Escapees November-December 2023

skpstops

Red Rider Leg Lamp Company, which manufactures replicas of the “major award” Ralphie’s father won in the fi lm, for the down payment. Watching the movie frame by frame, Jones drew detailed interior plans. He spent $240,000 to gut the structure, recon fi gure it and transform it into a near replica of the movie set, and restore the exterior to its appearance in the fi lm. “The house across the street, converted into A Christmas Story House Museum, contains some of the props from the fi lm…” He also offers trivia, like the use of soap fl akes and fi re fi ghters' foam, to create the snow. He then tells us to explore. The Christmas tree is by the fi replace, the “Old Man’s” chair is there, and the “major award” leg lamp is in the front window. Guests can crawl under the kitchen sink like Randy, Ralphie’s brother, did and explore the second- fl oor bedrooms and bath room where there’s the famous Lifebuoy soap. It’s all there. A three-dimensional journey back to 1940. TheMuseum The house across the street, converted into A Christmas Story House Museum, contains some of the props from the fi lm, including Randy’s snowsuit and other costumes, the chalk board from Miss Shields’s classroom, the Higbee’s window toys, hundreds of behind-the-scenes photos, as well as one of the custom-built Daisy Red Ryder BB guns that was used in fi lming. The complex includes the house next door, where the gift shop is located, and the house next to A Christmas Story House, known as “The Bumpus House.” Overnight accommodations are available in both houses. The Bumpus House features the Stolen Turkey Suite and Hound Dog Haven Suite. If YouGo I enjoyed my time in the house. When I watch the movie again, it will be fun to relive my visit. The house is located at 3159 W 11th Street. For more information call 216-298-4919 or check the website at achristmasstoryhouse.com.

It’s a warm summer day when I visit A Christmas Story House and Museum in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. I’m early for the day’s fi rst tour. Still, I can get a close-up look at the Parker Fam ily’s 1938 Oldsmobile Touring Sedan and a twin to the fi re truck used in the movie. And, I can wander around the extensive gift shop with everything from pink bunny paja mas and solar bunny fi gures, dancing in the sunlight, to leg-lamp Christmas lights. F or those who never watched this classic 1983 holiday movie, the screenplay is based on mate rial from author Jean Shepherd’s collection of short stories, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash . The movie centers around Ralphie Parker, played by Peter Billingsley, and his desire for a Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas. Movie makers fi lmed exterior scenes and some interior shots of the house plus the Tremont neighborhood. Producers chose the home because of its proximity to downtown, bordering the Cuyahoga River Valley, offering views of the steel mills in the valley. Other scenes were fi lmed in Ontario. Scouting 20 cities, Cleveland was chosen because of Higbee’s Department Store. Vice-president Bruce Campbell took on the project, hoping to get a boost in sales from the attention the fi lming would create. Higbee’s, featured in three scenes in the movie, offers a look at holidays in the 1940 department store, where Ralphie meets Santa Claus and asks for the beloved BB Gun. Touring the House About 20 devoted fans and the curious gather in the fi rst room where our tour guide tells how the house became a popular attraction. Assuming everyone is familiar with the movie, our guide tells us how Cleveland was chosen as a fi lming site. He also explains how Brian Jones came to purchase and refurbish this 19th-cen tury Victorian house in 2004, restoring and renovating it, both inside and out, to appear as it did in the fi lm. Jones, a San Diego entrepreneur and fan of the fi lm since childhood, bought the house on ebay for $150,000. Jones used revenue from his business, the

Article and photos by Marilyn Jones, Guest Contributor

23

November/December 2023 ESCAPEES Magazine