Sunday, April 28, 2024

Where is the Home Alone House? A Look Inside the Iconic Suburban Chicago Movie Home

home alone house

“We needed to cast a house that would work for the stunts and also a house that was visually appealing, and—if this makes sense—warm and menacing at the same time,” Columbus explained. Home Alone was produced and written by the venerable film legend, John Hughes. The movie was inspired by a real trip the director went on with his family. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared a state of emergency on homelessness shortly after she took office in December 2022.

More homes from movies

Several TV news crews have passed through his riverside community in the last few days, asking him and his neighbors about their way of life. It’s at this moment that I feel utterly invigorated to be travelling solo – and wish that I had a few extra days up my sleeve, alone. ‘Hosted’ by a virtual Jimmy Fallon, the cars transfer me (and around 35 others) around the lot, and even though I’ve done it all before, I am amazed by the technology, with no distractions from travel buddies. The Fast and the Furious ride and the King Kong 360-degree immersive ride particularly impress me. I mean, movies are fine, but how do you incorporate a tour bus into a high-speed car chase and a giant ape’s fight against its prehistoric enemies? Studio Tour is the perfect afternoon filler for anyone who shares a fascination for the film and television industry.

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The history of the Home Alone house Real Estate - Chicago Star Media

The history of the Home Alone house Real Estate.

Posted: Fri, 15 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Even without making an appearance in a massively successful movie, a suburban five-bedroom home in the Chicago metro area doesn’t come cheap. Times have changed and so have the trends, which means the Home Alone house has a tad of a more modern feel, despite its exterior’s unchanged, recognizable look. To offer the complete experience, the actor who played Kevin McCallister’s older brother, Buzz, would be the one welcoming guests, who would also be greeted with Christmas decorations, and some true Home Alone classics. Built in 1920, the Winnetka, Illinois house used for the first Home Alone movie belonged to John and Cynthia Abendshien. Home Alone, the cult classic comedy that turned Macaulay Culkin into one of the most recognizable child actors ever, is as present on our TV screens now as it was when it was first released in November 1990.

home alone house

Things to do Alone in Los Angeles

Like Rockwell, Cauley used saturated greens, reds, and golds to stand out against the white fluffy snow. “I thought of it like a flip-book, where use of color orchestrated throughout would give the film a warm feeling,” says Cauley. In the film, Kevin sets elaborate traps in order to catch the burglars attempting to break into his home. The owners of Marilyn Monroe’s Brentwood home argued against landmark status, but L.A.’s Cultural Heritage Commission unanimously voted to recommend the property as a historic cultural monument.

Various Hollywood movies and TV shows were filmed at the Sheats-Goldstein residence, including the now-iconic The Big Lebowski. Marissa Hopkins, the real-estate agent who worked with the owners when the house went on the market in 2011 for $2.4 million, shared a video with Insider that takes fans on a tour of the home. The red-brick Georgian-Colonial home that provided the backdrop for much of the film's action exists in real life and is located in the suburb of Winnetka, Illinois, which is about 20 miles from Chicago.

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Almost immediately, tourists began flocking to 671 Lincoln Avenue, hoping to capture a little movie magic of their own—and giving little thought to the Abendshien family, who actually lived there. “We would have not believed back then that there would be sightseers coming to look at that house for years afterward,” John Abendshien told me in an interview. Another Hughes' film that stayed true to his North Shore roots was "Sixteen Candles." The homes the high schoolers lived in were located in Evanston, Highland Park and Northbrook. Glenbrook North High School was where the teens attended, and nearby Glencoe Union Church was where Sam found her crush, Jake Ryan, waiting for her.

The house was a perfect fit for the McCallister family

The house sold in 2012 for a reported $1.585 million, ending the Abendshiens’ nearly 25-year residency. Unfortunately for the Abendshiens, not all the lookie-loos were content to keep a polite distance. The more brazen would actually wander into the backyard, ostensibly in search of the treehouse. If you’re wondering whether any residents of the home took their own sled ride down the stairs, the answer is a definitive no. Of course, a number of Chicago landmarks made an appearance, including the Willis Tower, the Sears Tower at the time, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

It gets even worse when Kevin persuades an old guy (Roberts Blossom) from the neighborhood to make peace with his estranged son. Kevin is too annoyingly mischievous and peculiar to be turned into Tiny Tim. If the movie (rated PG-13) had stuck to its Road Runner-style shenanigans it might have been a disreputable success. Macauley Culkin has the kind of crack comic timing that’s missing in many an adult star, and, even when the script gets soppy, he doesn’t turn himself into a cutesy ball of gloppy goo. She adds that the "new owners are very private" and hopes that "Home Alone" fans will respect that.

Can You Visit the House From Home Alone Today?

A couple named John and Cynthia Abendshien owned the home when filming began in 1990, but they sold in 2011 for a reported $1.585 million. Tax records show that the Winnetka, IL house is indeed owner-occupied, but we haven’t managed to find any information about the residents of the iconic movie house. As we’ve mentioned above, a Home Alone remake was released in 2021 and a big part of it was filmed in Canada. Just looking at the photos takes us back to the oh-so-familiar house of the McCallisters, filled with its red and green furnishings, charm, character, and over-the-top Christmas decorations. Think booby traps, a candlelit dinner of microwavable macaroni and cheese, Kevin’s dad’s aftershave, 90s junk food, “Chicago’s finest pizza” and more, NBC Chicago reports. The iconic suburban home also has a large kitchen, a detached double garage, and a greenhouse.

Too bad, since the Abendshiens lived there for 20 years and we’re pretty sure their daughter would have loved to keep it for herself. The movie gained such notoriety that today, “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” around the time TV channels start running Home Alone for the millionth time. But the fun and games soon come to an end when Kevin is faced by the wet bandits—two bumbling burglars who have their sights set on robbing the McCallister home. Villains Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) soon realize the house isn’t vacant like they first thought, and an endless game of cat and mouse ensues, with Kevin setting intricate booby traps to protect himself and his family home.

The Sheats-Goldstein house is located in the Beverly Crest neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, just up the hill from the Beverly Hills city limit. Due to its location, the house offers amazing views of the city, but is also very secluded. The film (citywide) is one long lead-up to the final siege, as Kevin fortifies his home with an impressive array of make-shift weaponry. It’s a gruesome premise, and director Chris Columbus, working from a Hughes script, plays the situation for knockabout laughs.

"Just be courteous as it is someone’s residence and the neighborhood wants to have some semblance of normalcy." Many fans of the cult hit also like visit the house — literally — located in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka. Watching and quoting the iconic Christmas movie "Home Alone" isn't the only way fans of the movie like to celebrate the holiday season. For the tourists who come from all over the world to see the house, the visit is a chance to reenact the movie and make memories of their own. Aline Tomaz, 10, came with her family from Minneapolis after her father, Alexandre Tomaz, showed them the movie. Her mother, Andressa Tomaz, herded them in front of the fence for a family Christmas card photo as if the house was Macy’s Santaland.

On this tour, you drive through working film lots, including the former working sets of Pretty Little Liars, in the (as it turns out very small) town of Rosewood. When travelling alone, it’s important to choose a good hotel, with a built-in social scene and a location that’s in close proximity to the action. The Jackie Treehorn house from The Big Lebowski is, in fact, the Sheats-Goldstein residence, owned by elusive businessman James Goldstein. It’s located in L.A.’s Beverly Crest neighborhood and it’s a private property.

'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York' townhouse on sale for $6.7 million - USA TODAY

'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York' townhouse on sale for $6.7 million.

Posted: Thu, 21 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

The set team ultimately decided to build the entire interior of the home in the gymnasium of New Trier High School, also in Winnetka. At that time, there were few film studios in Chicago, and John Hughes lived north of the city. “Filming in an empty high school meant we were in close proximity to his family,” explains Cauley. “He could visit the sets easily or stop in and see filming, and then go home and write.” Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Uncle Buck were also filmed in Chicago. Situated on the North Shore of Chicago, the neighborhood boasts suburban charm that practically begs to be made into a Christmas movie.

This is where movies like The Social Network, Eraserhead, The Witches of Eastwick, The Prestige, and X-Men were filmed. Even the parts that were supposed to be set in the Paris Orly Airport were actually filmed at O’Hare International Airport. The interior of the plane was a set built on a basketball court at the local high school. In fact, the scene where Kevin McCallister is trekking through the flooded basement is actually the school’s swimming pool.

“We would have not believed back then that there would be sightseers coming to look at that house for years afterward,” John Abendshien said in an interview with Vanity Fair. It’s Chris Columbus, the director of the film, whom we can hold responsible for finding the iconic Chicago suburb house. “We basically drove around for several weeks until we found the right house,” Columbus said in a 2015 interview.

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