'Home Alone' House In Winnetka Up For Sale
WINNETKA, Ill. (CBS/WBBM) -- Macaulay Culkin is more than 30 years old now, and has long since shed his juvenile innocence for mature roles such as that of convicted murderer Michael Alig in "Party Monster."
But you may well still remember Culkin best for smacking his palms against his cheeks and screaming as a little boy in "Home Alone." If so, and if you can afford to pay $2.4 million, you can move into the very house where that was set.
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Owners John and Cynthia Abendshien have lived in the 91-year-old house at 671 Lincoln Ave. in Winnetka since 1988, and were the residents when the movie was filmed.
But the Abendshiens are now empty-nesters and have decided it's time to sell, despite the weak housing market.
The listing agent Marissa Hopkins of Coldwell Banker says its history adds a certain cachet.
"Certainly, having some cinematic fame is a factor that one will consider with this home but, most important is the home itself," Hopkins said.
"Home Alone" was released just after Thanksgiving 1990. All the shots in the kitchen, main staircase, and windowed first-floor landing were shot inside the house, according to the Web site MovieFone.
But the décor of the house seen in the movie was not chosen by the Abendshiens. The filmmakers papered over the walls to provide a more holiday-oriented feel, MovieFone reported. They also built a tree house that was torn down after the filming, the Web site reported.
The Abendshiens talked about their experience with the filming in the Coldwell Banker video.
"We for example learned that if snow doesn't bounce off your shoulders or your head, it's potato flakes that they're blowing in your hair," said Cynthia Abendshien.
Writer Hughes, who died in 2009 at the age of 59, was born in Lansing, Mich., and grew up in suburban Detroit, but moved to Northbrook with his family at the age of 12.
"John Hughes had a real interest in filming in community settings. He, I understand, grew up in the North Shore, and really wanted his sets and backgrounds to have a real world; a true neighborhood and a true-home-type ambience," John Abendshien said in a Coldwell Banker promotional video.
And by the by, if you just wanted to catch a glimpse of the interior of the house while it's up for sale, forget it. Only pre-qualified buyers will be shown the house.
