- - Where is the “Home Alone” house? Inside the real-life pad where Kevin waged war on the Wet Bandits

Allison DeGrusheDecember 6, 2025 at 11:00 PM

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Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty

The original house used in 'Home Alone'Key Points -

Home Alone hit theaters on Nov. 16, 1990, and quickly became a massive hit.

Fans of the holiday classic continue to visit the real-life house that doubled as the McCallister family's home.

The home most recently sold to new owners in January 2025.

Few Christmas flicks have infiltrated the zeitgeist quite like Home Alone, the 1990 movie that turned Macaulay Culkin into a household name. To this day, it the raucous comedy continues to captivate with its inventive traps and textured ensemble, not to mention Culkin's star-making performance as resourceful scamp Kevin McCallister.

At the center of it all is, of course, the McCallister family's house. The sprawling suburban mansion becomes Kevin's Georgian fortress, which he cleverly uses to overcome the Wet Bandits (played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern).

Since the house is as much a character as Kevin, it's become a source of fascination for fans. But is it real — and can you visit it? Here's the story behind the Home Alone house (which Culkin once considered buying).

Is the Home Alone house real?

Courtesy Everett

John Heard and Catherine O'Hara in 'Home Alone'

The Home Alone house is absolutely real. Fans can find the McCallister residence at 671 Lincoln Ave in Winnetka, Ill., a cozy suburb about 40 minutes north of downtown Chicago. Don't expect to get too close, though, as it is gated off.

Built in 1921, the house is nothing if not spacious, with five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and a three-car garage. While it looks much different now than it does onscreen, fans should recognize the staircase Kevin sleds down, the kitchen where he fights with Buzz over cheese pizza, and the dark, foreboding basement, where Kevin sets up some of the movie's most infamous booby traps.

While many of the interiors were shot on a soundstage in the gym at the nearby New Trier Township High School. the real house was still used for exteriors and some interior scenes. The furnace that instills such fear in Kevin, for example, was added to the basement by production. “We didn't have any man-eating furnaces in the basement,” said John Abendshien, the house's former owner, in a chat with USA Today. “We had an old, vintage boiler, and it looked quite boring.”

Who owned the Home Alone house during filming?

Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu Agency via Getty

The 'Home Alone' house is seen on Dec. 1, 2021

Abendshien, his then-wife Cynthia Demps, and their daughter Lauren were living in the home when it was picked as the main filming location for Home Alone. And they didn't move out during the shoot.

"We lived here during the filming," Abendshien told NBC News in July 2025. "We were able to create our own apartment within the home, we had the second-floor master bedroom."

For allowing the filmmakers to use the home, Abendshien received about $65,000. After the movie became a massive hit, the family's quiet life disappeared and was replaced by constant invasions of privacy as fans from around the world flocked to see the house in person.

"It went from a tinge of excitement during the filming to 'dear God make it stop' after the onslaught of visitors," he told Fox News in November 2025. "Just something as simple as hauling the garbage out to the curb... it was like being in a British tabloid with the paparazzi."

In his memoir, Home Alone No More, Abendshein described his "peaceful suburban retreat" as now "crawling with tourists, their eyes agog with a mix of awe and entitlement as they stare down your front door, the threshold to what was supposed to be your private sanctuary."

Over time, he warmed up to the fans and even chatted with guests to hear what drew them to Home Alone and the house itself.

Abendshien and his family stayed in the house for more than two decades before selling it in 2012 to Tim and Trisha Johnson for around $1.6 million.

Who owns the Home Alone house now?

Dawn McKenna/Coldwell Banker Realty

The front of the 'Home Alone' house

After purchasing the home, the Johnsons gave it a huge makeover in 2018, adding a home theater, an indoor sports court, a chef's kitchen, and a gym. Despite the many upgrades, the Johnsons made sure to preserve a few key elements from the movie, including the grand staircase.

"That was in the movie and it's classic," Trisha told Mansion Global in 2024. "We didn't want to take that out or touch it in any way."

The renovations expanded the home by more than 5,000 square feet, bringing the total square footage to more than 9,000.

They put the house back on the market in May 2024 with an asking price of $5.25 million. It sold in less than a week.

Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu Agency via Getty

The 'Home Alone' house front porch on Dec. 1, 2021

The sale didn't officially close until January 2025. According to Lori Nieman, the buyers' agent, there was an agreement "that the sellers would love the opportunity to remain in the home for one more holiday season."

The new owners have decided to keep their identities private, but Nieman said they are elated to take care of the Home Alone house.

"Like everybody else, they love the significance of the home and its place in cinematic history. They understand that and embrace that," she said. "That said, the home and all the wonderful renovations and the expansion of the home also played into their decision."

Nieman added, "They want to be stewards of the home for a long time to come."

Did Macaulay Culkin really consider buying the Home Alone house?

Don Smetzer/20th Century Fox

Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, and Roberts Blossom in 'Home Alone'

Yes, Culkin considered buying the Home Alone house, though he ultimately chose to pass on the opportunity. Can you imagine that full-circle moment? The original Kevin McCallister returning to the home that made him famous? Oh, what could've been.

In December 2024, the actor shared that he'd seen the home hit the market earlier that year. For a moment, he toyed with the idea of buying it.

"I had half a mind to buy it — just for giggles," Culkin told fans at Illinois' Rosemont Theater during a special screening of the film. His genius idea was to turn the house into a "movie fun house" where visitors could sled down the stairs just like Kevin does in the movie.

Why didn't he go through with it? Well, as Culkin explained, "I got kids," referring to the two sons he shares with actress Brenda Song. "I'm busy, man."

And just like that, one of Hollywood's greatest "what ifs" was born.

Where can I watch Home Alone?

Home Alone is currently available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu.

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