Where Was Home Alone Filmed?

Home Alone jumps back and forth from Kevin McCallister fighting for his life at his home near Chicago to his whole family stranded in Paris, but neither of these cities really provided any filming locations for the holiday classic. In the movie, the very large extended McCallister family is getting ready to spend Christmas together in Paris. After sleeping in on the morning of their flight, they depart in a panic, leaving poor Kevin behind. It’s not until they’ve all boarded the plane that Kevin’s mother realizes they forgot him at home, while Kevin believes his wish for his family to disappear has come true.

Kevin’s family lives in a big, beautiful home located in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, and most of Home Alone‘s filming took place in a town outside the city. While Kevin stays in the Chicago area for the duration of the film, since he’s left home alone, the rest of the McCallisters make it all the way to Paris. Archival footage of Paris was used for establishing shots, but none of the movie was actually filmed there. Home Alone‘s principal photography took place over the course of 83 days, beginning on February 14, 1990, and ending on May 8, 1990, using only filming locations in Illinois.

Winnetka, Illinois

Lincoln Avenue, New Trier High School, Hubbard Woods Pharmacy, Hubbard Woods Park, & Grand Food Center

The exterior shots of the McCallister house in Home Alone, as well as their neighbor Mitch Murphy’s house, were filmed on location on Lincoln Avenue in the North Shore village of Winnetka, Illinois. Though Kevin lists his address in the film as 671 Lincoln Boulevard, the McCallister house exterior was shot at 671 Lincoln Avenue. The Murphy house exterior was shot just across the street at 656 Lincoln Avenue. Some of the interiors of the McCallister home that made it into the finished product were inside the same house as the exteriors, including the main staircase, basement, attic, and the first floor.

Every room in the house was also duplicated on a soundstage to make more room for the crew and equipment. The rest of the interior scenes were filmed on this set, which was built in the gym on New Trier High School’s west campus in Winnetka, where John Hughes had shot his previous films Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Uncle Buck. Some additional scenes were also shot in different locations at New Trier High School. The interiors of the airplane cabin were built and shot on basketball courts on campus, and the scenes in Kevin’s neighbor’s flooded basement were actually shot in an empty swimming pool on campus.

Several other scenes were filmed around Winnetka. The Santa’s Village set, where Kevin goes to visit the fake Santa Claus, was built in front of Winnetka’s City Hall. The scene where Kevin heads to the grocery store was filmed at Grand Food Center in Winnetka. Some scenes were filmed in the Hubbard Woods neighborhood of Winnetka. The pharmacy scene, in which Kevin accidentally steals a toothbrush after getting spooked by Old Man Marley, was shot at Hubbard Woods Pharmacy in Winnetka. Kevin later runs away from Marley when he sees him in the park, a scene which was filmed at Hubbard Woods Park in Winnetka.

Chicago, Illinois

O’Hare International Airport, Meig’s Field

The only parts of Home Alone that were actually shot in Chicago were the airport scenes. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport served as the filming location for both the Chicago airport scenes and the Paris airport scenes, posing as France’s Orly Airport. Filming at O’Hare took place over the course of four 16-hour days. John Candy, who made a special cameo as Kate McCallister’s polka-singing hero in Home Alone, filmed his scenes in one day on the airstrip of the former single-runway airport Meig’s Field, also in Chicago.

Wilmette, Illinois

Trinity United Methodist Church

During one sequence in Home Alone, Kevin is on the run from burglars Harry and Marv and hides in a Nativity Scene outside a church. Kevin later returns to that church at night. The exteriors of the church were shot at Trinity United Methodist Church in Wilmette, Illinois. The exact street address of this location is 1024 W. Lake Avenue.

Oak Park, Illinois

Grace Episcopal Church

Kevin decides to enter the church and watch a choir perform, during which he has a long chat with Old Man Marley near the end of Home Alone. However, a different location was used for the inside of the church than the exterior. The interiors of the church were filmed at Grace Episcopal Church in the neighboring town of Oak Park, Illinois. Coincidentally, this church is located on a street with a similar name with its address being 924 Lake Street.

Sources: AFI Catalog, Chicago Magazine, News.com.au