9 iconic ‘Home Alone’ movie locations in Chicagoland

CHICAGO – As you (re)watch classic Christmas movies this holiday season, there’s a good chance 1990’s “Home Alone” will find its way on your TV screen.

A movie filled with laugh out loud gags and iconic quotes that have found their way into the vocabulary of the holidays (“Keep the change, you filthy animal!” anyone?), “Home Alone” brought in a whopping $476 million at the box office despite a budget of $18 million, putting it on the fast track to becoming not just a Christmas classic, but an all-time classic.

So much so that in 2023, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

As you recall, “Home Alone” takes place in (more so around) Chicago, and the majority of the film was shot at various locations throughout Chicagoland.

Let’s explore.

The Iconic McCallister Family House

Location: 671 Lincoln Avenue – Winnetka, Illinois

“The silver tuna,” as Joe Pesci’s character Harry called it, is located at 671 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka, Illinois. While the house is privately owned and not open to visitors, many fans drive by to take pictures, or better yet, have their pictures taken in front of the home. Bonus points if you put your hands on your cheeks and pretend to scream!

In the movie, Lincoln Avenue is referred to as Lincoln Boulevard, but 671 is the exact numeric of the home in the movie, uttered once by Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) as he speaks to the neighborhood Santa Claus about asking Santa to bring his family back for Christmas, and once by Harry as he boasts to his partner-in-crime Marv (Daniel Stern) about figuring out when each unoccupied home’s Christmas lights turn on.

Believe it or not, the large house wasn’t big enough to hold the entire cast and crew while filming. In fact, the only interiors of the house used for filming that made it into the finished movie were the main staircase, attic and the majority of the first floor landing. More on this later.

The original house used in the “Home Alone” movie is located in the North Shore suburb of Winnetka, Illinois, Nov. 8, 2021. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Mitch Murphy’s House

Location: 656 Lincoln Avenue – Winnetka, Illinois

Remember Mitch Murphy? The character who Heather mistook as Kevin during her headcount in front of the airport shuttle vans? His family’s home is located at 656 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka. In the movie, his house was hit by Harry and Marv (aka the “Wet Bandits”), hence why it was flooding when Kevin ran through its basement in an attempt to elude the Wet Bandits toward the end of the movie. It’s also the home where Marley shows up at the end and beats Harry and Marv with his snow shovel, rescuing Kevin before the police arrive.

You even hear Kevin say the numeric address when he calls the police. “My house is being robbed. My address is 656 Lincoln Boulevard. My name’s Murphy.”

Earlier in the film, Kevin notices Harry and Marv’s van parked in the driveway of the home while the Wet Bandits were busy stealing everything they could inside, leading him to say, “I thought the Murphys went to Florida.” Later, Kevin almost got run over as Harry and Marv were arguing while pulling out of the home’s driveway.

Trinity United Methodist Church

Location: 1024 Lake Avenue – Wilmette, Illinois

The exterior of the church that Kevin visits on Christmas Eve is that of Trinity United Methodist Church, located in Wilmette. Outside that church is also where Kevin disguised himself as a shepherd and hid near the nativity scene, evading the Wet Bandits as they pursued him in their van. This scene ends with Kevin running back home saying, “When those guys come back, I’ll be ready.”

What we get next is the iconic scene of Kevin duping the Wet Bandits into believing a large Christmas party is taking place in the McCallister home by using mannequins and a cardboard cutout of Michael Jordan mounted on a mobile train set, all while Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” blares in the background.

Grace Episcopal Church

Location: 924 Lake Street – Oak Park, Illinois

One of the most heartwarming scenes in the movie is when Kevin goes into church on Christmas Eve and has a heart-to-heart conversation with his neighbor, the aforementioned Marley, whom Kevin was afraid of for the majority of the film. That scene was shot inside Grace Episcopal Church in Oak Park.

The Grocery Store

Location: 606 Green Bay Road – Winnetka, Illinois

Ah yes, the grocery store where Kevin got the milk, eggs and fabric softener. Reports say this scene was filmed at the Grand Food Center in Winnetka. All of Kevin’s groceries cost $19.83 in 1990, unfathomable in 2024.

Hubbard Woods Pharmacy

Location: 940 Green Bay Road – Winnetka, Illinois

Remember when Kevin went to the pharmacy and wanted to know if the toothbrush he picked out was approved by the American Dental Association? Kevin then encountered Marley inside, spooking him and causing him to run away with the toothbrush still in hand and unpaid for.

That scene was shot at nonother than Hubbard Woods Pharmacy in Winnetka. When the pharmacy closed, it was replaced with a Panera Bread Company, according to reports.

Hubbard Woods Metra Station

Location: 1065 Gage Street – Winnetka, Illinois

When Kevin ran out of the store with the toothbrush, a pharmacy worker chased after him and accused him of shoplifting, prompting a police officer to chase Kevin onto a skating rink where Kevin evades the officer and runs away.

The scene ends with him running on a bridge as a train passes below. That shot of Kevin running away while a train passed below was filmed at the Winnetka’s Hubbard Woods Metra Station.

The Hubbard Woods station, 1065 Gage St., Winnetka, Illinois, is located on Metra’s Union Pacific North line. (Kori Rumore/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Chicago O’Hare International Airport

Location: 10000 West Balmoral Avenue – Chicago, Illinois

Who could forget the entire McCallister family (minus Kevin) running through the airport to Chuck Berry’s “Run Rodolph Run” in an attempt to catch their flight to Paris. Fittingly, this scene was filmed at nonother than Chicago O’Hare International Airport, and likely wasn’t the first time the airport saw a family sprinting through the concourse to catch a flight. Perhaps the most relatable moment in this scene is at the very end when the family miraculously catches their flight and Uncle Frank instantly orders champagne as soon as he boards. Part celebratory, part relief. Cheers to you, Uncle Frank!

O’Hare International Airport’s Terminal 3 is where the memorable travel scene in “Home Alone” where the McCallister family hurries to catch a flight to Paris was filmed in April 1990. (Kori Rumore/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Chestnut Court Park

Location: Intersection of Chestnut Court and Chestnut Street – Winnetka, Illinois.

After Kevin’s wish about his family disappearing came true, he began to miss them as time went on, so much so that he went to the neighborhood Santa Claus to ask Santa to bring his family back for Christmas.

Santa’s shack was located at Chestnut Court Park in Winnetka.

Unfortunately, Kevin caught Santa at a bad time as Santa had just gotten a parking ticket and appeared to get his car stuck in the snow/ice after his conversation with Kevin.

Chestnut Court Park, a small, brick-paved strip near Winnetka Village Hall in Illinois, was home to Santa Claus’ shack in the 1990 film “Home Alone.” (Kori Rumore/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

New Trier Township High School

Location: 7 North Happ Road – Northfield, Illinois

Believe it or not, much of the interior scenes in “Home Alone” were filmed at the then-abandoned New Trier Township High School’s Northfield campus. The filmmakers reportedly built a two-story set in the gymnasium for many of the interior scenes.

Writer and producer John Hughes also used the high school’s gym for directed features “Uncle Buck” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

Should you fire up “Home Alone” again this holiday season, remember two things: If you can’t find something, always check the attic. Lastly, remember to order more than one cheese pizza.

Thanks for coming along for the tour!

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