CLEVELAND — In the holiday classic A Christmas Story, Ralphie Parker called his Red Ryder BB gun "the greatest Christmas gift I had ever received, or would ever receive."
Now, a gift to the city of Cleveland: The A Christmas Story House in Tremont has been sold.
Brittany Knafler manages the iconic home on West 11th Street, where "The Old Man's" original Oldsmobile even sits in the garage as part of the collection that comes with a hefty price tag.
There's more where that came from, too.
"It's the Christmas Story House itself, and then the Bumpus House next door, as well," Knafler told 3News, referring to the place where "785 smelly hound dogs" would torment Ralphie's father. "That's the bed and breakfast; there's two suites in there for overnight stays.
"And then, the museum. That's where we house all of the props that we have that were used in the film."
And lets not forget the gift shop, built by owner Brian Jones right across the street. Knafler says it's often giving back to folks in need.
"The money that was raised from that went to the neighborhood," she explained. "We would actually provide all the fences, we did a wheelchair ramp on a neighbor's house. ... I think it's helped give the community more pride in where they live."
But much like Schwartz "triple-dog dared" Flick to put his tongue on that flagpole, Jones dared to sell one of the best-known landmarks in the city. Visiting the house Wednesday, Richard Lau and his wife were quite impressed.
"We were at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and we saw it on her cell phone and it came up that this was here," Lau said. "So, we decided, 'It's only 15 minutes away. Let's go.'"
The A Christmas Story House connects us to a movie that makes us love Cleveland, and the plan is to have it stay right where it is, leg lamp and all. The new owners are expected to be introduced within the next month as officials pledge "operations will continue as usual during and after the transition."
