simple: ferries from Woods Hole, Falmouth, or New Bedford run regularly. Book car passage early. Or fly in from Boston, New York, or Chicago. Just keep an eye on the water.