FAMILY TRAVEL
— by Deborah Williams
Cleveland:
Ideal for A Weekend Getaway with The Kids!
C
leveland is known for its
iconic waterfront Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame, the famed
Cleveland Orchestra, the world class
Cleveland Clinic, its three major league
sports teams, each with passionate fans
and its own downtown stadium, and the
Cuyahoga River that once actually caught
fire. It has been transformed into a hip
dining, entertainment and recreation area.
Just three hours down the I-90
from Buffalo, Cleveland makes an ideal
overnight or weekend getaway and is
filled with an extensive variety of family-
friendly adventures.
Cleveland likes to embrace its
quirkiness and nowhere is that more
evident than in the city’s Tremont
neighborhood where a house is attracting
more than 200,000 visitors a year, with
lines forming along the street especially in
the busy Christmas season.
What is so special about this house
you ask?
16 WNY Family October 2018
It is A Christmas Story House, the
façade used for the 1983 family holiday
movie favorite that plays every year in
households across the country.
Brian Jones, the owner and creator
of this tourist mecca, had loved the movie
since childhood. He actually had a business
reproducing the distinctive leg lamps from
the film. He came up with the idea
after his parents sent him one when
an eye test meant the end of his
dream of becoming a Navy pilot.
Then fate intervened. One of his
wife’s Navy friends sent her a link
to the sale listing of the Christmas
Story house and she forwarded it to
her husband. The California native
immediately bought the house for
$150,000 sight unseen, not even
knowing where Cleveland was.
The film’s story was actually
set in Indiana though the exteriors
were filmed at this house. The
interiors were shot on movie sets but Jones
has meticulously recreated the interior as it
was in the movie.
Since then he has bought two houses
across the street for a museum and gift shop,
and the house next door that is becoming a
bed and breakfast inn. It is even possible
to stay overnight in the third floor of the
house. December is particularly popular
and people are booking several years in
advance for an overnight stay.
Of course, the gift shop is the perfect
place to shop for movie fans. There are
leg lamps, Red Ryder rifles, ornaments,
Lifebuoy soap, hats, suits, T-shirts,
housewares, and collectibles.
Unlike most house museums, visitors
can sit in the chairs, pick up the famed
Red Ryder rifle that nine-year-old Ralphie
Parker longed for in the movie, and even
climb under the sink as Ralphie’s brother
Randy did in the movie. The actual movie
BB gun is on display in the museum along
with more movie memorabilia.
The dazzling I.M. Pei-designed Rock
and Rock Hall of Fame attracts more
than half a million pilgrims annually from
every age range who flock here to relive the
musical highlights of their lives. On this
return visit for me, there was time for more
exploration and enjoying the musical and
video highlights of rock and roll icons.
A quick search took me to the radio
section where Buffalo radio legends Sandy
Beach, Danny Neaverth, and Tom Shannon
are featured as hall of fame inductees. They
were stars of WKBW radio in its days as a
rock and roll powerhouse.
The more than century year old
Cleveland Museum of Art is a gem among
the museums and galleries. It consistently
ranks as one of the best comprehensive
art museums in the country and recently
underwent a $350 million renovation and
expansion. Best of all it is free and invites
families. Come for an hour or so.
Next door is the Cleveland Museum
of Natural History that is known as a great
place for families and children. It is also a
center for world-class scientific research.
Explore Sears Hall of Human Ecology,
Reinberger Hall of Astronomy, Ohio
Archaeology, the Wade Gallery of Gems
& Jewels, Kirtland Hall of Prehistoric
Life, and the Human Origins Gallery. In
the Main Level, gallery highlights include
Balto, the heroic Alaskan dog; Happy, the
museum’s first dinosaur; Jan, the museum’s
young tyrannosaur; a triceratops, and even
a moon rock.
Save time for the Smead Discovery
Center. It is an intergenerational space
designed for all ages to enjoy together.
Activities and exhibits change frequently.