My brother and I finally made it to
A Christmas Story House in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland. It's something we've talked about for a few years, and now that he has Zelda (his beloved Jeep), we did it. Please tell me you have seen, or are at least familiar with, the holiday classic movie,
A Christmas Story, although my brother has not. The house, museum and gift shop are all within a few yards of each other in a residential neighborhood, old style, not those new housing developments with homes that all look the same. You buy your tickets in the gift shop and tours leave from there at quarter past the hour. The house is set up like in the movie, with Ralphie's Little Orphan Annie decoding ring in the bathroom; the Red Ryder BB Gun by the fireplace; and of course, the Old Man's Major Award, the Leg Lamp. The guide is there to provide information on the house, the exhibits and the movie, but you are free to wander about as you choose and take photos. I think we were there for 15 minutes or so and then crossed the street to the museum. The museum has posters and other promotional material, some props, like the Red Ryder BB Gun, articles and other memorabilia. Sadly, they couldn't locate an original of the Leg Lamp, but there are plenty of replicas, and I couldn't help but smile every time I saw "Fragile". Crazy fact that our guide shared: during filming, there was no snow in Cleveland, so they had to use mashed potato flakes (David Lean did the same thing in
Dr. Zhivago). Since I didn't pay attention to when the tours left, we spent some time wandering around the area and the gift shop. I was tempted to buy my brother a bunny costume, but he would have worn it and that would have been embarrassing. There are Leg Lamp replicas, ties, BB guns, and anything you could imagine from the movie, as well as a whole section dedicated to other holiday classics, like
Elf, Home Alone and
Christmas Vacation. The staff were very friendly and happy to answer questions. I am so glad we went, and we talked about returning after he watches the movie, and making more of a visit to the area; Tremont is well known for its restaurants and local shops.
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| A Major Award |
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| Cracking the Code in the bathroom |
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| The box was too big - it's funnier this way |
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| Spot the mistakes in the movie poster |
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| Poor Randy |
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| Ralphie's mom - Melinda Dillon |
My brother and I finally made it to A Christmas Story House in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland. It's something we've talked about for a few years, and now that he has Zelda (his beloved Jeep), we did it. Please tell me you have seen, or are at least familiar with, the holiday classic movie, A Christmas Story, although my brother has not. The house, museum and gift shop are all within a few yards of each other in a residential neighborhood, old style, not those new housing developments with homes that all look the same. You buy your tickets in the gift shop and tours leave from there at quarter past the hour. The house is set up like in the movie, with Ralphie's Little Orphan Annie decoding ring in the bathroom; the Red Ryder BB Gun by the fireplace; and of course, the Old Man's Major Award, the Leg Lamp. The guide is there to provide information on the house, the exhibits and the movie, but you are free to wander about as you choose and take photos. I think we were there for 15 minutes or so and then crossed the street to the museum. The museum has posters and other promotional material, some props, like the Red Ryder BB Gun, articles and other memorabilia. Sadly, they couldn't locate an original of the Leg Lamp, but there are plenty of replicas, and I couldn't help but smile every time I saw "Fragile". Crazy fact that our guide shared: during filming, there was no snow in Cleveland, so they had to use mashed potato flakes (David Lean did the same thing in Dr. Zhivago). Since I didn't pay attention to when the tours left, we spent some time wandering around the area and the gift shop. I was tempted to buy my brother a bunny costume, but he would have worn it and that would have been embarrassing. There are Leg Lamp replicas, ties, BB guns, and anything you could imagine from the movie, as well as a whole section dedicated to other holiday classics, like Elf, Home Alone and Christmas Vacation. The staff were very friendly and happy to answer questions. I am so glad we went, and we talked about returning after he watches the movie, and making more of a visit to the area; Tremont is well known for its restaurants and local shops. 
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