Can you imagine thousands of people standing in your yard every day for years on end doingThe Truffle Shuffle, made famous byChunkin the 1985 classicThe Goonies? That was the breaking point for one woman inAstoria, Oregon. She just so happens to own the exact house where Mikey (Sean Astinand his brother older Brand (Josh Brolin) lived in theRichard Donnerdirected family adventure. And She’s decided to shut that noise down!
The house, which was once a very popular tourist destination and the site of an annual Goonies convention and multiple cast reunions, has been closed to visitors after the owner grew disenfranchised with people visiting it every single day. The most popular area of the house is the front fence, where Mouth (Corey Feldman) made Chunk (Jeff Cohen) do his infamous, bare stomach shimmy known as The Truffle Shuffle.
Before it was closed to the public, the house was still attracting more than 1,500 visitors a day, who had arrived in the small coastal town of Astoria just to see the landmark in person. Things ramped up this year asThe Gooniescelebrated its 30th anniversary. And interest is at an all-time high, especially with talk ofThe Goonies 2still making headlines, even though the reboot has been slow to materialize.
The owner had no problem with people dropping by for a quick peek at the house, and loves the 80s nostalgia that comes with living in the property. But beer bottles and cigarette butts began littering the outside of the house, and people were bringing their dogs into the yard, with urine and feces left in the wake. The woman, who still lives inside the house, has covered the front of the property in a blue tarpaulin. She’s even put a sign in the front yard telling folks to leave the premises. One sign reads, ‘Access Closed to Goonies House’, while the next sign is a little more explicit.
“Imagine that you buy a house, fix it up, spend money, time and love. Then the city of Astoria encourages 100,000’s 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 who has inside knowledge of the tourist attraction closure is surprised the shut down didn’t happen sooner. It’s unclear if the house will ever be opened back up for tourists, or ifThe Goonieshouse is closed for good.The Goonies 2is still in the development phase, with original writerChris Columbusassuring everyone last month that it isstill happening. It seems likely that the sequel will want to at least utilize the original house that the Goonies fought so hard to save. Perhaps the owner will allow that to happen. But maybe not, as it would once again open a flood gate of tourists eager to see where Chunk first did his infamous Truffle Shuffle.
