My mom, being from NJ, and having been born in 1925 remembered it from her childhood, and recounted it as not that big-a-deal as the media made it out to be.
She was the youngest of 4 sisters living with their parents in Jersey City at the time, She and her sisters had gone to the movies that evening and was unaware of any hullabaloo until they'd left the theater and were walking home.
A lot of people were milling around on the sidewalks many of them having heard parts of the broadcast, they came out to discuss it with their neighbors to see if anyone knew more about exactly what was going on...
The girls kinda figured out what it was all about, and rushed home to their parents in a panic, only to be met by my granddad that said don't be silly, it was only a radio play. He said they were being ridiculous, since according to the radio, the Martians were supposed to be right where they lived.. and they OBVIOUSLY Were NOT!
Paulette lives exactly 7 Blocks from the Church in front of which the Martians emerge from underground. In reality, it's the same church...which has the tower, but in the movie they'd ADDED a Steeple... that snaps-off in a dramatic fashion just for effect and hits the ground.
In the dialog .. there's a tremor.. and 1 cop says to the other, "Is that The PATH Train?" On the Google map, you can see that The PATH Station is several blocks to the South.
In the description, Tom Cruise is said to be "A Dock Worker in a New Jersey Port" yeah... he's a crane operator that unloads the cargo containers in Port Newark.
Google Maps Davis Memorial Methodist Church Click the STREET VIEW Guy, and turn him around facing the other way, and there's the church... the streets (Harrison Ave & Frank E Rogers Blvd) are the streets everyone was running down as the Tripods blew them to powder.
LOL ANYWHO.. ...all that just to say... it's weird seeing a spot I'd walked passed so many times walking with Paulette to the PATH Station to get to NYCity. seeing it getting disintergrated on TV is weirder still.
Then again.. How many times has lanovami seen Godzilla stroll thru Tokyo?
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