Road closed through downtown Cedartown this week
By the time this edition hits newsstands and is delivered in mailboxes across Polk County, Main Street in Cedartown will be closed off.
Starting at the stroke of midnight today (May 30 for those who got the paper Tuesday) and continuing until the end of the day after cleanup on May 31, film crews are keeping the road closed through Cedartown’s main thoroughfare to bring a time and place back to life.
Right now, many shops on Main Street reflect work that has been ongoing for at least two weeks to turn back the clock for a portion of the block between Sterling Holloway Place and West Avenue. The storefronts for places like Pirkle’s Deli have a whole new look, even though their missions inside remain the same.
Businesses won’t technically be closed during the two-day shoot for an HBO pilot codenamed “Brooklyn.”
The part that Cedartown is playing is that of setting as it takes on the look and feel of the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma as it looked as tragic events began unfolding 97 years ago to this day.
It was in the days following Memorial Day in 1921 when white residents of Tulsa, fueled by false reports of the rape of a young female elevator operator by a shoe shiner that sparked a deadly chapter of American history that for decades the residents of the city tried to bury.
The small block of Main Street will be used to film part of the events being used for a dramatic series, of which Cedartown will be part of the pilot.
Ensuring that filmmakers get what they need, they’ve requested and gotten permission to close off the roadway. Production officials are also asking pedestrians to keep away as much as they possibly can from downtown to avoid any potential for ruining their takes and having non-period individuals show up in scenes.
Productions crews have already been hard at work in Cedartown getting ready. Storefronts boast new names painted on the windows, along with information and prices for goods found in Tulsa in 1921.
Filming will take place on a schedule of 7 a. m. to 7 p.m., and utilize the main thoroughfare, along with some side streets and alleyways.
Main Street from Prior Street to Ware Street will be shut down, with detours available around College and Philpot Streets for those who still need to get around downtown Cedartown.
The project i s being produced by Peachy Clean Productions, will look to re-create some of the more dramatic events of the 1921 race riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma in Cedartown.
Their main reason for using Main Street is the Houseal Building’s architectural style along with other shops within downtown, which matches the look of businesses along Greenwood Avenue that were burned during Tulsa’s riot.
Plans for the upcoming filming include the use of live animals, 300 extras and special effects during the shoot.
Along with Main Street, production crews will also be using Sterling Holloway Place and Warehouse Street to complete their scenes.
Kellie Morrison, who represents Peachy Clean Productions, said previously when presenting t he plan to Cedartown City Commissioners that if the resulting pilot episode were picked up for a full season’s run on HBO, they’d likely come back to film more locally. The plot of the show deals with an “alternate reality” of the progress of history as well, Morrison said.