(And Yes, Santa Delivered It Before Zillow Was a Thing)
If you’ve ever watched Miracle on 34th Street and thought, “Hold up-kids can ask Santa for real houses?” you’re not alone. Susan Walker did it first, and she set the bar high: a Cape Cod with a big yard, a tree swing, and enough charm to make even the Grinch emotional.
What most people don’t know is that Susan’s dream house, the very one Kris Kringle “found” for her, is a real-deal Long Island home. Not a Hollywood set. Not CGI. A real Cape in Port Washington that still stands today at 24 Derby Road, quietly minding its business as fans show up year after year for their Christmas-card photo ops.
And all these decades later, the family who lives there? Still smitten.
Let’s head back to 1947, when cameras froze solid, Maureen O’Hara was only 27, and Natalie Wood still believed Edmund Gwenn was actually Santa Claus.
A Christmas Movie House… on Long Island?!
Here’s the magic behind it all:
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The film sets for the Manhattan apartment scenes were built on a soundstage, charming, cozy, and peak 1940s interior design.
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But Susan’s “dream house”? Those exterior shots were filmed right here on Long Island.
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The Port Washington home was built in 1943, making it practically brand new when Hollywood came knocking.
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Shooting the final scene almost didn’t happen, the crew’s cameras literally froze in the bitter cold and had to be thawed inside a neighbor’s home.
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The house looks almost exactly the same today, with a few tweaks: new shutters and a second-story dormer.
The Frutkin Family: Long Island’s Accidental Holiday Celebrities
Orrie and Goodie Frutkin bought the house in 1980, long before Zillow Zestimates and movie-location pilgrimages were a thing.
“We just love this house,” Orrie explained. “We knew it was something special before we even knew it was a celebrity house.”
Over the years:
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Fans have shown up from across the globe.
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Families pose on the stone steps for holiday photos.
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One woman and her 4-year-old even tried to wander up the walkway while her husband snapped pictures.
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The Frutkins don’t mind the attention. In fact, their daughter added her own touch to the legend, she placed a Kris Kringle-style cane in the living room, just like the film’s final shot.
And yes, every December, people still roll up and whisper, “Stop the car!”
Behind the Scenes: Hollywood Chaos, Frozen Cameras & One Very Excited Neighbor
A few lesser-known crazy facts:
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The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade scenes were shot during the real 1946 parade, because trying to reshoot that chaos wasn’t happening.
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Studio head Darryl Zanuck hated the idea of a Christmas movie, so he released it in the summer. (Marketing was… a choice.)
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It got labeled “morally objectionable” because the main character was a divorced woman. Scandalous!
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Despite all that, the film won three Oscars, including one for Edmund Gwenn (Santa himself).
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When the crew warmed up in neighbor Vaughn Mele’s house during filming, Maureen O’Hara later invited the couple to dinner at Manhattan’s 21 Club. Vaughn was too excited to order anything but a glass of milk.
Long Island: where you can get a sandwich, see Billy Joel, and stumble into cinematic history, sometimes all in the same afternoon.
The House Today
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Address: 24 Derby Rd, Port Washington
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Built: 1943
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Size: ~1,700 sq ft
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Zestimate: Around $1.06 million, if you’re feeling Santa-level generous
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Still owned by the Frutkin family
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Still absolutely delightful
And yes, if you believe hard enough, you can totally ask Santa for it. Just don’t blame me if you end up with socks instead.
