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 Orton Plantation can be credited with giving Wilmington it's relationship with the film industry.
Popular culture: Orton Plantation- In 1983,
American movie producer Frank Capra, Jr. searched for a location
to film a scene for his movie Firestarter and chose Orton Plantation.
Afterwards, Capra Jr. convinced movie producer Dino De Laurentiis
to open a studio in nearby Wilmington. Laurentiis founded the
De Laurentiis Entertainment Group which brought additional opportunities
for movie and television filming at the Orton Plantation.
Since 1983, Orton Plantation has been featured
in 23 films and 34 television movies and series. Some of the movies
that feature scenes from Orton Plantation include Lolita, Divine
Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Hounddog, and A Walk to Remember.
Television series that have filmed scenes at Orton Plantation
include One Tree Hill, Dawson's Creek, and Matlock
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The Orton Plantation house is an example
of Classical Revival and Greek Revival architecture. Originally
a one and a half story white brick building, a second floor
was added to the house in 1840 along with four fluted Doric
columns. Two wings were added to the house in 1904, thus
making the home a prime example of antebellum architecture.
A corbelled brick chimney is located on each side of the
original section of the home.
With the 100th anniversary
of the gardens approaching in 2010, extensive renovations
have been made in the gardens to open up the views to the
Cape Fear River and preserve the colonial rice fields.
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Chapel is a white brick structure with four Doric columns.
The chapel is surrounded by gardens and features a small steeple.
A pavilion is located near the chapel.[5] Orton Plantation
Gardens contains 20 acres of lawns and formal gardens, as
well as 60 acres of fountains, statues, forests, lagoons,
old rice fields, and a family cemetery. The garden features
tree-lined brick paths and rows of camellias, dogwoods, magnolias,
crape-myrtles, annuals, and perennials. The front gates of
the property are topped with cement eagles which lead to a
dirt path driveway lined with large oak trees draped in Spanish
moss that were planted in the 1700s. |
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