It really pains me to have to post this. I'd seen reports of obnoxious inconsiderate behavior in Astoria since June. I was hoping they were exaggerated. It seems they are not. There is now a sign in place reading 'Access Closed to the Goonies House'
Trouble
in The Goondocks
The
Goonies visitation has grown significantly in recent years. If you've been to
"The Goonies House" you know it is situated in a location that is not ideal for
handling hundreds of carloads of visitors like they see on a summer day. Since
the opening of the Oregon Film Museum, which seems like a good
alternative to further explore our community's film history, we've worked to
switch the focus away from the house - which is a private residence and doesn't
offer any public facilities for visitors - and need your help to continue to
make a difference.
We know it
is really fun to see photos of your friends shuffling their truffles in front of
the house, but we'd like to ask for everyone's help to reroute visitors away
from the neighborhood. With VANDALISM, THEFT, EXCESSIVE LITTER, OBNOXIOUS PARKING JOBS, LATE NIGHT VISITATIONS AND MORE the neighborhood has quite the
turmoil in their backyard. The Film Museum offers the house as a backdrop on
their green screen set, so you can still put yourself on location through this
awesome technology and get video of yourself in the Fratelli's getaway scene,
too.
If you, a
friend or family member are heading to Astoria to see the film locations for the
first or fiftieth time, we urge you to view the Goonies house from a distance -
the view from Columbia Fields just below the house or the riverwalk at about
35th street is great and really lets you capture the silliness of the film's
idea of putting in a golf course in Astoria's hilly uppertown district.
Check out more information on our website about
this issue to understand the plea from the community and consider whether
you really NEED to go right up to the house's driveway on a future trip. The
page includes suggested alternatives for your photo ops.
