Fans of the 1989 movie ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’ will likely recognize the Grizwold house. However, those who have never seen the movie may still recognize this property. That’s because the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation house has featured in numerous movies over the years, something we shall discuss later in the article.
In the movie, Clark (Chevy Chase) has big plans for a “good, old-fashioned family Christmas.” Both sets of grandparents are coming for Christmas. As well as his Aunt Bethany and Uncle Lewis. The Griswolds also get a surprise visit from Cousin Catherine (Miriam Flynn) and her moocher husband, Eddie, played by Randy Quaid.
While much of the movie takes place inside the property, and you get to see a lot of interior shots throughout the film. As with many Hollywood movies, not everything is quite as it seems.
In the movie, the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation house is located in a snowy Chicago suburb, however, the true location of the property is on the backlot of the Warner Bros. Ranch facility in Burbank, Los Angeles.
The National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation house before the Christmas lights were turned on in the movie.
The National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation house as it looked in 2019, while much of it looks the same, you can see that some alterations have taken place.
Blondie Street, Burbank, Los Angeles
While the property still stands, much of the interior and exterior have been redecorated. Some alterations have also been made over the past thirty years. This is because the property stands on a street known as ‘Blondie Street’, in a private Warner Bros. compound in Los Angeles. The street, and the dozen or so properties on it, have been used in numerous movies over the years.
This house, in particular, has been used in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Small Soldiers, American Beauty, Hocus Pocus, and many more. Other houses on ‘Blondie Street’ have been used in movies such as Lethal Weapon (Danny Glover’s houses), Bewitched, Pushing Daisies, and many others.
Update: The house has now also featured in Disney’s/Marvel’s WandaVision. This is the home Wanda and Vision live in.
Blondie Street as it looks today, the house in the middle was used in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, while the house to the right was the residence of Robert Murtaugh (Danny Glover) in Lethal Weapon. On the opposite side of the road is a house that featured in Small Soldiers. There are a dozen or so houses on this ‘fake’ street in all, as well as a church and some NY style townhouses.
The street as it looked in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, made to look like a snowy Chicago suburb.
The same street as seen in Lethal Weapon, with Danny Glover’s house on the left, and the house used in Bewitched on the right.
On the opposite side of the road, as seen in the 1998 movie ‘Small Soldiers’, you can also see the house used in Bewitched on the left of the photo, as well as a fake church.
The National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation House As It Looks Now
Back to the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation house. With much of the movie taking place in the property, we got to see many of the rooms throughout the house. Thankfully some of these rooms still exist in some form or other today. Others having been changed many times over the years and are unrecognizable.
The foyer as it looked in the movie and the same views as the house looks today (below). While the stairs look the same, and the window is in the same place, the room from which this shot was taken has changed somewhat over the years.
The staircase has barely changed over the past three decades. New wallpaper and a lick of paint is the only real difference.
The staircase of the Griswold home as seen in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
The same staircase as it looks today.
Much of the rest of the downstairs has since been reconfigured. In the three decades since National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, it has possibly been changed a number of times.
Upstairs is the same, while there are some recognizable areas, such as the landing which still features the same banister, a lot of the upstairs is totally unrecognizable.
While there were scenes filmed upstairs, the property has been changed so much it’s impossible to know where. Most of the upstairs is currently a shell, waiting to be remolded for its next movie role.
