The history of the American Legion Memorial Bridge aka 'The JAWS Bridge'

Movie locations have long been popular with fans. You might want to go in search pf Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross Station if you’re Harry Potter fan (if you can find it, of course) or perhaps locate Skyfall - the ancestral home of James Bond’s in Scotland, (you’ll be searching a long time - the forbidding country seat was nothing more than a custom built movie set, constructed on Hankley Common near Elstead in Surrey). However, there are some locations that are very much there, in the real world, and in fact they’ve been in existence long before the movie trucks rolled into town. One of those, for fans of the early work of Mr Steven Spielberg, is The Jaws Bridge.

In the movie, the bridge has probably its most famous moment when Chief of Police, Martin Brody, vaults the rails and sprints to his son Michael after the estuary attack. For those of us who like to believe in such things (okay, so me basically) this scene is also when our fears for Pippet’s/Pipit’s well-being are allayed. Every time I watch the movie I look in the background and (as far as I’m concerned) there she is, chilling on the bridge in the sun - phew!

The actual official name of the bridge is the American Legion Memorial Bridge, or “Big Bridge,” if you’re a local. It forms part of the Seaview Avenue, which links Edgartown with the town of Oak Bluffs. The bridge is also the dividing line between the Atlantic and Sengekontacket Pond (which is, as we all know, is for purely for old ladies). Despite being called ‘Big’, the bridge is actually not that large at all. It’s not quite 5 metres at its widest point and has a total length of just a bit over 73 metres. Vital statistics aside, I think we can all agree, it’s legendary status in motion pictures gives it a certain ‘mightiness’.

For comparison, Tower Bridge in London (an actual ‘big’ bridge) is 244 metres long.

The Jaws Bridge was built in 1932 and only had its first repair in 1953. Over the years, thanks to Atlantic winds and the changing of the seasons, the bridge had become somewhat battered. Imagine facing the ocean for 21 years - you’d be pretty beaten up too. Add to this all the car traffic that goes back and forth day in day out and the millions of movie fans who’ve visited over the years. That sort of usage takes it’s toll. When Scheider jumped the rail in the early summer of ‘74, the bridge was mostly a wooden structure but now, the majority of the wooden boards have been removed and replaced with concrete.

Having grown up by the sea, you see that over the years, everything gets worn down by weather and sea salt - especially wooden structures. Jetties, bridges and fences will all eventually succumb to the onslaught and whims of Mother Nature and The Jaws Bridge is no different. Being a vital road link its also imperative that it remains serviceable so, sad as it might be to visit and not see a more rustic and picturesque wooden bridge, some times safety and sanity must prevail.

The Jaws Bridge is not just a place of motion picture pilgrimage and selfies - there is another very popular (and more risky) right of passage - climbing the rail and jumping from the bridge into the water. But how deep is that channel? Well, by most accounts its around 5 metres from the surface to the bottom so when you jump at least you probably won’t hit the seabed. But of course, as you consider the depth of the water and the fictional history of the place, some other question might spring to mind.

What JAWS fan could do make this leap without recalling the moment in the movie when ‘Bandana Girl’ raises the alarm about Bruce heading into the pond?

“THERE’S A SHAAARK! IT’S GOING INTO THE POND!”

My mind would immediately start doing maths problems: ‘OK, so the shark was twenty five feet long, according to Quint it weighed three tons… Exactly how much clearance would it have needed to get in? Would 5 metres enough?’ Then my brain would arrive at the terrifying answer that ‘YES! IT’S TOTALLY DEEP ENOUGH FOR A MASSIVE SHARK!’ And I’d more than likely wimp out.

In the real world, jumping from the bridge can be extremely dangerous - and sharks have nothing whatsoever to do with it. Tragically, in August 2022, two brothers, visiting the area from Jamaica, hit the headlines. The men, Tavares Bulgin, 26, and his younger brother, Tavaughn Bulgin, 21, were eventually found after a wide ranging search by coast guard and local emergency services. The brothers had been working at a local restaurant and on their way home, along with two friends, decided to jump from the bridge - like so many other visitors had done before.

They were in America as part of a popular work-and-travel programme between the University of the West Indies and the University of Technology which sends two students to the United States each year. Sadly they were never to return home. According to locals, the current that flows under the bridge is a lot stronger than it appears and although a competent swimmer can stay out of harm’s way without much problem, any misjudging of the water can have fatal consequences. Add to this the fact that the brothers and their friends made the leap at night and the dangers can be even more pronounced. Whether or not the practice of jumping from the bridge will now be more stringently monitored and policed is a matter for both Martha’s Vineyard and Massachusetts to figure out, but surely to have a popular visitor location like this should be a positive thing, not something where people can so easily fall to their deaths.

The Jaws Bridge will always retain a strong pull for fans of the film. It’s as much an attraction as the Chappaquiddick Ferry or the site of the famously vandalised billboard sign - and hopefully people will come to visit it and enjoy this piece of movie history for years to come.

Words by Tim Armitage

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