Behind the scenes of the Home Alone house

Home Alone, the iconic Christmas classic that blessed screens on November 16, 1990, has not only brought popularity to the leading actor, Macaulay Culkin, but also to the breathtaking home in Winnetka, Illinois. The house was built in November 1920 after the Winnetka Historical Society approved construction for the three-story colonial Georgian-style home. It made its first public debut back in 1974 when its newly-renovated kitchen appeared in the September issue of Better Homes & Gardens. 

In the late 1980s, the home was sold to John and Cynthia Abendshien. The Abendshiens moved from their previous home in Evanston, where, before, they met a location manager interested in using their house in an upcoming John Hughes film, Uncle Buck. A year and a half after the move, the same manager reconnected with them, interested in the Winnetka home for a Christmas comedy, Home Alone.

The Abendshiens happily agreed and allowed production to use their house for six weeks. Filming of the movie extended over the predicted time, and the crew ended up working at the house for around four months. During filming, slight modifications to the home were made, such as new festive wallpaper, a treehouse rigged to a zipline, and an exterior stairway to the basement that robber Marv (played by actor Daniel Stern) slides down in the movie.

For the duration of the film’s shooting, production rented an apartment for the Abendshiens to stay in. The family only spent a few nights in the space before they returned to their home and turned their second-floor bedroom suite into a temporary living space. The filming wrapped up in May and six months later, the movie aired in over 1,200 theaters nationwide.

After the debut, the family started to notice an increase in cars parked outside alongside pedestrians lingering on the sidewalks. The iconic home’s address was kept secret during the film, but word of mouth traveled quickly throughout the fan base. In 1991, filmmakers returned to the Abendsheins looking to shoot a few scenes for the follow-up movie, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The family happily agreed but asked for a higher rate the second time around. The filmmakers were put on a tighter production timeline for the sequel film.

The Abendsheins resided at the home for about 25 years before selling the house in 2012 for $1.585 million. The home still stands today, with a new additional fence added for privacy by the new owners. Every year, viewers still drive by and visit the home, relieving the magic the Christmas favorite brings.