It was a little more than 30 years ago when the movie “A Christmas Story” debuted on the big screen — and 3159 W. 11th St. has never been the same. That’s the address of “A Christmas Story” House in Tremont, and the subject of this month’s Uniquely Cleveland.
The house and nearby property were the location for several scenes from the beloved holiday movie, which actually did moderately well at the box office. The film is now featured on TBS every Christmas Eve — for 24 straight hours.
The house was chosen since it most resembled author Jean Shepherd’s boyhood home in Indiana, complete with the steel mills in the background. After the filming was finished, the house went back into use as a rental unit until 2004 when Brian Jones purchased it for $150,000.
It went through an 11-month renovation to become a replica of the house as it appeared on the studio soundstage. In 2006, it opened to the public for tours.
In recent months, nearly 30 houses in the neighborhood have received a spruce-up courtesy of “A Christmas House” Foundation, assisted by the Tremont West Development Corp. The foundation provides grants to projects that enhance and preserve the surrounding neighborhood. About 150 qualifying residences are located between Clark Avenue, West 14th Street and Buhrer Avenue.
Some of these residences date back to the 19th century, so they have seen their share of wear. “A Christmas Story” House itself was built in 1895.
Neighborhood property owners applied for grants and local contractors submitted bids on dozens of projects including exterior painting, gutter replacement, porch repair, fencing and landscaping. About $60,000 in grants has been written and most restoration projects were completed last month.
“You can feel the positive energy in the neighborhood just radiating,” says Angela Dickerson, CEO of “A Christmas Story” House.
Reactions need a certain amount of energy in order to take place, and “ A Christmas Story” House provided the ideal stimulation for the restoration project. This is a case of empowered volunteers collaborating on community projects that improve the neighborhood, making use of grants and company donations.
This effort has all the parts of a successful project that would serve as an example of engagement, empowerment and giving back to the community. That’s much like it is when managing a company.
“When you bring people in, let them do what they need to do and empower them to the point where it’s even taking a risk,” a CEO recently told Smart Business. “If you bring someone in to take care of a specific role or job function, let them run with it.”
It was move of blind faith that the restoration project would come to fruition, but one that happened because enough folks believed in it.
CORRECTIONS: In last month’s cover story on John Kahl, CEO of ShurTech Brands LLC, two quotations were incorrectly attributed to Jack Kahl, John’s father. In Business Pulse, Rea & Associates Inc. was incorrectly listed as being acquired by M.A. Hoops and Associates Inc. Rather, M.A. Hoops was acquired by Rea & Associates. Smart Business regrets the errors.
