Here's something to make you feel old-ish: The movie "Home Alone" turns 25 years old this year -- on Nov. 16, to be exact -- in case you feel inspired to dig out your old VHS tape and watch young Macaulay Culkin outwit two burglars from breaking in.
This classic John Hughes movie made Culkin a star, but let's not forget about the best supporting actor in the film: the red-brick Colonial that set the stage for all of the 8-year-old's DIY burglar traps. How is that home holding up, a quarter-century later?
While Culkin has had his ups and downs in the past two and a half decades, his old "home" -- located at at 671 Lincoln Ave. in Winnetka, IL -- is doing just fine. In 2012, this 4,243-square-foot, four-bedroom home sold for $1,585,000. That's a fair market price, with no sign of a Hollywood-influenced markup. Apparently the home's reflected glory has faded!
Still, the house itself is in great shape, perhaps because the owners at the time the movie was shot -- Cynthia and John Abendshien -- took pains to make sure their place wasn't abused half as much as Joe Pesci.
"We were told shooting would be four or five weeks," Cynthia Abendshien told Chicago magazine. Welp, it turned out that the shooting took over five months. Although the Abendshiens were given an apartment, the location manager warned them that "under the contract, if they needed to knock down a wall when we weren't home, they could do it," Abendshien said. "So she told us it was best if we remained on the premises."
So remain they did, over those five-plus months of filming. "In that time, we spent maybe three nights in the apartment," she said.
With vigilant owners like these, it's no surprise this home has weathered the test of time so well. And while it's not for sale, we've found a few homes in the Winnetka neighborhood with a similar feel that you'll probably love so much, you'll never want to leave (or leave your kids behind).
Price: $1,659,000
Same cozy brick exterior, with six bedrooms, a custom kitchen with walk-in pantry, cathedral ceilings, fireplace, and game room.
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Price: $949,000
This four-bedroom Colonial on a tree-lined street boasts all new windows, roof, and gutters, not to mention a finished basement with a 180-bottle wine cellar.
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Price: $1,199,000
Dubbed the "quintessential Winnetka home," this four-bedroom features an open chef's kitchen, built-in breakfast booth, oversize family room, fireplace, and cabin-style basement/rec room.