[6] The current owners of the building declined access to the production to scan the house and surrounding neighborhood for reference purposes.

[7] In December 2004, Brian Jones, a San Diego entrepreneur and fan of the film since childhood, bought the house on eBay for $150,000.

[8] Jones used revenue from his business, the Red Rider Leg Lamp Company, which manufactures replicas of the "major award" Ralphie's father won in the film, for the down payment.

[9] The previous owners had reconfigured the house, installing modern windows and covering the original wood siding with blue vinyl.

Watching the movie frame by frame, Jones drew detailed plans of the interiors, which had originally been filmed on a Toronto sound stage, and spent $240,000 to gut the structure, reconfigure it to a single-family dwelling, transform it into a near-replica of the movie set, and restore the exterior to its appearance in the film.