Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is a 1992 American Christmas comedy directed by Chris Columbus and written by John Hughes, starring Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister. A sequel to Home Alone (1990), the film follows Kevin as he becomes separated from his family at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and accidentally boards a flight to New York City instead of Miami. Armed with his father’s credit card, he checks into the Plaza Hotel and begins exploring Manhattan, only to encounter Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), the two burglars he defeated the previous Christmas. The film also stars Catherine O’Hara, John Heard, Tim Curry, Brenda Fricker, Rob Schneider and Eddie Bracken, with much of the story taking place around New York’s famous hotels, department stores, parks and Christmas attractions.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) was filmed in New York City, the Chicago area of Illinois and Southern California. Principal photography began on 9 December 1991 and continued until May 1992, with extensive location filming in Manhattan and Chicago, as well as studio work in California. The Plaza Hotel, Central Park, Rockefeller Center and the former World Trade Center provided many of the film’s recognisable New York locations. However, several supposedly Manhattan interiors were filmed in Chicago, including Duncan’s Toy Chest at the Rookery Building and Uptown Theatre, and the luxurious hotel suite at Hilton Chicago. Additional locations included Chicago O’Hare International Airport, a former motel in Long Beach and the Universal Studios backlot in California, where the townhouse belonging to Kevin’s uncle was recreated.

The McCallister family home appears again at 671 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka, Illinois, the same property used for the original film. The Georgian-style brick residence, built in 1921, is introduced as the family prepares for another Christmas holiday, this time in Florida. Following a disastrous evening at the children’s school concert, Kevin argues with his family and spends the night in the attic. The following morning, the McCallisters once again oversleep and rush out of the house to reach the airport. The driveway, main entrance and surrounding residential street appear as the family piles into airport shuttle vans. The exterior remained largely unchanged from the first film, although the residence subsequently underwent substantial renovations.

The children’s Christmas concert takes place at the fictional St Gerard’s School, represented by two different schools in Chicago’s northern suburbs. The exterior was filmed at Haven Middle School, 2417 Prairie Avenue in Evanston, while the auditorium scenes were photographed at the former Skokie School, 520 Glendale Avenue in Winnetka. During the performance, Kevin is singing with the school choir when his older brother Buzz uses two candles to make it appear that Kevin has enormous ears. Humiliated in front of the audience, Kevin pushes Buzz, accidentally causing the scenery to collapse and the other children to fall. The school auditorium, with its wooden seats, stage and decorative curtains, was used for the performance itself, while the Evanston building provided the exterior establishing shots.

The family’s departure was filmed at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, particularly Terminal 3, where the McCallisters rush through the concourse towards their flight. Kevin stops to replace the batteries in his Talkboy recorder and loses sight of his father among the passengers. Mistaking another traveller for him, Kevin follows the man through the terminal and boards an aircraft bound for New York instead of Miami. The sequence uses the actual terminal corridors and boarding areas, including the H and K concourses, with the airport’s signs helping establish how Kevin takes the wrong route. O’Hare was also used for scenes representing his arrival at a New York airport, while Los Angeles International Airport provided exterior footage for the McCallisters’ arrival in Miami.

The family’s disappointing Florida accommodation was filmed at the former Rochelle’s Motel at 3333 Lakewood Boulevard, near Long Beach Airport in California. The property represented the fictional Villa de Dolphiné, a rundown motel recommended by Uncle Frank. Instead of the luxurious tropical resort the family had imagined, they arrive at an unattractive roadside complex with a swimming pool and an old boat positioned beside it. The location appears when the family first arrives and later when Kate McCallister receives news that Kevin has been located in New York. The motel was demolished after filming, and the property subsequently became part of the parking facilities serving Long Beach Airport.

Kevin’s arrival in New York begins with a view of the Manhattan skyline from across the East River. The skyline photography was taken from Long Island City in Queens, although it is presented as a view from the airport. Kevin then travels into Manhattan by taxi, crossing the Queensboro Bridge, officially known as the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. The steel cantilever bridge, completed in 1909, connects Queens with East 59th Street in Manhattan. Kevin leans out of the taxi window and looks at the city as the vehicle crosses the bridge, with the surrounding towers and East River visible around him.

His sightseeing tour begins in Midtown Manhattan, including Radio City Music Hall at 1260 Sixth Avenue. Opened in 1932 as part of Rockefeller Center, the Art Deco theatre is shown as Kevin photographs the city and explores its Christmas decorations. He subsequently encounters a man dressed as Santa Claus on stilts outside the Empire Diner at 210 Tenth Avenue, near West 22nd Street in Chelsea. The distinctive stainless-steel diner, built in 1946, appears in the background as Kevin approaches the unusually tall Santa. The restaurant was particularly recognisable in the early 1990s because of the miniature Empire State Building mounted on its roof.

The sightseeing sequence continues in Chinatown, where Kevin leaves the former Quong Yuen Shing & Co. store at 32 Mott Street after purchasing firecrackers. The historic shopfront and its surrounding street appear briefly as Kevin walks away carrying his purchases. He later uses the firecrackers during his attempt to attract the police in Central Park. The film then follows him to Battery Park at the southern end of Manhattan, where he looks towards the Statue of Liberty through a coin-operated telescope. The waterfront promenade and its views across New York Harbor provided the setting, with Liberty Island visible beyond the water.

Kevin’s tour also takes him to the original World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. He approaches the Twin Towers from the surrounding plaza before ascending to the observation deck of the South Tower. The sequence includes views across the harbour, the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges and the surrounding skyscrapers as Kevin looks over the city from more than 1,300 feet above street level. The original World Trade Center complex was completed in the early 1970s and destroyed in the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. The film consequently preserves footage of the outdoor observation deck and the Manhattan skyline as they appeared almost a decade before the towers were lost.

Harry and Marv arrive in Manhattan separately, hidden inside a delivery truck carrying fish. Their arrival was filmed around South Street and Beekman Street, close to the former Fulton Fish Market. The truck stops near 156 Beekman Street, where the two escaped convicts emerge from their hiding place and begin looking for opportunities to steal money. They subsequently appear outside the 57th Street subway station at Sixth Avenue, emerging from the entrance near 57 West 57th Street. Marv demonstrates a new method of stealing loose change by covering his hand with sticky tape, prompting him to rename the pair the Sticky Bandits. The subway entrance and surrounding Midtown buildings remain identifiable, although the station and pavement have undergone alterations since filming.

Central Park provides the setting for Kevin’s first encounter with the homeless woman who becomes known as the Pigeon Lady, played by Brenda Fricker. The scene was filmed near Gapstow Bridge, at the southeastern corner of the park, close to East 62nd Street. The stone bridge, constructed in 1896, crosses a narrow section of the Pond and offers views towards the Plaza Hotel and the surrounding Midtown towers. Kevin follows a path beside the water and notices the woman sitting among numerous pigeons on the rocks. Frightened by her sudden movement, he runs away, unaware that she will later become an important friend.

Kevin then leaves Central Park near the intersection of Central Park South and Sixth Avenue, beside the equestrian statue of General José de San Martín. He unknowingly crosses paths with Harry and Marv, who are walking through the same intersection. The two criminals recognise him only after he has passed, while Marv’s sticky hand creates further trouble when it becomes attached to a woman’s handbag. The surrounding streets, park entrance and equestrian monument are visible during the scene, which brings the three characters within a few steps of one another without an immediate confrontation.

The Plaza Hotel at 768 Fifth Avenue, overlooking the southeastern corner of Central Park, is the film’s most important New York building. Opened in 1907, the French Renaissance-style hotel had already become one of Manhattan’s most famous luxury properties when the production arrived in December 1991. Kevin enters the hotel after deciding to spend his unexpected holiday in comfort and makes his way through the grand lobby, past the Palm Court and towards the reception desk. He uses his father’s credit card and a recording of an adult voice on his Talkboy to persuade the staff to give him a room.

Several members of the hotel staff become central to the story, particularly concierge Mr Hector (Tim Curry), who grows suspicious of Kevin’s claim that he is travelling with his father. The lobby, corridors and reception areas appear as Hector begins investigating the young guest, while Kevin enjoys room service and watches old gangster films in his accommodation. When the staff finally discover that his father’s credit card has been reported stolen, Kevin uses another recording to frighten them before fleeing through the building. He eventually slides across the marble floor beneath the pursuing desk clerk and escapes into a lift. Parts of the former hotel lobby were later incorporated into the private residential section of the Plaza during its redevelopment between 2005 and 2008.

Not every part of Kevin’s hotel stay was filmed at the Plaza. The swimming-pool scene, in which he performs an enormous cannonball dive before losing his oversized swimming trunks, was filmed at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, 120 East Delaware Place. The hotel’s indoor pool was used to represent a facility supposedly belonging to the Plaza, despite the two buildings being hundreds of miles apart. Additional hotel interiors were filmed elsewhere in Chicago, while the real Plaza supplied the essential Manhattan exterior and lobby sequences.

Another important Chicago location is the Rookery Building at 209 South LaSalle Street, which became the exterior of Duncan’s Toy Chest. Completed in 1888 and designed by architects Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root, the historic office building stands at the corner of LaSalle and Adams Streets in the Loop. Its imposing stone entrance was decorated with Christmas greenery, toy-store signs and elaborate displays to represent the fictional Manhattan department store. Kevin arrives by limousine after receiving a special gift from the Plaza Hotel’s concierge, while Harry and Marv are also visiting the building to plan a Christmas Eve robbery. The Rookery’s entrance appears again when the two criminals chase Kevin and later return to steal money from the store.

The interior of Duncan’s Toy Chest was filmed at the Uptown Theatre, 4816 North Broadway in Chicago. Opened in 1925, the enormous cinema was one of the largest movie palaces in the United States, with a lavish interior featuring decorative plasterwork, grand staircases and expansive public spaces. The theatre had closed as a regular entertainment venue in 1981, making its interior available for the production. Its ornate lobby was transformed into a Christmas toy shop filled with stuffed animals, miniature trains, musical instruments and other merchandise. Kevin explores the store before meeting its elderly owner, Mr Duncan (Eddie Bracken), who explains that the Christmas proceeds will be donated to a children’s hospital. Mr Duncan gives Kevin two ceramic turtledoves, intended to be shared between friends as a symbol of lasting affection. The fictional toy store was inspired by New York’s famous FAO Schwarz, but the actual FAO Schwarz premises were not used for the scenes.

After leaving Duncan’s Toy Chest, Kevin discovers that Harry and Marv are standing immediately behind him. Although the store entrance was filmed in Chicago, the ensuing chase quickly moves to Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Kevin runs past commercial buildings near East 57th Street and buys a collection of loose beads from a street vendor outside Bergdorf Goodman, at 754 Fifth Avenue. He scatters the beads across the pavement near the Pulitzer Fountain in Grand Army Plaza, causing the pursuing criminals to lose their footing. The square, located opposite the Plaza Hotel, was created in the early twentieth century and retains its distinctive fountain and gilded statue of Pomona.

The chase returns to the Plaza Hotel, where Kevin discovers that the staff now consider him a thief. After escaping through the building, he is caught by Harry and Marv in what appears to be a service alley behind the hotel. This passage was actually filmed in Chicago, in the alley running behind South State Street between East Madison Street and East Monroe Street. The production used the rear of buildings near 36 South State Street, including an entrance that was dressed to resemble the Plaza’s service exit. The criminals drag Kevin through the narrow passage while explaining their plans to rob Duncan’s Toy Chest later that evening. The alley footage was combined with the New York hotel exterior and surrounding Fifth Avenue streets.

Kevin eventually escapes from the criminals near Fifth Avenue and East 60th Street, beside the Sherry-Netherland and Pierre hotels. After tricking a passing woman into attacking Harry and Marv, he runs into Central Park through the entrance known as Scholars’ Gate. The pursuit continues to Bethesda Terrace, where Kevin hides inside a compartment on the back of a horse-drawn carriage. The Bethesda Fountain, its Angel of the Waters sculpture and the surrounding terrace appear as the criminals search for him. The nineteenth-century terrace, designed by Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould, is one of Central Park’s best-known architectural landmarks and provided a substantial real location for the sequence.

Looking for somewhere to stay, Kevin attempts to visit his uncle Rob’s townhouse at the fictional address of 51 West 95th Street on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Although the address belongs to a real building, the property seen in the film was not photographed there. Instead, the exterior was filmed on Brownstone Street, part of the New York-themed backlot at Universal Studios in Universal City, California. The production used an existing row of brownstone façades to represent Rob and Georgette McCallister’s unoccupied townhouse, which is undergoing extensive renovations. Kevin discovers that nobody is home and that the building is filled with construction materials and equipment. The exterior location later becomes the setting for the film’s elaborate confrontation with Harry and Marv. Much of Universal’s New York backlot was damaged during a major fire in 2008, and the brownstone façades were subsequently rebuilt.

The streets around Kevin’s fictional uncle’s home were nevertheless photographed in New York. The production used West 95th Street and Central Park West for scenes in which Kevin approaches the neighbourhood and later leads the burglars towards the townhouse. After finding the property empty, he wanders north along Central Park West towards West 96th Street, encountering several threatening-looking strangers. Frightened by the unfamiliar surroundings, he enters Central Park again and attempts to take a taxi, only to discover that the driver appears even more frightening than the people he has just passed. The surrounding Upper West Side buildings, street signs and park entrances are visible in these scenes.

Kevin’s next meeting with the Pigeon Lady takes place in Central Park, where she explains how she became homeless after losing her home and the person she trusted. She subsequently takes him to Carnegie Hall at 881 Seventh Avenue, where they secretly enter the building and watch an orchestral performance from above. The film shows the concert hall’s exterior in Manhattan, but the interior performance scenes were photographed at Orchestra Hall in the Chicago Symphony Center, 220 South Michigan Avenue. The historic concert hall, opened in 1904, provided the auditorium and upper architectural spaces used to represent the interior of Carnegie Hall. Kevin and the Pigeon Lady sit above the musicians, listening to a Christmas performance while discussing loneliness, friendship and the possibility of rebuilding their lives.

Another important Manhattan building is Teachers College at Columbia University, 525 West 120th Street. Its Broadway-side façade was used for the exterior of the fictional St Anne’s Hospital for Children, the institution that Mr Duncan intends to support with the proceeds from his toy store. Kevin stops outside the building and notices a sick child looking through an upper-floor window. The child waves to him, reminding Kevin of the importance of protecting the money that Harry and Marv intend to steal. The actual building forms part of Columbia University’s graduate school of education, rather than a children’s hospital. A wider establishing view of the fictional hospital was created separately, placing the institution within a different Manhattan streetscape.

The Christmas Eve robbery returns to Duncan’s Toy Chest at the Rookery Building in Chicago. After the store has closed, Harry and Marv enter to steal the money intended for the children’s hospital. Kevin arrives with a collection of improvised equipment and throws a brick through the front window, triggering the security alarm and drawing the criminals outside. The sequence uses the Rookery’s decorated entrance and the surrounding section of South LaSalle Street. During their pursuit, Harry and Marv step onto a makeshift seesaw that Kevin has constructed outside the store. Harry is launched into the air before crashing onto a parked car, with the surrounding buildings on West Adams Street visible during the stunt.

Kevin then leads the criminals through Manhattan towards his uncle’s supposedly vacant townhouse. Several shots were filmed around West 95th Street and Central Park West, including the section beside the apartment building at 350 Central Park West. The action eventually switches to Universal Studios’ Brownstone Street, where the townhouse façade provides the setting for Kevin’s elaborate collection of traps. Harry and Marv attempt to enter the building, only to be struck by falling bricks, electrified equipment, swinging objects and other hazards arranged throughout the property. The complicated interior scenes were filmed on purpose-built sets, allowing the filmmakers to construct dangerous-looking stairways, unfinished floors and rooms filled with renovation equipment.

After surviving the traps, Harry and Marv pursue Kevin back into the real streets of Manhattan. The chase returns to West 95th Street, where Kevin uses a public telephone near Central Park West to alert the police. The criminals eventually catch him and drag him into Central Park, threatening to take revenge for their injuries. Their final confrontation takes place beneath a stone arch resembling Inscope Arch, near the southeastern corner of the park. Although the real Inscope Arch served as the model for the location, the principal sequence involving the Pigeon Lady and the attacking birds was filmed on a studio set. The replica was constructed with different proportions and additional steps to accommodate the action.

The Pigeon Lady rescues Kevin by summoning hundreds of pigeons, which descend on Harry and Marv while the boy escapes. The sequence was filmed on a soundstage using trained pigeons and stunt performers. The birds were directed towards concealed food containers, allowing the filmmakers to control their movements during the attack. The studio arrangement allowed the filmmakers to control the birds’ movements while staging the criminals’ apparent defeat. Kevin then sets off the firecrackers he bought earlier in Chinatown, attracting police officers to the park. The outdoor fireworks footage was filmed around the western side of Central Park, near West 96th Street, and combined with the studio scenes beneath the arch.

Meanwhile, Kate McCallister searches the city for her missing son. A sequence supposedly taking place in Times Square begins with an establishing view of the real Manhattan intersection, but her conversation with police officers was filmed in Chicago, near the Reliance Building at the corner of North State Street and West Washington Street. The historic commercial surroundings were used to represent another part of New York, with signage from a former clothing business visible behind the characters. Kate eventually realises that Kevin may have gone to the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, remembering his affection for the city’s holiday decorations.

The reunion between Kevin and his mother was filmed at Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan. Kevin stands beside the enormous Christmas tree, surrounded by the illuminated buildings and festive decorations, and wishes that he could see his family again. Kate arrives moments later and discovers him near the tree, running towards him before the two embrace. The scene uses the actual Rockefeller Center plaza, whose annual Christmas tree has been a major New York tradition since the early 1930s. The illuminated tree, surrounding skyscrapers and decorated pedestrian areas are clearly visible as the family is finally reunited.

The final Christmas morning sequences return to the Plaza Hotel, although the lavish suite occupied by the McCallisters was filmed at Hilton Chicago, 720 South Michigan Avenue. Opened in 1927 as the Stevens Hotel, the enormous property contains the Conrad Hilton Suite, a two-storey luxury apartment with several bedrooms and a grand staircase. The suite was used for the scene in which the McCallister children wake to discover that Mr Duncan has sent an enormous collection of Christmas presents in gratitude for Kevin’s actions. The rooms, staircase and upper-level balcony are visible as the family opens its gifts. The hotel interior was combined with exterior footage of the real Plaza to create the impression that everyone had been accommodated in the same New York property.

The film ends back in Central Park, near Gapstow Bridge, where Kevin returns to visit the Pigeon Lady. He finds her beside the Pond and gives her one of the ceramic turtledoves he received from Mr Duncan, keeping the other as a reminder of their friendship. The stone bridge, surrounding trees and water provide the setting as the two exchange Christmas greetings. The location returns the story to the place where Kevin first encountered her, with the Plaza Hotel visible beyond the park.

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