Christmas is coming: we're visiting Kevin's home!
Kevin Home Alone' - is one of the most iconic films broadcast every year at Christmas. Since 1995, whole families have been gathering in front of the TV to experience all over again the adventures of eight-year-old Kevin, who bravely stands up to burglars by defending the family home for three long days. Together with Paul from Interameryka.com, we visit this iconic location!
Kevin McCallister's house
The movie is set in the northern suburbs of Chicago, specifically in the town of Winnetka. Where Kevin's house is located ( 671 Lincoln Ave. Winnetka, IL.). According to online real estate services, the house in which the video was filmed was built in 1921. It has five bathrooms, four bedrooms, a living room, family room, kitchen, dining room and three additional rooms. The current value of the house is approximately $1,969,000. This is what Kevin's house looks like on the map:
Obviously, the house and the land are private property and trespassing is prohibited. In 2015, a (small) fence also appeared in front of the house. However, this does not mean that tourists cannot view or photograph the house. Standing on the pavement (i.e. in a public place, accessible to everyone), excellent photos can be taken.
Is Kevin's house for rent?
As of 7 December last year, the house from the iconic film was available for rent via the Airbnb platform. As stated, the mansion in the ad looks almost identical since 1990 (which is the date of the film), and the same golden statue still stands in front of the property, which was regularly hit by arriving cars in the production.
Other elements have remained the same over the years, so visitors to the house could almost feel like Kevin. The price for a stay was ridiculously low - you only had to pay $25 for one night! That's only twice as much as Kevin had paid for a pizza in the scene where he scares the delivery man with the sound of a gun.
There were plenty of activities prepared especially for the guests. The entire event was hosted by Buzz McCallister himself, i.e. Kevin's cinematic older brother. Together with him, the lucky guests could enjoy a delicious pizza, have dinner, watched a film about Kevin's adventures and also touch a real tarantula. In addition, the house was festively decorated, giving it a film atmosphere from years ago.
Where was the catch? This amazing experience was unfortunately only available to four people. The offer was a one-off, and the lucky ones were able to spend one night in Kevin's house from the 12th to the 13th of December. Airbnb did not say whether the house would still be available to rent, only stipulating at the time that the stay would definitely not be disrupted by a break-in by clumsy burglars.
Kevin alone at home again... with voice assistant
Macaulay Culkin played the role of Kevin again in 2018. This time not in a film, but in a Google commercial. In the voice assistant spot, the company used themes from the popular Christmas comedy. In the ad, Culkin recreates memorable scenes from the film, but the grown-up Kevin doesn't have to manage on his own, as he is helped in everything by Google Assistant. - "Hey Google. What's the plan for today?" - The protagonist asks in one of the first scenes - There's only one position written in the calendar - 'free house' - the device replies. Google Asistant fires up the heater, sets traps for burglars or locks the door to create a real Smart Home Alone.
The whole project is a careful re-creation of the original film in as much detail as is possible. The house in which the action takes place looks just like the house from the 1990 comedy, and the spot includes music from the real movie. Arts & Letters Creative Co. was responsible for the creative, and the spot was directed by Mike Warzin. Check it out!
Let's explore the area
The next scenes from the iconic film took place in further locations. The place (actually a shop) where Kevin unintentionally steals a toothbrush is located almost 2km from his home. The exact address of this point is 940 Green Bay Rd. Winnetka. This location is currently currently home to Graeter's Ice Cream cafe.
Kevin escapes from the police officer chasing him through the park (Hubbard Woods Park) opposite the shop and runs into an ice skating rink. This is where he loses the chase and runs towards Hubbard Woods Station. The scene in which Kevin escapes from pursuing burglars into the church was shot 5.5km away at the location of 1024 West Lake Avenue, Wilmette. This is the Trinitra United Methodist Church. It is an interesting fact that the scenes that took place inside the church were recorded in a completely different location. To visit this location, travel to the village of Oak Park located 48 km south of Winnetka. The location is 924 Lake Street, Oak Park. Check the marked locations of the scenes on the map.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Paweł Paluch - Creator of the blog interameryka.com and USA guidebooks. He has been living in the United States since 2002 and fulfils the dreams of people who want to travel to the United States. If you are planning a trip to the United States - you are well on your way to making it a reality. On Paul's website and on his social media you will find a lot of information and tips about the USA.