A Christmas Story House facts for kids
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| Established | 2006 (House built in 1895, though some accounts date back as early as 1870) |
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| Location | 3159 W 11th St. Cleveland, Ohio 44109 United States |
The House From A Christmas Story is a fun place to visit and a museum in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. This old house, built in the 1800s, was used in the famous 1983 movie A Christmas Story. It was the home of the main character, Ralphie Parker.
A fan of the movie bought the house in 2004. He worked hard to make it look exactly like it did in the film, both inside and out. Today, the museum is part of a group of four buildings all about the movie. You can visit it any time of the year. The house is also a special Cleveland landmark.
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The Story Behind the House
How the Movie House Was Chosen
The movie A Christmas Story is based on stories by an author named Jean Shepherd. The house you see in the film is at 3159 W 11th Street in Cleveland, Ohio. The movie's director, Bob Clark, looked at many cities before choosing Cleveland for filming.
Cleveland was picked partly because of a department store called Higbee's. This store appears in three scenes in the movie. Ralphie Parker's fictional home is on Cleveland Street, which is also the name of the real street where Jean Shepherd grew up. The outside shots of the house and neighborhood were filmed in the Tremont area of Cleveland. The filmmakers liked this spot because it was close to downtown and had views of the steel mills.
Bringing the House Back to Life
In December 2004, a big fan of the movie named Brian Jones bought the house. He found it for sale on eBay and paid $150,000 for it. Brian owned a company that made replicas of the famous "major award" leg lamp from the movie. He used money from his business to buy the house.
Before Brian bought it, the house had been changed. It had modern windows and blue vinyl siding over the original wood. Brian watched the movie frame by frame to draw detailed plans of the inside. He spent $240,000 to completely change the house. He made it look almost exactly like the movie set and restored the outside to its original film appearance.
The Museum of A Christmas Story
Brian Jones also bought the house across the street. He turned it into the Museum of A Christmas Story. This museum has many cool items from the film. You can see Randy's snowsuit, toys from the Higbee's window, and the chalkboard from Miss Shields' classroom. There are also hundreds of photos from behind the scenes. One of the special Daisy Red Ryder BB guns used in the movie is also there.
Next to the museum, there's a gift shop. Here you can find movie souvenirs and other fun items. The house and museum first opened to the public on November 25, 2006. Some of the original actors from the movie even came to the grand opening! The site had 4,300 visitors that first weekend.
Today, you can take tours of the house every day. You can even stay overnight in the main house or the Bumpus house next door, which was renovated in 2018. In November 2023, Joshua Dickerson became the new owner of the entire complex. He had worked for The House from A Christmas Story company for 16 years. The attraction's official name changed to "House from A Christmas Story" in mid-2023 due to some licensing reasons.
