Citizen Staff/Terri Pederson
Appleton residents Tanya Vegetabile and Rebecca Schinke visited Columbus on Wednesday. Construction on the set of "Public Enemies" has only begun, but fans of Johnny Depp are already visiting Columbus.
COLUMBUS — With construction on the set for "Public Enemies" in full swing, so have been the false sightings of Johnny Depp, the movie's star.
False or not, fans have already been visiting Columbus in hopes of seeing the Oscar-nominated actor.
"Someone told me that they saw Johnny Depp near West Gate Theater in Madison this week," said West James Gallery owner Kim Bates. "Last week someone thought they saw him in town here."
"Public Enemies" is a Michael Mann-directed film about the life of notorious bank robber John Dillinger, which will star Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard.
Secret Garden Floral owner Robin Salzwedel has heard similar rumors.
"There have been a lot of curious people," Salzwedel said. "It's brought a lot of people in the shop. A lot of people want to know what we heard. Someone already told me that there was a sighting of Johnny Depp in town. We just laughed."
Appleton residents Tanya Vegetabile and Rebecca Schinke visited Columbus on Wednesday.
"We're checking it out so we will know our way around when the movie is being filmed," Schinke said.
The two spent their time filming the crews working on the buildings.
Many downtown buildings are receiving new awnings and window panels that will take them back in time to the 1930s, along with temporary interior set pieces that will cover the insides of the buildings during filming. Some of the buildings will be decorated to depict businesses which were in them in the 1930s.
Sharrow Drugs, which has been in business since 1889, will remain a pharmacy on the James Street side of the building and a clothing store in the Ludington Street side of the building.
"It was going to be a bakery but they decided to make it a drug store," co-owner Nick Sharrow said.
Sharrows will start to undergo transformation today. Sharrow said that they will move some of their merchandise into the basement and will be moving some of the over-the-counter merchandise so crews will have room to put up the false wall.
Salzwedel's sign has already been removed and the name of a former store, Nitschke Market, is now seen in the front of the building. Salzwedel said the building was a tavern when it was first built in the 1800s and was a meat market in the late 1920s.
"We've joked that we should start asking people if they want meat or flowers," Salzwedel said.
Bates' gallery was the First National Bank, built in 1916. The building will be called the Green Castle Bank in the movie.
"My father told me that Dillinger used to hang out in Green Castle, Ind.," Bates said.
"I guess they picked us because we're centrally located," she said. "And the facade of the building was from a bank in the era that they needed one from."
Bates said she is glad about the attention that Columbus is getting from the filming of the movie.
"Hopefully people will see how wonderful Columbus is and come back," Bates said. "I think it is great that they are using Columbus for the movie."
Bates said she realizes there will be a lot more people in town around March 17 when the movie is to be filmed, but she thinks the town will be able to handle the extra guests. After all, she reasons, Columbus fills up with visitors every July 4 for the city's Independence Day celebration.
"Of course, we're not bringing port-a-potties in for the people coming in for this," Bates said. "But, I think we can handle everyone for one day."
"Who knew they would find Columbus from all the towns in Wisconsin," Columbus resident Marsha Sparks said. "The only think I hope is he puts a little Johnny Depp in Dillinger."