"A Christmas Story" House photos now on Flickr

Just added a new photo set on Flickr; my December 2006 trip to Cleveland, Ohio and the filming location for Ralphie's house from "A Christmas Story". Click the 'LA Filmcutter on Flickr' link near the bottom of the left sidebar to go there.

This was a quick turnaround trip for the holidays. I flew to Albany, N.Y. for Christmas, then two days later took a 45 minute flight to Cleveland. Four to five hours later, after casually taking in the house tour and all it had to offer, I boarded a return plane back to Albany. Pretty crazy travel plans, but then again I like it that way sometimes.

Across the street from the house there's a gift store filled with official movie merchandise and decorations for sale. Plus, a small museum displaying a number of items used in the filming that includes Randy's actual snowsuit!! I was absolutely in heaven roaming the house with other fans and viewing these rare items. When I was there three years ago, they hadn't finished the upstairs bedrooms to accurately depict Ralphie and Randy's room as originally seen in the movie. Everything is now complete, and I'm really looking forward to returning once again, hopefully around a year from now. Sure, they're open for business year round. But it just wouldn't be the same without Christmas reasonably in sight.

Check out this fascinating and informative short documentary, produced by TCM, showcasing house owner Brian Jones, how he came to buy it on EBay, the refurbishing process, and the fans continued adoration, as thousands descend on Cleveland, Ohio annually to be a part of the place they almost feel like calling home.