ATLANTA – Parts of the facade from the Tara plantation featured in "Gone with the Wind" will soon be added to the exhibit of a Marietta, Ga., museum dedicated to the literary and film classic.
The Marietta Gone With The Wind Museum acquired several elements that make up the Tara facade in an auction held last week by Profiles in History.
With the inclusion of buyer fees, the total amount of the purchase adds up to $42,000.
Items purchased by the museum include shutters and window frames from the front of the house and the left wing, which includes the tall windows and shutters mounted to the right of the front door. Also included in the package are two large interior shutters, which are seen in the film when Scarlett O'Hara removes the draperies to make her green dress.
According to the Marietta museum, Tara was built on a production lot in Culver City, Calif. After filming wrapped up, the set remained standing until Desilu Productions dismantled it.
Former Georgia First Lady Betty Talmadge eventually purchased the door and surrounding frame for $5,000 in 1979. Talmadge restored the door and loaned it to the Atlanta History Museum for a special exhibit. It was later moved to space at the Margaret Mitchell House museum in Atlanta.
The museum's acquisition comes a month after it hosted a celebration honoring the 80th anniversary of the film's debut. Connie Sutherland, the museum's executive director, said the newly bought elements are housed at the Lovejoy Plantation near the Clayton-Henry county line. She and other museum volunteers will make a trip this week to film and catalog the items.
Once they return to Marietta with the items, they will incorporate them into their plans to restore an older carriage house on the property. That house will become part of the museum's exhibit and visitors will be able to see a piece of film history.
