The former home of Ernest P. Worrell in the hit film Ernest Saves Christmas has been demolished.
The 1918 Frame Vernacular home, located at 116 N. Hyer Avenue [GMap], was first occupied by a J.M. Kearns in 1924 before being featured in the 1988 family film. We told you HERE in March 2021 that the new owner of the property was originally intending to restore the home but abandoned the idea early on in the process when faced with an estimated cost of over $500,000.
The owner, Robert Nunziata, was denied a demolition permit by the City of Orlando multiple times with city staff stating it would be cheaper to restore it than knock it down and that given its cultural significance, it should be preserved.
Since that original story, the Historic Preservation Board finally acquiesced and agreed that since the structure had degraded so dramatically over the years, it would be better to just knock it down.
A new 2,831 SF home is currently being built on the property.
It sounds like the former home of the character Ernest P. Worrell in the film “Ernest Saves Christmas” has been demolished. I’m not sure what the specific circumstances surrounding the demolition were or what led to the decision to demolish the house. It’s possible that the house was in disrepair or that it was in an area where it was no longer needed or wanted.