Downtown Oshkosh filming begins

I have taken the following photos on two separate trips to downtown Oshkosh, Wisconsin this past week. Our favorite “local” camera store just happens to be there and we went to get some flash units, but more importantly we went to be nosey.

Yeah, we’re gawkers (not to be confused with gaffers)! But I swear I only did it for you!

So, here is our favorite camera store, The Camera Casino. Their storefront is not being changed but if you just walk out their door, over half of their block and beyond definitely looks different.

All of the businesses are remaining open during these preparations and filming (April 10-20). You just cannot be on the roads in front of the businesses while filming is going on. Oh, did I not tell you why there were changes being made? My bad! Have you heard of John Dillinger? How about Johnny Depp? Well the filming of Public Enemies (bank robbers John Dillinger, Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd and Lester "Baby Face Nelson" Gillis) has started.

There’s just a little bit of chaos downtown. For instance, you see that “Lucky’s Men Clothing” sign? You might not be able to read that white paper sign beneath it, but it’s “Streets of Fire” - a skateboard store. You can only find the real names of stores on those white papers. Now let’s move down to the corner (see that blue lift by the streetlights?)

The New Moon is a coffee shop but for the movie it’s Skalsa Restaurant. Where according to a rumor I heard, via Sassy Mama Bear (who lives there and may be brave enough to spy on Depp for us), there will be a shoot out. It does appear that the crux of the action will be happening on this corner. See that wall across the street from the Restaurant? It’s fake. Well, it’d hurt you if you ran into it but normally that corner is a kind of park with a fountain.

A couple of days later the wall has old ads.

You can see the fountain hidden behind the wall of ads and diagonally across the street is the bank. The First National Bank, built it 1926, although the words have all been taken off or covered up.

See, to the far right is that fake wall, and far left Restaurant, with the bank on that other corner. We ran back over today and it appeared that filming was happening inside the bank today (I’ll be posting today’s photos this week). If you look above those 3 arches of doors and windows you can see the long board covering up the name of the bank. If you look really close on either side of the door you can see two lighter spots. Those are the places the metal words were taken off. And in rolls on the ground and even in the intersection are the “cobblestone” tiles.

So, we’re only missing one of the corners. It is a huge CD store, although you can’t tell it now. Our first trip there we saw. . .

Wooden Walgreen sign ready to be hung.

And glass being covered with boards. This building normally has huge windows.

And two days later.

Let’s look at some other changes. See those papers on the door (faux front) with blue painters tape holding them on? Many doors have them, they are photos of the area, showing how the buildings did look and should look.

Do you want to wash dishes for .10 or .15 cents an hour? Cook for .15 cents an hour, or $3-5.50 a day or $250 a month?

Sidenote: You can read an article from when he was in Manitowoc last month and see where else he'll be after Oshkosh and see a few photos of him in Columbus, Wisconsin.  And when I twittered about being on the news it's because we were interviewed while taking photos in Oshkosh.