The Owner Of The House Featured In Cult Film The Goonies Has Locked Out The Public Because Too Many Film Fans Have Trashed The Site In Recent Years.
The Astoria, Oregon house was used as the Walsh family home, where young Sean Astin and Josh Brolin's characters lived in the 1985 adventure film.
Homeowner Sandi Preston purchased the property more than a decade ago, when fan visits were minimal, but, over the years the house has become a Mecca for the film's devotees, and this summer (15) alone, city officials estimate between 1,200 and 1,500 people per day stopped by, unannounced.
Preston has had enough of the uninvited guests and this week (begs17Aug15), she placed large blue tarpaulins over the windows and door at the front of the house and put up a sign on the street which reads: "Access Closed to Goonies House".
Another handwritten note posted around the neighbourhood reads: "Imagine that you buy a house, fix it up, spend money, time and love. Then the city of Astoria encourages 100,000s of people to come and stand in front and view it... This driveway (maintained by homeowners) sees 1,000+ people every day. Most are kind, fun and welcome, but many are not."
Astoria City Councilman Russ Warr, who lives down the street from Preston, admits he's surprised his neighbour has waited so long to take action, because she has been dealing with rude fans for some time.
He tells local news station KGW, "They (tourists) park on the 'no-parking' zones, they park on the sidewalks, they relieve their dogs on their lawns," adding that some even show up at night, leaving empty beer bottles and cigarette butts on the lawn.
City officials tell KGW that to their knowledge, Preston has no plans to reopen the house to visitors.
Her decision to close off the site comes weeks after local dignitaries celebrated the 30th anniversary of the film, an event which officials estimate generated between $2 to $3 million (£1.25 to £1.9 million) for the small Pacific Northwest town's economy.