‘The Goonies’ house has a Goonies problem
Turns out the Hollywood Hills aren’t the only star-studded mountain-tops sprinkled with an endless amount of peeping Toms playing peek-a-boo all day and all night. There’s a tiny town also close to the Pacific that’s been coping (and is still coping) with it as well: Astoria, Oregon.
What you can find in Astoria is one of the most iconic houses in the country: the Astoria House —better known as the charming white porch-lined beauty that was made famous by the 1985 cult classic, The Goonies. The property has been a major tourist attraction — just this summer alone, it saw over a thousand visitors. But Sandi Preston (aka the Astoria House’s homeowner) is tired of all the commotion.
For the last fourteen years, Preston let fans ogle over the house. According to The Daily Astorian, “she has even opened up her house to them [on occasion].” But everyone has their limits. Preston and her neighbors have witnessed more and more vandalism and destruction being done to the iconic property —and they’re exhausted. TDA reports, “with an estimated 1,200 to 1,500 visitors swarming around the house almost every day this summer, Preston and her neighbors near 38th and Duane streets are experiencing fan fatigue.”
The Daily Astorian reports thatPreston has asked the city of Astoria to help keep her property more private. Blue tarp, road blocks, and signs now limit public access to Preston’s home to “help to try to get some semblance of normal life back.”
“Most people … think that it’s an attraction, when it really, in fact, is a private residence,” says City Councilor Russ Warr. Fed up with the constant gawking and lack of privacy. Preston took to Facebook (the Goonies 30th Anniversary page) to express her concern and explain why she’s limiting her welcome:
To cut back on the traffic from fans outside her house, she even posted a sign warning that only “Goonies on foot” are welcome.
Now local officials are coming together to figure out how to protect the homeowner’s privacy. There’s even talk of making her street private.
Sorry Goonies die-hards, looks like you’ll have to limit your fandom to the one place where Goonies are truly welcome: the Internet.
(Images via Warner Bros)
