Buy the house where Ralphie grew up in "A Christmas Story" — we triple dog dare you!
The 1895 house, along with a museum and a number of other properties around it, is located in Cleveland even though the film wasn't set there. On Monday, the owners said via the tourist attraction's Facebook page that it was up for sale.
When you really, really, really wanna buy the Christmas Story House... but your bank account gives you a reality check. pic.twitter.com/CCfFpcM27Y
— Mike Brookbank (@brookbanktv) November 14, 2022
Former San Deigo resident Brian Jones purchased the complex on eBay in 2004 with money he made from starting the Red Rider Leg Lamps company three years earlier. He and his family are responsible for turning the filming location into a bustling tourist destination — including the gift shop that sells his company's leg lamps, of course — that's open for tours year-round and sees 75,000 visitors yearly.
The family is selling now because "it's just the right time" for them, says listing agent Chad Whitmer with Hoff & Leigh Commercial Real Estate. "They’re just looking for new opportunities to move on and they’re hoping somebody comes along takes this, creates it, and turns it into something even more special, and makes it an even greater destination for people visiting Cleveland."
It's probably no coincidence that there's renewed interest in the movie since a much-hyped sequel, "A Christmas Story Christmas," is being released in three days on HBO Max.
The listing for A Christmas Story House doesn’t include the asking price.
— Mike Brookbank (@brookbanktv) November 14, 2022
A former employee tells me this morning that she believes the price tag to own this piece of movie history will be in the TENS of millions. pic.twitter.com/84B9LRQn8m
There is no asking price for the complex, which includes seven properties of buildings, lots, and parking lots around the house at 3159 W. 11th St., perhaps in anticipation of lots of sky-high offers. The lucky buyer also gets movie props and other memorabilia in the museum, a 1939 Ford firetruck, and all the antiques and ephemera staged like the movie inside the house, including the Old Man's "major award" in the window.
