As I stepped into the West 11th Street Cleveland, I felt as if I was transported to a set of movies -and the way, me. Filming for classic Bob Clark holiday Christmas story Packaged here in January 1983, but the famous home of the film was restored to its original appearance. In the outskirts of Ohio, it was the past year.
Watch Christmas story is a holiday tradition for many families in the US for Brian Jones, owners Home a Christmas storyAnd his family, it’s not different.
“It’s always my family’s humor,” Jones told me on the phone, recalling his parents’ time sending her a foot light as a Gag gift to entertain her. He also runs a foot lighting business from his condominium before buying a Christmas story home in 2004, site-unseen, for $ 150,000. After two years of hard recovery work, the attraction was officially open to the public during the Thanksgiving weekend in 2006, drawing 4,500 guests during the weekend opening only, and about 50,000 a year.
While Jones may have known from the beginning that there was a market for this business, he would not have imagined everything that would be 15 years later. All the time, he has worked hard to obtain more houses in the block, including the next door Bumpus house From the movie (785 Hound dogs are not included), and three other houses located across the road which has since been converted to gift shops and museums featuring legitimate props and film clothing. All night in Christmas story and Bumpus House has also been launched in recent years -Ideal for Megafans and, of course, family tour.
An interactive experience
Once I was in the house, I spied on a large window, past the “major awards” of the old man. It proudly lies in the same place as in the movie, as it has not moved since Darren McGavin’s first time put it there. Since early November, Snow has not closed the roads in Ohio, but it’s still easy to imagine the neighborhood.
Visits at home Christmas stories help to make this easy, as they are completely interactive with design. Guests are capable and highly encouraged -to create their favorite scenes as they explore the home. Crawl under the kitchen drowning like Randy, decoding a secret message while washing your mouth with lifebuoy soap in the bathroom, and even pretending to shoot your eyes in the backyard, where the original cage is still standing today.
During our hour -long visit, guests admired two antique vehicles parked outside. Both Touring Oldsmobile Sedan 1938 and Ford Fire 1939 trucks on the Christmas story are used in the original film, which are found in several scenes Throughout the movie. Meanwhile, other visitors were fascinated by some of the original clothes in the museum, including Snowsuit Randy and the pink bathrobe worn by Melinda Dillon.
What is most interesting about me, however, is some of the secrets set by our tour guides that allow us to enter, including the fact that many visuals seen in the last cut of the film are thanks to a little Hollywood magic. Most of the snow can be seen in the film fake, made of foam or instant potato fragments (see if you can tell in the last scene). In addition, while fans immediately get to know the outdoors of the movie, most of the scenes in the Parkers house are actually filmed at the sound station in St. Catherines, Ontario.
“You can find out if it is filmed here or not if you can see the window,” My tour guide explained with a smile, liking the fact that he blowed our mind. “Window -Soundstage windows are all opaque, so you can’t see anything through them.”
Movies About … None
For those who have never seen Christmas storyIt may be a bit difficult to minimize exactly why it means so many families across the country. Peter Billingsley, who led the actor in his role as Ralphie, even acknowledged past interviews That “movie, with modern standards, is nothing.”
“It’s a family a few weeks before Christmas, and the kids want a BB gun,” Billingsley said. “That’s not the field where you would say, ‘Let me get the studio president on the phone!'”
Although this is technically true, I think it’s also one of the biggest reasons why Christmas story Make a way into the hearts of millions. The movie, originally written by Jean Shepherd, did not break any box office records or made a lot of money during his early theater run. But it’s light, funny, and, above all, relatable, describe what family Indeed As during the holiday season: messy and not working. It perfectly reflects the family that loves it, making the story of Christmas through the eyes of a child so easy to love and can be shared from generation to generation.
Admittedly, I questioned if a Christmas story home was truly a family destination before my visit. Jones has told me on the phone that most of his guests are family who are watching movies together, but I still want to see if it’s finally more nostalgic destinations for parents. The new tourism group entered the house as I left, and I couldn’t help but saw the contagious spirit that came from the sister’s spouse. Despite their mother’s best attempt to tame them, the children were excited to enter the house. Before the tour guide closed the door, I heard one of them shouted, “Look at the lamp!” I smiled as I returned to my car, because at that time, I thought I had my answer.
More than 35 years after his release, Christmas story Stay loved by fans of all ages. Of course, the visiting parents are very eager to revive some of their childhood memories, but their spirit is true -if they do not exceed, by their children. Approaching 15 years in business, a Christmas story home provides many ways to celebrate the movie, helping to create new memories for every stop family.
If you go
Home a Christmas story Open throughout the year, seven days a week from 10am to 7pm, with extension hours in November and December.