A Christmas Story Movie House, Part IV: The Upstairs

We’re headed upstairs today, touring all the rooms upstairs in the home featured in the movie, A Christmas Story, including Ralphie and Randy’s bedroom and the bathroom where one of the funniest scenes in the movie took place.

During my visit to Cleveland, Ohio to tour the home, I also visited the A Christmas Story Museum, as well as the gift shop across the street. The pictures I took inside those two buildings could easily fill another post. I think I’ll wait until closer to Christmas to share those. Christmas will be here before we know it, ya know!

A Christmas Story Movie House, W. 11th Street, Cleveland Ohio_wm

 

Ready to head upstairs? Let’s go!

A Christmas Story Movie House Staircase

 

Upon arriving at the top of the stairs, the first room that catches your eye is the bathroom. Earlier in the movie, A Christmas Story, Ralphie’s long-awaited Little Orphan Annie Decoder Pin arrives in the mail. He’s now a member of Annie’s Secret Circle and can decipher the secret messages given out each week on the radio program.

In this scene, Ralphie has just finished listening to the Little Orphan Annie show where he has jotted down a very important, top-secret, coded message that’s just for members of Annie’s Secret Circle. He races upstairs to the bathroom because he knows this is the one room where he will have total privacy to decode the message using his decoder pin.

A Christmas Story Movie House Tour Bathroom

 

You can watch that scene again below. Warning: This scene has a word at the end that’s not for young ears. I don’t remember that in the movie, they must have changed it for the TV version.

 

It was fun seeing the bathroom and thinking back to that funny scene.

A Christmas Story Movie House Bathroom

 

Oh, what will the secret message be?!

Bathroom in A Christmas Story Movie House

 

Ralphie’s reaction in the scene linked above when he decodes the message is pretty hilarious. Did you ever have an experience like that growing up, a time when you felt you’d been tricked? That’s definitely a “growing up” moment.

A Christmas Story Orphan Annie's Secret Message Decoded

 

The Lifebuoy soap was still there on the sink, right where Mrs. Parker left it…

A Christmas Story Movie House Bathroom with Lifebouy Soap

 

…after Ralphie got his mouth washed out for saying a bad word.

A Christmas Story Ralphie Lifebuoy Scene

 

Just outside the bathroom, high on the wall, we saw the phone that Mrs. Parker used to called Mrs. Schwartz, the mother of one of Ralphie’s friends, to let her know her son taught Ralphie a bad word, a word Ralphie actually picked up from his father during one of his “furnace fighting” fits.

A Christmas Story Movie House Wall Phone

 

The Sewing Room

I need to watch the movie again because I have no memory of this room. It appears to be a sewing room. This was the only room that was corded off, maybe because it was so small.

A Christmas Story Movie House Sewing Room

 

Irons have certainly changed over the years! Anyone remember this room from the movie?

A Christmas Story Movie House Sewing & Ironing Room

 

Ralphie & Randy’s Bedroom

In the movie, A Christmas Story, we get a few glimpses of Ralphie and Randy’s bedroom. Notice the blue chenille bedspreads and the sailboat wallpaper.

A Christmas Story Ralphie's Bedroom

 

They are here, too!

Ralphie and Randy's Bed Room in A Christmas Story Movie, Cleveland Ohio

 

Wonder where they found chenille bedspreads in that exact same color! And two of them!

Ralphie and Randy's Room with Chenille Bedspreads in A Christmas Story Movie

 

This was a nice large room. Maybe it was two rooms at one time, I see a support beam.

Ralphie and Randy's Bed Room in A Christmas Story Movie

 

A dresser in the room.

Ralphie and Randy's Bed Room in A Christmas Story, Cleveland Ohio

 

There are the shelves we saw in the movie. Don’t miss typewriters at all, although I do kind of miss that clackety-clack sound they made.

Shelves in Ralphie and Randy's Bed Room in A Christmas Story Movie House

 

The only room I didn’t see on the tour was the parent’s bedroom. I’m not sure if they didn’t have the space to recreate it or if it was closed off the day I visited.

Ralphie and Randy's Bed Room Movie House Cleveland Ohio

 

While standing and looking out the window you see in this picture below….

Ralphie and Randy's Bed Room in A Christmas Story Movie, Cleveland Ohio

 

…you can see the gift store there to the left…

Gift Store for A Christmas Story Movie House

 

…and the museum across the street.

A Christmas Story Movie Museum

 

Hope you enjoyed the tour of the house from the movie, A Christmas Story! If you ever have a chance to see it in person, go! It’s only $10 to tour it and it truly was a lot of fun!

If you missed the other three posts I’ve shared about this famous movie house, you’ll find them at the links below. (Click on the titles or the pictures below to view those posts.)

Tour “A Christmas Story” Movie House: The House & Neighborhood

A Christmas Story Movie House Neighborhood

 

Inside The Kitchen of “A Christmas Story” Movie House

A Christmas Story Movie House Kitchen

 

Tour A Christmas Story Movie House: The Living Room

A Christmas Story Lamp, A Major Award

 

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Comments

  1. Linda Page says

    I am probably the only one of your readers that has not seen this movie. But after seeing your posts, it is on my To Do list of movies to watch. My son has seen it many times and assures me that I need to watch it….so I guess I better do just that. I love all of the vintage furniture and gadgets. I remember so many of them from my childhood. Thanks for the walk down Memory Lane!

  2. Nope, Linda, you’re not the only one. I haven’t seen this movie but it looks like I need to put that one on my list… I did want to comment on the typewriter. My dad had one that looked a lot like that one. I learned to type on a manual typewriter in high school. I’m trying to remember where I saw/heard about some ol’ bag like me who tried to hit the nonexistent return after typing on a computer….I’m sure it was hilarious, it makes me titter just to think about it. I did go on to take computer classes and medical terminology at a local junior college in my 30’s for my job as a transcriptionist. Luckily, my youngest son is an IT guy, as I know just enough about computers to get myself into trouble. ; )

    • Too funny about the “hitting the return.” I remember typing reports and term papers on typewriters in college and if you discovered several pages in you left off a sentence or a paragraph, you had to start all over from that point forward. Horrible! I spent many a night up to all hours of the morning typing those blooming things. You are lucky to have an IT expert in the family! Jealous! 🙂

    • “I’m trying to remember where I saw/heard about some ol’ bag like me who tried to hit the nonexistent return after typing on a computer….I’m sure it was hilarious, it makes me titter just to think about it. ”

      This may be what you’re thinking of. Even if it’s not, it’s funny as all get out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQgUpihjg3E

  3. This is my all time favorite Christmas movie. I especially love the magical scene out Ralphie’s bedroom window when he awakens on Christmas morning to see the ice covered wonderland. So beautiful! You Ladies will definitely enjoy this movie!

    • Oh, that is a wonderful sight in the movie. Debbie. I don’t want to burst your bubble about the snow but if you want to know what the guide told us about the snow, let me know, otherwise I’ll keep my mouth shut about that. 🙂

  4. It is so funny, this time of year I really start thinking about Christmas. I start my planning, list for gift ideas, menu ideas – just your basic dreaming. I love this movie and will need to watch it again this weekend. Thank you for sharing this wonderful house.

  5. Peggy Thal says

    So cute seeing Ralphie’s disappointment on the decoded message. His naughty remark he learned from his daddy who says it quite a few times in the movie. The simple twin beds look so sweet in the bedroom. Just very plain and neat. I guess there is probably only one bathroom in the house. We had that at West Point when we lived on base. It was a hardship- one bathroom for 3 floors. Good exercise. Now I have 6. My grandmother had an oven very similar to the one in the kitchen. Some really great meals came out of that little oven! The radio was the families entertainment. I know my dad said he listened to Red Ryder or something like that. Luckily I grew up with TV. A big black and white TV that the whole family watched together. Now we have 8 flat screens. Funny how time has changed in really not many years. Thanks for the great tour Susan – a walk back in memory lane.

  6. Doreen Krajzel says

    Hi Susan;
    What a wonderful post!! If you remember I mentioned last winter I live fairly close to the Tremont area, well about 35 miles south. I had arrangements with my neighbor to go see the house in Feb., she was going to bring her camera phone (its better than mine.) We were both all excited to go and I got really sick. Landed up in the hospital 6 times from late Jan thru April 2nd. So, no lovely trip down memory lane for me. I just loved your posts, thank you for taking the time to stop off here in Northern Ohio and posting all about the tour! I for one would love to see the museum and gift shop now. (And maybe again at Christmas time??) Love, Doreen

    • Doreen, how scary…that’s a lot of trips to the hospital! Glad you enjoyed them. If you get a chance, go see the house. I restrained myself in the gift store and just purchased an adorable ornament that’s a replica of the house. It’s so heavy, I’m not sure if I’ll hang it on the tree but I love having it sitting here on my desk. 🙂 Look for those if you go visit…it’s an adorable ornament! If you go around Christmas, prepare yourself for loooooooong lines. They said they stretch down the block during that time of year.

  7. I don’t remember seeing the sewing room in the movie. Maybe it was from a scene left on the cutting room floor. It’s a cute room though. I know I was duped once as a little girl but can’t remember exactly what it was but I saw something in a kid’s magazine and saved my allowance to buy it and was so disappointed when it arrived and was not at all what it seemed in the ad.

    Big Texas Hugs,
    Susan and Bentley

  8. Well Susan, you have done it again. I do not remember this movie, maybe because I lived in England at the time, not sure, so I have ordered it from the library. So that makes one book and one movie on its way to me!! 🙂
    Such a lot of cool things in that house, can’t wait to see the gift shop, stop teasing and show us everything now!! 🙂

  9. Marilyn in Mt. Vernon, Virginia says

    Susan, thanks so much. This was such a treat!

  10. Thanks again for the fun posts! It is a real treat to tour the house. Brings back all the fun memories from the movie! I am still trying to convince my husband that he needs to take a trip with me to see this house. Oh well, maybe someday. For now, I will just have to imagine and see it through your beautiful pictures!

  11. charlottem34 says

    Thank you for the wonderful tour. We are fans of the movie. Your photos are a real treat.

  12. Hi Susan, Whenever my kids wanted something I knew wasn’t good for them I would say “you’ll shoot your eye out” and they knew I didn’t approve! We love this movie and watch it every year. It is one of those movies we can watch with the entire family and multiple generations because there are no embarrassing scenes! We all laugh and admire the sets. Thank you for taking us on this tour. I hope I can visit the house someday! Linda

  13. SharonFromMichigan says

    It is tradition in my house that we watch this movie at least once a year together and I don’t recall seeing the sewing/ironing room at all. I just noticed in your photo of that room that the shopping bag is from Higbee’s. That’s the store where Ralphie & Randy went to see Santa Claus. Higbee’s must have been a real store back in the 30’s? I’d love to have a room for sewing/ironing/crafting.

  14. Most of this is re-created. You can clearly see when comparing those pics with the movie that the soap on the sink is not the same one he had in his mouth. Also, the orientation of the bathroom is different. The wall paper with the boats is a bit different as well. Not a lot of original items used here. Not a bad job on re creating though. I’ve probably watched this movie 500 times by now. Just finished watching it last night too.

    • Such a fun movie! 🙂 Yeah, they told us on the tour that most of the interior shots were shot on a stage and the house was used in all the exterior scenes. I really love that Brian Jones restored the exterior of the home back to the way it used to be. I hate seeing old homes cut up into apartments and covered in vinyl or aluminum siding. From what they shared on the tour, he tried to make the interior as much like the interior seen in the movie, as he could. They’ve used pieces from that period or reproductions inside the home, while the things they’ve been able to collect that were actually used in the movie are all in the museum across the street. You can see some of those in this post: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/inside-the-a-christmas-story-movie-museum/

    • Oh, and this post is the first one I did after my tour, in case you’re interested in seeing the outside: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/tour-a-christmas-story-movie-house-in-cleveland-ohio/ I think I ended up doing around 5-6 posts about the house and movie. I never did get a chance to post showing the old fire engine and another vehicle they have in a garage from the movie.

  15. You had mentioned you wish you knew the brand of stove in the movie. It’s a Moffat gas stove.

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