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Famed ‘Goonies’ House for Sale for $1.7 Million in Oregon State
Fans of “The Goonies” will be pleased to learn that the old Victorian home featured in the film is for sale in Astoria, Oregon, and potential buyers are considering making it more accessible to the public.
“We have a few interested parties right now,” said realtor Jordan Miller, the property’s listing agent. “It appears that everyone wants to be able to open up the house a little more and have more access.”
The 1896 home, which has sweeping views of the Columbia River flowing into the Pacific Ocean, is listed on Zillow for $1.7 million and is described as “fully loaded with history, nostalgia, and iconic level of fame.”
Goonies Fans have flocked to the home in northwestern Oregon’s historic port of Astoria since the film’s release in 1985. On June 7, the film’s release date, the city celebrates Goonies Day, and thousands of people attend.
Sandi Preston, the owner, was known to be friendly to visitors. But she lived in the house full-time, and the constant crowds were a strain, prompting her to close it to foot traffic at times.
Preston posted “no trespassing” signs prohibiting tourists from walking up to the property after the film’s 30th anniversary drew about 1,500 daily visitors in 2015. She reopened it to the public in August of this year.
City officials, who have restricted parking in the area, have long sought to mediate tensions between residents and visitors eager to see and photograph the site.
“While the owner of this Goonies location is a fan of the film and enjoys chatting with visitors making the trek to Astoria to see the film locations, as you can imagine, it gets hard having hundreds of people crowding into your personal space every single day,” the Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce wrote in August on a Facebook page they manage called Goonies Day in Astoria, Oregon.
A group of friends fight to protect their homes from an expanding country club and foreclosure threats in the coming-of-age film, based on a story by Steven Spielberg and starring a young Sean Astin. They discover an old treasure map along the way, which leads them on an adventure and allows them to save their “Goon Docks” neighbourhood.
Astoria and its rugged coastline were featured in several well-known films from the 1980s and 1990s, including Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Kindergarten Cop.”
For the time being, potential buyers of the iconic Goonies house do not appear to want to make it their primary residence, according to listing agent Miller, who believes it has drawn interest from people who want to “make it their passion.”
“It’s a fun purchase,” Miller said. “Whoever buys the house will have a fairly steady stream of extremely happy people walking up to fulfill their childhood dreams.”
