The iconic coming-of-age adventure is back in the news again as Sandi Preston, the owner of the house featured in the film, has stopped welcoming visitors and has covered much of the property over with an unsightly blue tarp (see below).
NEW: Goonies house in Astoria now covered in blue tarp, in effort to deter tourists http://t.co/3TkXyEjeWY #LiveOnK2 pic.twitter.com/DLrrxgBFTm
— KATU News (@KATUNews) August 18, 2015
So what prompted Ms. Preston to tell an entire fan base to get off her lawn? Well, it wasn’t all the poorly-executed truffle shuffling or the constant cries of “heyyyy youuuu guyssss!”
Apparently, visitors weren’t respecting the sanctity of the Goonies former haunt and often left beer bottles, cigarette butts, and other trash on her property. What’s more, many were too curious for comfort and wandered onto the porch and snapped pictures through the windows violating her family’s privacy.
At its height, the movie landmark attracted an estimated 1,000 visitors a day, some of whom were unruly and even violent. KATU News reports that neighbors were sick of the attention as well. “We put up a private property no trespassing [sign] a few years ago because people were actually coming up, knocking on our door, and asking us where the Goonies house was,” Astoria resident Mary Miller told the news outlet.
It got so bad that Preston had to appeal to the city of Astoria for help. Municipal officials were called in to block access to the home and erected a sign reading, “Access Closed to Goonies House.” In a cruel bit of irony, a house that was famous for the fictional band of youngsters that set out to save it from foreclosure by finding one-eyed Willy’s ancient treasure, is now covered over because a small group of overzealous fans can’t behave themselves
As per usual, a few bad apples have ruined something for everybody and we can only hope that the city can get a handle on the situation so that the real fans can continue to have their silly fun.
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