Production (Home Alone)

As with most of Hughes's films, Home Alone was set—and most of the film was shot—in the greater Chicago area. Any other shots, such as those of Paris, are either stock footage or film trickery. The Paris-Orly Airport scenes were filmed in one part of O'Hare International Airport. The scene where Kevin wades through a flooded basement when trying to outsmart the burglars was shot in the swimming pool of New Trier High School. A mock-up of the McDonnell Douglas DC10 business class was also put together in the school, on the basketball courts. 20th Century Fox picked up the project after Warner Bros.'s rejection when the budget escalated from $14 million to $17 million.

The Home Alone house is a three-story single family detached house used for shooting most of the scenes in Home Alone and the first four scenes of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.The kitchen in the film was shot in the house, along with the main staircase, basement and most of the first floor landing. However, the house's dining room, and all of the rooms downstairs (excluding the kitchen) were built on a sound stage. It is located at 671 Lincoln Avenue in the village of Winnetka,which is a suburb of Chicago, located about 19 miles (30 km) north of the city in New Trier Township. It was built in 1920 and features 5 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, a fully converted attic, a fireplace, a detached double garage and a greenhouse. "Kevin's tree house" in the backyard was demolished, since it was built specifically for the film. It is listed as a Chicago-area tourist destination, as well as being cited as an example of "How to Get Your Home in the Movies."

In May 2011, the house was listed for sale at $2.4 million.