- - What Happened to the “Home Alone” House? All About the Iconic $5 Million Mansion (and How You Can Visit It Today!)

Francesca GarianoDecember 21, 2025 at 4:00 AM

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20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock ; Disney+

Macaulay Culkin in 'Home Alone' (1990) ; The house in 'Home Alone' (1990).

The Home Alone house is a quintessential marker of the holiday season.

The Christmas classic premiered more than three decades ago in November 1990, cementing itself in the pop culture zeitgeist. The comedy follows Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), an 8-year-old boy who is accidentally left behind by his family before their Christmas trip to Paris. Left to fend for himself in Chicago, Kevin gets into hijinks, including elaborate booby traps to fend off a pair of intruders who try to rob his home.

The movie’s director, Chris Columbus, reflected on the process of finding the perfect home for the film's backdrop during a November 2015 interview with Entertainment Weekly.

“Well, we knew we were going to shoot in the North Shore, so we were in the Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, Lake Forest area, so we basically drove around for several weeks until we found the right house,” Columbus explained. “And then when we found the house, I took some pictures and sent them over to John, and I remember John saying, ‘This is perfect. This is exactly how I imagined the house.’ “

Here’s everything to know about the Home Alone house, including what happened to the home in the decades since the film’s premiere.

Where is the Home Alone house?

Disney+

The house in 'Home Alone' (1990).

The exterior of the McAllisters' home is located at 671 Lincoln Ave in Winnetka, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. The home, a Georgian colonial-style residence, was built in 1921, according to Zillow, and features five bedrooms and six bathrooms, spanning 9,126 square feet. The property also boasts an on-site gym in the basement, as well as a full wet bar, recreation space, home movie theater and an indoor sports court.

The choice of home was also important to the movie’s central plot, as Kevin fought against the intruders. Columbus explained to Entertainment Weekly in 2015 that the perfect home was needed “from a visual point of view and from a stunts point of view.”

“We needed a house that would work for [when] Kevin fools the burglars into thinking he’s not home alone and he attaches a [cutout] of Michael Jordan to a toy train — the house needed to work in that respect, in terms of shadows,” he explained.

Columbus added, “So 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. It’s the kind of house if you were a kid it would be fun to be left home alone.”

What happened to the Home Alone house?

Disney+

The house in 'Home Alone' (1990).

The Home Alone house has had several owners throughout the years.

The house officially hit the market in May 2024, listed at a whopping $5.25 million. At one point, even Culkin considered buying the house, per The New York Times, albeit not very seriously. The actor admitted during a screening of the movie, "I had half a mind to buy it — just for giggles.” '

Culkin didn’t have any plans to live in the abode himself, but rather, he would have changed it into a “movie fun house” where fans could reenact scenes from the Christmas classic. However, his idea was thwarted by one relatable reason: "I got kids. I'm busy, man.”

It didn’t take long for a buyer to come into the picture after the home went on the market, with listing agents Dawn McKenna and Katie Moor of Coldwell Banker Realty telling PEOPLE in December 2024, “We’re thrilled with the way this home captured everyone’s attention and hearts due to its well-deserved place in cinematic history and the timeless holiday memories it evokes.”

The iconic home was officially sold in January 2025 at $5.5 million after the sale had been pending the previous month.

Who has lived in the Home Alone house?

Moviestore/Shutterstock

Macaulay Culkin in 'Home Alone' (1990).

There have been several owners of the Home Alone house over the years.

The Abendshien family resided in the Winnetka home for more than 20 years. Per Architectural Digest, John Abendshien and his former wife, Cynthia Demps, moved into the home in 1989 and lived there with their daughter, Lauren, during filming.

After the movie's massive success, they dealt with onlookers outside and on their property. However, the former couple sold the home in 2012 after they became empty nesters.

In December 2020, Lauren spoke to This Morning about her experience growing up in the iconic house.

"It was very surreal when the movie came out and all of a sudden it's holiday season in 1990 and it was an endless row of cars and people wanted to see the house and take photographs and that was very new to us, but we grew to love it and we shared the magic of the movie,” she said.

While their home was only used for the exterior, John and Lauren shared in an October 2024 documentary that they had an opportunity to walk through the soundstage that recreated rooms in the house. John recalled, “That's kind of a weird feeling, walking through and seeing your rooms in a multi-story house side-by-side.”

"My parents and I were invited to go take a look,” Lauren said. “It felt like you were walking through our house but obviously not. It was just very bizarre in a very cool kind of way. How many people can say they walked through a set of their own house?"

After the Abendshiens lived in the home for over 20 years, it was purchased in 2012 by Tim and Trisha Johnson, per Mansion Global.

Can you still visit the Home Alone house?

Dawn McKenna/Coldwell Banker Realty

The 'Home Alone' house.

The Home Alone house is not open to the public, with fans only able to catch a glimpse of the exterior of the house from afar.

However, for a brief time after the release of Home Sweet Home Alone in 2021, Airbnb advertised a one-night stay at the real Home Alone house in December 2021, hosted by the movie’s star Devin Ratray, who portrayed Buzz McCallister. One lucky group of four guests had the chance to win a stay at the McCallister abode for a night for the ultimate holiday trip.

"It's going to be decorated exactly the way it was 31 years ago and complete with treats and tricks," Ratray told PEOPLE at the time. "There will be booby traps, but nothing dangerous. There will be, of course, delightful microwave mac & cheese and a tall glass of milk, just like Kevin tried to have for dinner until he was fatefully interrupted by the Wet Bandits."

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”