The brick suburban Home from the 1990 film Home Alone is almost as well-known to moviegoers as Macaulay Culkin's charming mug from the famous Christmas film. The family-friendly movie, directed by Chris Columbus, became an overnight success at the box office, earning $476.7 million. To this day, many families incorporate the film into their holiday traditions, revisiting the McCallister home that 8-year-old Kevin vowed to save from two burglars intent on robbing the location.
In a 2015 interview, Columbus stated, "We needed to cast a house that would work for the stunts and also a house that was visually beautiful and, if this makes sense, warm and threatening at the same time.
It's the kind of house where being left home alone as a child would be enjoyable. Hughes received pictures of the Home's exterior that Columbus had taken and shared. He described them as "wonderful" and added, "This is how I envisaged the house".
Most of the movie is in and around Winnetka, Illinois, 16 miles outside Chicago, where the Home Alone house is situated. The house is utilized for its brick façade, even though the movie included inside sequences in the living room and the foyer's now-famous grand staircase.
The Winnetka house needed to be more significant to accommodate all the interiors. Columbus famously remarked, "It was much too small to get the workers in the door. Instead, many of Kevin's Home's interior scenes film at the nearby, defunct New Trier Township High School. Inside the gym, the filmmakers constructed a two-story set.
Also, shots were filmed just in front of the house. "All those stunts outside the Home happened at night because we couldn't afford to construct the house's exterior on a sound stage. According to Columbus, we would shoot from around 5:30 p.m. to 6 a.m.The cast and crew shot other scenes in nearby locations.
For instance, in the grocery store scene and Santa's workshop film in Winnetka, Kevin bought his toothbrush at the Hubbard Woods Pharmacy in Winnetka. The church Kevin sees in the film comprises two churches: the Wilmette, Illinois, church's exterior may see outside, while Oak Park, Illinois, was used for the inside—the airport scenes in "Paris" and all others film at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
According to Zillow, the Home Alone residence is situated at 671 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka, Illinois, and has six bedrooms and six bathrooms.
The "Home Alone House" on Lincoln Avenue has been a popular tourist destination for many years. In 2019, a local said, "Most people who live on the street adore it and think it's a lot of fun." "It was and still is a big thing that the movie filmed here. I see someone taking pictures in front every time I pass by the house. As you can expect, the movie's Christmas season sees an increase in traffic.
The Abendshien family was residing in the Winnetka home at the time of filming. While living in Evanston, they met the location manager for the movie.
The site manager initially expressed interest in having their Winnetka property used for filming the Hughes film Uncle Buck, but something else was necessary. Before the Abendshiens were requested to use the Home for Home Alone, more than a year had passed. Naturally, they had yet to learn how well-liked the house would get. "We would never have imagined back then that people would come and look at that house for years to come".
The filmmakers gave the family a rental flat to stay in while they were there, but after a few nights, they decided to go back home.
While the film team worked downstairs, they remained in the main suite on the second floor, allowing the family to engage with Macaulay Culkin and the other cast members occasionally.
The plan worked well—for the most part, until dad John, who was arriving home, pulled his car into the driveway and entered the house. In addition, the crew had to be careful not to leave tyres and car imprints in the footage of the snow they were filming. As the movie gained popularity, more and more people began to park nearby and take pictures. How did they discover the location? Kevin informs "Santa" in the movie that he lives at 671 Lincoln Boulevard, even though it's 671 Lincoln Avenue; it was simple to locate from there.
The Abendshiens sold their Winnetka house for an estimated $1.585 million in 2012 when they were already empty nesters. It makes sense that the present owners would want not to make a big deal out of owning one of the most well-known homes in the nation and avoid being caught on video.
The Home Alone House is 4,243 square feet and sits on land that is slightly over half an acre in size, according to Realtor.com, if you want to compare it to your own house. How much is Home from Home Alone currently worth? According to Zillow, the property is currently worth around $2 million, while according to Realtor.com, the Home on Lincoln Avenue is worth roughly $1.942 million.
The house's interior renovates for the movie, with a ramp over the staircase and new wall coverings. A treehouse and an outdoor staircase to the basement were constructed by the crew and then taken down when filming finished. Although the Home may have changed since then, it still appears the same from the exterior.
