Where Was A Christmas Story Filmed? A Hysterical Family-Drama Film From 1983!!

Christmas is all about letting bygones be bygones and spending quality time with family and loved ones. Thus, if you’re looking for an upbeat film to enjoy with your folks, then follow this article, to know more about the holiday special movie, A Christmas Story. Plus, later in this article, I’ll also tell you where was A Christmas Story filmed.

The comedy-drama flick, A Christmas Story, released in 1983 was the first installment of the Christmas Story film series. This super-entertaining flick was followed by A Christmas Story Christmas in 2022. But today, we are going to know all about the former blockbuster film. So the premise of A Christmas Story was inspired by a semi-fictional book by John Shepherd, written almost 17 years prior to the film. The basic premise is centered around the character of Ralphie, reminiscing about the holidays he had spent with his family during the ‘40s.

A Christmas Story, became instantaneously popular, especially amongst kids, upon its first screening in 1983. This comedy film grossed over $20 million at the box office against a production budget of just $3 million. A Christmas Story also gathered high praises from critics and managed to bag 3 major awards and 11 prestigious nominations.

So, without stalling further, let’s explore where was A Christmas Story filmed, right now. So that you can take a closer look at the beautiful shooting sites. Furthermore, I’ll also give you a brief overview of A Christmas Story.

Where Was A Christmas Story Filmed? Let’s Know This Comedy Film Closely!

The film’s story is set in the fictional town of Hohman, Indiana. Thus, there was obviously no question of shooting on location. However, Bob Clark, the director of A Christmas Story, didn’t want to capture the sequences in any random location. The director spent considerable time thinking about the overall look of the potential filming location, after tweaking minor adjustments to the script.

So, after a month or so, from the initial stages of pre-production, Bob arrived at the final conclusion to shoot A Christmas Story in parts of America and Canada. To be more specific, the first quarter of the movie was filmed in Cleveland, Ohio and the remaining sequences in Toronto, Ontario. The principal photography commenced in January 1983 and was surprisingly completed within 2 months, despite the fact that the filming crew had to shoot Internationally. Now, without further ado, let’s start exploring where was A Christmas Story filmed, and find out more interesting facts about the specific shooting locations, in detail.

Cleveland, Ohio | USA

As mentioned above, the first quarter of A Christmas Story was filmed in Cleveland. However, before the shooting began, Bob instructed the production members to scout for 20 different cities, before settling on Cleveland. Anyhow, after arriving in Cleveland the filming crew prepared to shoot the outdoor sequence of Ralphie’s home. A small-sized vintage-styled house located at 3159 W. 11^th Street, Cleveland was used to film the exterior as well as the interior scenes of the lead character’s home. The opening sequence of the movie was captured here as well.

Other major sequences were captured near the Higbee’s Department Store, located at 200 Prospect Avenue and Public Square. The Christmas Parade scene was filmed at the latter location, after which the members moved to Canada, and captured the remaining sequences.

Toronto, Ontario | Canada

Now, you might have noticed a lot of movies released in the 2000s were filmed in Canada, especially Hallmark original holiday films, right? But other famous movies like, The Fly, Dead Ringers and The Grey Fox released in the 80s, were also shot in and around this beautiful country. So, the point is, filmmakers loved shooting in Canada all along, to capture the breathtaking and picturesque backdrops for their films.

Now, coming back to the filming of A Christmas Story, the production members arrived in the city of Toronto to capture the sequences depicting Ralphie’s early childhood. The sequences of the Chop Suey Palace shown in the film was captured inside an eatery located at 744 Gerrard St. East. The scenes depicting Ralphie’s fight with Farkas was filmed at 64 Sears Street. 

Some other pivotal sequences were captured in other parts of Toronto, and then the production members moved to Commercial Studios, and captured the final sequence of the movie. In fact, the interior sequences were also filmed inside the same studio, located at 793 Pharmacy Avenue Scarborough. Filming lasted for about a month in Canada, the members then returned to America and began preparing for post-production.

Alrighty folks, let’s discuss the plot of A Christmas Story in brief so that you can get a fair idea about the basic storyline of this comedy film. Meanwhile, you can check out Spiral, Thinner and The Conjuring too.

Plot Of A Christmas Story | What’s It About

The basic premise of A Christmas Story revolves around the character of Ralphie Parker and his parents. At the beginning of the movie, Ralphie is shown recounting the time when he was 9 years old, nagging his mother for a special Christmas present.

As the story progresses further, the fun moments and happy times the lead actor spent, during his early childhood are shown. The havoc that Ralphie and his friends wreak around the town of Hohman, during the holidays, is absolutely bone-tickling. Watch A Christmas Story to witness the hilarious mischiefs of Ralphie and his pals.

Final Words

Ok friends, I believe now you finally know where was A Christmas Story filmed. Do let us know if you enjoyed the read, in the comments section below. Don’t forget to check out other amazing articles on Viebly, which cover the filming locations and other details of various films and shows.