Copyright AL.com
“Close Encounters of the Third Kind” is considered a landmark science-fiction film that fueled greater curiosities about the wonders and mysteries of extraterrestrial life. Now more than 48 years since its release, the movie is sparking a question that doesn’t have an answer. The latest mystery doesn’t involve aliens, flashing lights or UFOs, but the fate of an old farmhouse where the movie’s alien abduction scene of a 3-year-old boy took place. “I think people are interested to know what is going on,” said Fairhope City Council President Jack Burrell, unaware of the reasons for the issue. The developer has until November 21 to provide some information. The house, located in the middle of an evolving new 13-lot subdivision, was authorized to be moved by the council nearly a year ago. That has not occurred yet. Hunter Simmons, the City of Fairhope’s Planning Director, said the developers have one year since the council’s approval to secure a building permit in order to commence the project. If not, the project’s developer can request an extension from the council to have the house relocated at a future date. “Other than those timelines, there are no other requirements to update the city,” Simmons said. He said there has been communication between the development team and the city. The developers include Jade Consultants and the appropriately named Encounters Development. Neither returned a call for comment. Tim Herrington, a Realtor who is also working on the project, emailed AL.com to say there is “no update at this time.” Simmons said there have been communications between the development team and the city about moving the farmhouse. However, no permit applications have been submitted to the city to do so. “I have not had anyone voice disappointment that it hasn’t been done,” said Erik Cortinas, the city’s building official. “Any calls I have received were mainly just curiosity, and people wanting to verify the developer’s intention is still to preserve and relocate the structure.” Simmons said he is hopeful that the development team is performing “due diligence to ensure the preservation and move is successful.” He added, “We do not want to rush such an endeavor.” Projects are ongoing at and near the farmhouse. A new Sherwin Williams paint shop is under construction to the immediate south of the farmhouse. That project was approved by the council last October. In addition, a new office building with an orthodontics practice is under construction near Route 118 and 104. The plans for that project were approved on April 14. The farmhouse’s fate drew attention on social media, where fans of the movie gathered to discuss the need to preserve it. Fairhope city officials got in on the act as well during its Nov. 21, 2024, meeting by posting an alien face marker on a map to show where the house was eventually relocating. The developers had plans to utilize the house for office space, with access to Route 104. However, city officials including Mayor Sherry Sullivan said they were hopeful the development team would create a historic marker or additional wayfinding information connecting the house to a movie considered among the best directed by iconic Hollywood director Stephen Spielberg. “There is a history of the arts that people don’t necessarily associate with Alabama,” said Max Romanowski, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of South Alabama. “But to have something like this here is something that is very special. The preservation of stuff like this is culturally and historically valuable.” The potential also exists for an unexpected tourism boom connected to the public’s fascination with aliens. In nearby Pascagoula, for instance, the city celebrates a wild story about a local alien abduction during the annual Goula Palooza, held downtown in early October. Roswell, New Mexico, has been transformed from a small rural town to a tourism mecca for alien enthusiasts and curiosity seekers. The Fairhope farmhouse does not have an actual connection to alien activity, only the Hollywood kind. In the movie, the farmhouse is portrayed as being in Muncie, Ind., and involved the alien abduction of a 3-year-old boy portrayed by child actor Cary Guffey. The movie was also filmed in other Alabama cities in 1976, including Bay Minette and Mobile. The movie starred actor Richard Dreyfuss in the lead role of Roy Neary as well as the late actresses Melinda Dillon and Teri Garr. At the time of the movie’s filming, Baldwin County had a population of around 106,000 residents. Since then, the county has more than doubled in size to a population of over 231,000 people. The farmhouse itself was surrounded by nothing but rural landscape. In recent years, Route 181 has seen extra traffic lanes added. A new Publix grocery store was built almost directly across the interstate from the farmhouse. A Wawa convenience store is a short walk from the house. Simmons said last year that he was uncertain how the house would be relocated. At the time, he said the city had become inundated with calls and emails from the movie’s dedicated fanbase. The lack of activity has caught some city officials by surprise and uncertainty on the next steps. “Everything is in the same place,” said Fairhope City Councilman Jimmy Conyers. “I know it’s expensive (to move it) but I don’t know what happens.”
