Winnetka home portrayed in ‘Home Alone’ finds buyer

Winnetka home portrayed in ‘Home Alone’ finds buyer

The red brick Georgian Revival mansion in Winnetka made famous by the 1990 film “Home Alone” garnered much attention when it was listed on May 24 for $5.25 million — more than three times what it had sold for in 2012 to its current owners — and in a testament both to the condition of the home and the popularity of Winnetka, the mansion found a buyer just one week later.

Built in 1921, the three-story, 9,126-square-foot mansion has had a starring role on its Winnetka street now for more than three decades. A 1992 Chicago Tribune headline for a story about the home being placed on a local house walk called the mansion “a “home that’s never left alone.” Then-owner Cynthia Abendshien told the Tribune even back then that “there are a lot of people, especially children, that will knock on the door and ask to see the house.”

It’s not much different today, although the mansion now is set behind a wrought iron fence and gate. On a nice day, a visitor showing up to gawk at the mansion soon will discover that there’s company — other visitors there for the same purpose.

Now, the five-bedroom mansion is set to get its first new owners in 12 years — and six years after the current owners renovated and expanded it. The home has six bathrooms, four fireplaces, an entry staircase that famously was showcased in the film, a recently added family room with 10-foot coffered ceilings and walls of French doors and a kitchen with double islands, bespoke white cabinetry, a hidden pantry, an eight-burner Wolf range, a Sub-Zero refrigerator and a built-in banquette. Other features include a second family room, a screened porch, two laundry rooms, a primary bedroom suite with a walk-in closet and a marble bathroom with dual vanities, and a third-floor junior primary suite with built-ins and back yard views.

On the basement level are an indoor sport court, a movie theater and a wet bar. The mansion also has a heated and attached, three-car garage.

The mansion had a $50,066 property tax bill in the 2022 tax year.

Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.