Iconic Goonies House Being Bought By Fan For Nearly $2 Million?
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An icon of 80’s cinema, The Goonies featured a group of young kids trying to save their house from being torn down, now the home featured in the film has been sold for an astronomical price. NPR reports the classic, 1896 home, was sold to a fan for over $1.7 million after only six days on the market. The house in Astoria, Oregon, has been a tourist destination for decades, attracting 1,500 visitors a day during 2015, the year of the film’s 30th anniversary.
Astoria celebrates Goonies Day every year on June 7th, commemorating the film’s original release. Thousands of visitors flock to the seaside town in order to share in their love for the classic kid’s film. The Goonies house is even stocked with memorabilia, some of it collected by the current owner and other pieces that were donated, most of which was included in the same of the home.
The Goonies was based on a story by Steven Spielberg (E.T.), adapted by Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Harry Potter) and directed by Richard Donner (Superman). Starring a young Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings), Martha Plimpton (Raising Hope), Josh Brolin (Deadpool 2), and Corey Feldman, the talent in front of and behind the camera was amazing. The plot of the film followed the young kids, who referred to themselves as Goonies, finding a treasure map to lost pirate’s gold that they would use to save the iconic house, among others, from destruction.
Trying to stop the Goonies from succeeding to save the house are the Fratellis, a crime family hiding out in an abandoned restaurant, and later on, the inspiration for the Beagle Boys in Disney’s Ducktales. The criminals, including Joe Pantoliano as Mama Fratelli’s favorite boy, follow the Goonies to a long-lost pirate ship. Between pirates, childhood friendships, first crushes, acceptance of others no matter how they look, and kid-friendly criminals, The Goonies was an instant kid’s adventure classic.
Grossing $9 million during its opening weekend, The Goonies would go on to amas a worldwide box office of $125 million, making it one of the top 10 films of 1985. Despite the success, a sequel never happened for the usual Hollywood reasons, never finding a decent screenplay, cast not wanting to return, and finally, too much time has passed and after Richard Donner’s death, the remaining cast don’t want to do a sequel without their director. For a one-and-done film, The Goonies still has a rabid fan base, enough that the house in Astoria had to have “No Trespassing” signs put up for the last few years.
The Goonies house seller put up the signs after the 30th anniversary and left them up until this past August. The owner was known by fans to be accommodating to visitors, allowing groups to come into the home, where she also lived, in order to experience a small part of the film in person. The buyer of the home, described as a serial-entrepreneur, has not disclosed their identity at this time, but is expected to continue the tradition of making the home accessible to fans of the cult classic.
