Here's Where You Can Visit Sam's House From Sixteen Candles
The phrase fan tourism regularly gains traction in real life and in online communities during the contemporary moment. As a phrase, fan tourism describes the travel trend where fans of books, TV shows, movies, and other works of art and creative expression visit specific places with known, documented importance (via Taylor & Francis). For art and entertainment aficionados, these places tend to have significance in connection with the fans' preferred media sources.
With an understanding of the current moment and both the widespread and often necessary emphasis on digital communications for specific communities, many of these traveling fans also choose to leave a cyber footprint about their preferred go-to places. In a way, contemporary scavenger hunts allow these fans to follow clues to the scenes of their favorite shows, books, and the like.
As House Digest has explored often, a plethora of arts-based go-to sets and scenes exist. Some of these sets and scenes include those of "New Girl" (with the famous loft), the upscale Black community made famous by the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," and the apartment from "Dexter." Each site draws fans. And while many options exist, another go-to for certain cinematic gurus is the home from "Sixteen Candles."
A brick house in a nice neighborhood
In the 1984 film "Sixteen Candles," fans can notice the home of interest and choose to trek to the conventional Illinois brick structure in real life, as House Beautiful reported. In the movie, the main character notably did not look forward to turning 16, despite all the cultural fanfare about having a big party and being sweet 16, as IMDb noted. "16 Candles" stars Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, and Justin Henry. Director John Hughes also wrote the film, which explored teenage experiences with embarrassment and relationships.
The home itself is a pretty brick house (no Commodores) in a picturesque, tree-dotted, suburban neighborhood. The area is about 30 minutes from Chicago. The residence has been both on and off the market at various points in time; in 2018, the property sold for $1 million, for example. According to Zillow, the average value of a house in neighboring Chicago is a little better than $300,000 when including middle-tier homes in the area. The real estate platform reported that home values increased 9.2% percent in 2021