“Goonies” museum to be housed in old jail featured in the film

Published 4:00 pm Thursday, December 31, 2009

A popular 1980s movie that helped put Astoria on the Hollywood map will be showcased in a new permanent location, thanks to a deal between Clatsop County and a local historical group.

The county is giving the Clatsop County Historical Society the use of the historic Clatsop County Jail in downtown Astoria as a museum dedicated to “The Goonies” and other made-in-Oregon films.

On Wednesday, Dec. 16, the county commission voted unanimously to lease the first floor of the building to the historical society for $1 a year.

The society plans to have the new facility up and running by June, just in time for the 25^th anniversary of “The Goonies” release, according to CCHS Executive Director McAndrew “Mac” Burns.

Locations in and around Astoria were used for several scenes in the popular 1985 Steven Spielberg film, which follows the adventures of a group of treasure-seeking kids. Many of those sites, including the old jail, remain popular attractions today for Goonies fans from around the world.

With the lease approved, the society will begin a thorough examination of the jail space and begin drawing up plans for the new museum as soon as possible, Burns said. All the displays will be created in-house.

“The Goonies” brings its own “built-in” audience, Burns said, but the society decided to broaden the scope of the museum by including information on the many movies filmed entirely or in part in Oregon – more than 300 dating back to 1908’s “The Fisherman’s Bride,” shot in Astoria.

Along with “The Goonies,” Astoria and Clatsop County have been seen in such movies as “The Black Stallion,” “Kindergarten Cop” and “Free Willy II.”

 The old county jail dates to 1914, and was in use until 1976. It was the setting for the exciting opening scene in “The Goonies” featuring a break-out by the film’s villainous Fratelli brothers.

As part of the arrangement with the historical society, the county will lease, also for the same $1 yearly rent, the former Morris Glass building located kitty-corner from the jail at Seventh and Duane streets. That building, owned by historical society board member Randy Stemper, will become the new location for the county’s Building and Grounds workshop now located in the old jail.

The upper floor the jail, currently used for storage, will remain in the county’s possession and will not be open to the public.