Submitted by OregonTripleBeam t3_10kmzbi in UpliftingNews
toughtacos t1_j5t82h6 wrote
Reply to comment by pdxschroeder in New owner of Astoria Goonies house wants to keep it open for movie fans by OregonTripleBeam
For those geoblocked and don’t want to load the VPN up. Images at the bottom.
New 'Goonies' house owner's neighbor hangs banner telling movie fans to stay away
One neighbor's banner reads, "Goonies not welcome." The new owner's banner says they are. And a third neighbor's banner calls the first neighbor "Karen."
Neighborhood drama over 'Goonies' house visitors
ASTORIA, Ore. — The reaction to Behman Zakeri purchasing the iconic Astoria house from the beloved 1985 film, "The Goonies," has been overwhelmingly positive, especially as the new owner of the 126-year-old house has made it clear he's thrilled to welcome fans of the movie who want to see the home.
Zakeri, a Kansas City entrepreneur who bought the home on the Oregon coast in December 2022 for $1.65 million, is a huge fan of the movie. He said he's seen it more than 100 times. Buying the house was a dream come true for him.
"Somebody had to buy it, preserve it, keep it so that Goonies can continue to come visit it," he said.
One person, though, is clearly unhappy about that, and they've plastered their displeasure all over the front of their house.
A neighbor who lives two houses down from the Goonies house hung a large banner on their house that reads, "GOONIES NOT WELCOME," in response to the large amount of traffic it attracts to the small private neighborhood.
That's in stark contrast to the open-arms approach of Zakeri. He placed a banner on the house in response that reads, "HEY YOU GUYS! GOONIES WELCOME!"
The neighborly spat didn't end with those two, though. A friend of the new owner who bought the house between the Goonies house and the other neighbor's house also hung a huge banner from their home. That one has a huge black arrow pointing to the "Goonies not welcome" neighbor's home that reads, "iGNORE KAREN."
"Karen" is a slang term used to describe someone who acts entitled or makes unreasonable demands. Whether that description applies to the neighbor or not is up for personal interpretation.
In 2015, the 30th anniversary of the film brought as many as 1,500 visitors a day to the house, leading the home's previous owner to temporarily cover the house in tarps and post "no trespassing" signs. She later reopened the home to the public.
Zakeri said while he openly welcomes fans of the movie, he hopes those who visit respect the neighborhood.
"Let's not go in the neighbors' yards. Let's not mess with their stuff," he said. "If they want to come take selfies, if they want to geocache or whatever and say, 'I was at the Goonies house,' and do the truffle shuffle, then go right ahead. Just be respectful, just like anything else."
whatevers1234 t1_j5u6tch wrote
Thing is the last guy had an actual professional street sign welcoming people. Just letting them know they could walk up but be respectful. He had it open to people forever. I went there to visit quite a few time. Even talked to him while he was washing his car one time. Nice dude.
But then hoards of people decended on the place during it’s 30th anniversary. And I’m sure it wasn’t just him who was sick of the traffic and crazyness on their small dead end street.
This new dude may want to welcome people. But if he ain’t living there then at the end of the day it’s really up to the neighbors. It’s a super small area with a ton of packed in homes and no place to really park. Then when you walk up you are also invading the driveway of 2 other homes. I actually completely understand the neighbors perspective.
Also this guy bought this as an investment from Kansas at the height of the market. I doubt he has this home long. When I went out a decade ago Data’s house was for sale for 150k. I myself had an offer in for a Queen Anne Victorian downtown right before covid for 500k
The Goonies house will always go for a tad more but Astoria right now is crazy expensive compared to previous years. The combination of the Covid house spike and the influx of Portlanders looking for the next cute place to destroy and a massive influx of breweries has really shot home prices through the roof for an area that is actually pretty deflated economically. I love Astoria and I want to see it thrive but I have no doubt prices there will drop hard in coming years. It’s just unsustainable for how it’s built.
Goonies and Short Circuit (someone just bought that house too and rehabbed it back to movie form) and Kindergarten Cop are all awesome. But if you gonna own a home in Astoria imo you wanna get one of the historic Victorians over a run of the mill home that isn’t even “in town.” I wish this guy the best but I have a hard time rooting for a dude from Kansas who may have never even visited Astoria buying a home as an “investment.” With no plans of living there himself while allowing a massive influx of headache for neighbors.
Dovah907 t1_j5uxn51 wrote
Yeah I’ve been to the house before and the way the surrounding neighborhood is structured makes it a pain in the ass to visit, can’t imagine living there. You’re better off just going to the film museum.
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