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With trampolines, gadgets galore and plenty of Christmas decorations, if the huge toy store in the middle of New York seemed to good to be true, that's because it might just be. Here's all the behind the scenes secrets of how the makers of Home Alone 2 made Duncan's Toy Chest one of the most desirable locations in the world. And what’s a New York City Christmas movie without Rockefeller Plaza and the most famous of all the Christmas trees in NYC?
The Murphy house, where the mouthy young Mitch Murphy lives is also located nearby at 656 Lincoln Avenue. The filming for ‘Home Alone’ took place both on location and on set in a number of venues across the state of Illinois, including Chicago, Winnetka, Highland Park, and Oak Park. Principal photography began in February of 1990 but was wracked with production issues after distributor Warner took issue with the film’s ballooning budget. However, 21st Century Fox stepped in with principal photography concluding in May 1990. Kevin rigs the townhouse with booby traps, catches Harry and Marv in the process of robbing the store, and breaks its front window to set off the burglar alarm. After taking their picture, he lures them to the townhouse where they repeatedly injure themselves in the traps.
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The true luxury hotel was presented as the most attractive and the best hotel in New York City. The story line of ‘Home Alone’ follows the mischievously resourceful little boy Kevin McCallister, who has a proclivity for creating trouble, much to the chagrin of his harried mother and absent-minded father. Kevin’s entire extended family is taking a vacation to Paris, France. However, trouble is afoot in the neighborhood as a couple of robbers start casing the houses, with their eye on the McCallister house next.
It's located at West 120th Street out in Harlem, which is about 75 blocks from Carnegie Hall. Completed back in 1888, the Rookery was designated a National Historic Landmark back in 1975. What viewers see in the movie is the beautiful arched entrance, which of course remains just as it was back in 1992. Kevin finds the store of his dreams in Duncan's Toy Chest, a building that isn't actually found in New York. Those well-versed in historic buildings may recognize this as the Rookery Building, a historic landmark in Chicago.
Joe Pesci really got burned during one of the action scenes.
It’s here that Kevin faces off against the concierge whom he fools into thinking he’s armed and dangerous by recording snippets of an old movie on his Talkboy. Recently, Disney announced a reboot of the Home Alone franchise for its Disney Plus channel. But a Home Alone 2 set in today’s New York would have a completely different feel. Polaroid stopped manufacturing film for its original instant cameras in 2008. When tourists abandoned Chinatown in the wake of 9/11, Quong Yuen Shing and Co., in business since 1891, closed down.
The Plaza Hotel is a landmark 20-story luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City. This is also the hotel where Donald Trump makes his cameo appearance in the lobby when Kevin asks him for directions. At the time of filming he owned the hotel and insisted on being in it. The interior shots of the store were filmed in the Uptown Theater in Chicago.
11 Rob's House Is A Set
Kevin watches as Marv ends up triggering a trap where a running lawnmower falls on his head . In February 1991, the Los Angeles Times reported that John Hughes was to sign a six-picture deal with 20th Century Fox; among the projects was a sequel to Home Alone. In May 1991, Culkin was paid $4.5 million plus 5 percent of the film's gross to appear in the sequel, compared to $110,000 for the original.
The Rockefeller Plaza is the last of Home Alone 2 film locations and it serves as the perfect backdrop for one of the movie’s best scenes. In the story, the townhouse is located in New York —however, this is the only one, of the Home Alone 2 film locations, to be shot in Los Angeles. Kevin makes a 911 call from an Upper West Side phone booth and tells the dispatcher that the thieves who robbed Duncan's Toy Chest will be in the park at 95th Street. "Look for fireworks. They've got a gun." Then he slips on ice, and the dastardly duo walks him into the park. Ultimately, the Pigeon Lady throws feed onto the very sticky Sticky Bandits, swarms of pigeons peck away, and Kevin is able to set off fireworks to alert the police to their presence. In the bag of stolen money, he leaves Polaroids of the guys at the toy store as well as the tape recording of Marv explaining the plan.
Macaulay Culkin's brother appears in the film.
The money is delivered to the hospital as intended, and Mr. Duncan finds out Kevin was responsible. Kevin's uncle Rob and aunt Georgette have a townhouse on 95th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. He finds the address in his dad's contacts, which were in the backpack, but after seeking refuge there earlier, realizes that no one is home and the house is undergoing a gut renovation.
Winnetka is one of the wealthiest regions in the entire United States in terms of household income, and with its placid suburban character is the ideal backdrop for a movie like ‘Home Alone’. The region has also served as a filming location for several other high profile Hollywood movies including ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’, ‘Ocean’s Twelve’, ‘Meet the Parents’, and ‘Sixteen Candles’. Harry and Marv are by Wollman Rink, at the southern end of Central Park. Marv is skating while Harry is reading the paper and plotting how to get some cash. During the holidays, Harry says, "the only stores that are going to have cash on hand are those that deal in moderate priced goods." He points to a full-page ad for Duncan's Toy Chest.
We aren’t just seeing them through Kevin’s eyes, but recalling our own younger selves. Using 9/11 as a metaphor for the rupture between innocence and experience can be imprecise and overwrought. Still, seeing Kevin McAllister smiling out at the panorama of New York City from the observation deck evokes a feeling of wonder that wells up from a place deeper than just Macaulay Culkin’s performance. He has a love of movies and television, having enjoyed them for more than twenty years.
On Christmas morning, a truckload of free gifts arrives at the McCallisters' hotel room, sent from a grateful Mr. Duncan for foiling the robbery. Kevin reconciles with his family, and goes to Central Park to give one of his turtledoves to the pigeon lady, cementing their friendship. The movie was created for "Home Alone," and the production team did the same thing for the sequel. The scene was instead filmed at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago. Duncan's Toy Chest isn't real, but it was likely inspired by a famous NYC store.
This is the most heartwarming location of the movie since Kevin wants to help children who are sick and having a difficult time have a happier holiday. Kevin walks around the city and passes by Radio City Music Hall. This is a famous and beloved part of NYC and is still standing today, with many tourists and residents alike attending performances here.
The Diner still exists, it’s called Empire Diner and it’s located in Chalsea, on the West side of Manhattan. We all have in mind the iconic image of Kevin sticking his head out of the cab as he crosses this bridge. However, this building is not a hospital, but a part of Columbia's Teachers College.
Even people who’ve never been to New York City have a strong connection to the park, in part because of the film’s central character, Kevin McAllister , and his relationship with the park-dwelling Pigeon Lady . In one scene, Kevin hides from the inept criminal duo Harry and Marv by hopping in a trunk on the back of a hansom cab at Bethesda Terrace. As the so-called “Sticky Bandits” search for him, Kevin is pulled away toward Bow Bridge and Cherry Hill.
