This movie is a 1992 blockbuster comedy directed by Chris Columbus and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The American filmmaker John Hughes wrote the story and also produced the film. It is the second installment in the Home Alone franchise. The film stars Macaulay Culkin, John Heard, Daniel Stern, Brenda Fricker, Tim Curry, Joe Pesci and Catherine O’Hara.
Its story is about the same boy in the first movie, Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), who gets separated from his family during Christmas vacation and takes his own little expensive vacation in New York.
The crew used several places in Illinois and New York to film the movie, including the popular World Trade Center and Rockefeller Center.
What Are The Locations Used In Home Alone 2?
Rockefeller Center
After making the lives of Marv (Daniel Stern) and Harry (Joe Pesci) a living hell, Kevin runs to the emblematic huge Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. He wishes to take back all the bad things he said to his family and see his mother. Luckily, his mother, Kate McCallister (Catherine O’Hara), finds him there and reconciles.
Rockefeller Center is famous for its yearly lighting and decorations during the holiday season. It has some fantastic collections of artwork in its Art Deco Buildings. Especially in December, the place looks like the dreamland of Santa Clause.
Address: 45 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10111, USA
Central Park
This is where Kevin first meets the pigeon lady and dashes away. Many other scenes happen here too. Most of them are in the 96th Street Transverse, Wollman Rink, Upper West Side and Central Park South.
Address: 59th Street – 110th Street, enclosed by Central Park West and Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, USA
World Trade Center
When Kevin takes a small tour around New York, one of the iconic places he goes is the World Trade Center. We, as the audience, still don’t know how he got up there. But, the director showcased a perfect zoom-out shot of Kevin standing on the top of the South World Trade Center. This shoot happened nine years before the 9/11 attack.
Address: 285 Fulton Street Manhattan, New York City, NY, USA
Quong Yuen Shing & Company
Kevin makes another stop at a place called Quong Yuen Shing and Company to buy fireworks. It is an 1891 historical building in Chinatown that was in operation for a long time. Due to the 9/11 attack, the store faced some compelling losses in business which led to its permanent shutdown in 2003.
Now, the store is called Good Fortune Gifts. However, the exterior design has not changed a bit.
Address: 32 Mott Street, Chinatown, New York City, NY, USA
Rob McCallister’s House
To execute his master plan, Kevin has to look for a place. Rob’s house is the one. It is challenging to find the house in real-life. In the movie, the address mentioned is 51 West 95th Street. There is a similar brown house and the neighborhood looks precisely the same as the one shown in the film. But, this location is not in New York. The crew must have used sets to shoot the interior scenes and an apt neighborhood for the exterior scenes.
Times Square
You can see 90s Times Square in one of the scenes in the movie. Kate is roaming around the city to find her son. One of the places she visits is Times Square.
It looks a lot different now with the bright lights, greater traffic, remodeled area and the installment of the Pedestrian Plaza.
Address: Manhattan, NY 10036, United States
LaGuardia Airport
In this movie, Kevin searches for his family in the LaGuardia Airport after getting out of the flight. Then, he realizes that he is in New York and his family is in Florida when he looks at the fantastic skyline of Manhattan through the window.
Today, the airport has changed with respect to technologies, time and culture diversions.
Address: Queens, NY 11371, USA
Duncan’s Toy Chest
Every kid likes a toy store. Kevin is no exception. When he goes to Duncan’s Toy Chest, he immediately falls in love.
Duncan’s Toy Chest is actually the Rookery Building in Chicago. It was built in 1888 and named a National Historic Landmark in 1975. You may have seen the gigantic arched entrance in the film. It is still there without any wear or tear.
Address: 209 S LaSalle St, Chicago, IL 60604, USA
The Plaza Hotel
After knowing that he is alone, Kevin plans to stay in a luxurious hotel in the city, The Plaza Hotel. This site made quite an impression on our memories. Who could forget that little cameo by Donald Trump?
While staying here, Kevin makes everyone question his identity. He uses his father’s credit card many times to order room service.
The hotel was completed in 1907 and refurbished in 2005 before the grand reopening in 2008.
Address: 5th Avenue, Central Park S, New York, NY 10022, USA
Empire Diner
The Empire Diner makes a brief appearance in the movie. Kevin says hello to a person dressed as Santa on stilts in front of the diner.
It is among the most acclaimed diners worldwide because of its appearances in several movies and TV shows.
This diner was built in 1946, reconditioned in 1976, closed for some time in 2010, reopened in 2014, and still runs hard and strong today. It looks exactly the same from the outside as in the movie.
Address: 210 10th Avenue, New York City, NY 10011, USA
Fulton Fish Market
Kevin is roaming around the Fulton Fish Market with his backpack. A white truck takes a turn and honks at him. Then, the camera goes to the back of the truck to introduce the villains Marv and Harry. They are fresh out of prison where they were paying their sentences because of Kevin.
The Hunts Point fish market was initially founded in 1822 as a wing of Fulton Market. Then it was moved to Hunts Point in 2005.
Address: 800 Food Center Dr, Bronx, NY 10474, USA
57th Street Subway Station
Marv and Harry get out of that fish market and reach midtown through the subway. They come from the 57th Street Subway Station discussing getting fake passports and flying to South America.
Address: New York, NY 10106, United States
Queensboro Bridge
Kevin has the best days of his life in New York City with his father’s carry-on, credit card and a bundle of cash. He takes a cab and from its window, he leans out to see the legendary Queensboro Bridge.
The Cantilever Bridge (also known as 59th Street Bridge) was built in 1909 to connect the Upper Eastside of Manhattan with Long Island City.
Address: Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, New York, NY 10044, USA
Apart from these locations, the crew also used the Uptown Theater, Carnegie Hall, the Statue of Liberty, Van Cleef and Arpels store, Battery Park, St. Anne’s Hospital for Children, Radio City Music Hall, Pepsi-Cola sign, Grand Army Plaza, Bethesda Fountain and many more.
Home Alone 2 was released on November 20, 1992, and received appreciation for the leads’ performances but criticism for the poor use of tone and violence. Overall, it received above-average reviews from critics. However, the film hit the box office with over $359 million worldwide and became the third highest-grossing film in 1992.