A definitive guide to the real-life filming locations in Home Alone 2 (2024)

One of the most iconic scenes in beloved Christmas movie Home Alone: Lost In New York is when Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) arrives at Duncan's Toy Chest in a limousine.

The epic store has an elaborate moving display above the door, complete with a mechanical Santa, bear and presents.

Inside, Kevin discovers a wealth of goodies - from train sets and Ferris wheels, to traditional toys - all of which are on display to be played with.

But is Duncan's Toy Chest a real store in New York? Here's the lowdown...

Sadly, the toy shop isn't a real store in New York (sigh).

It was, however, based on the real-life store FAO Schwartz, which is also where the iconic piano scene was filmed in the Tom Hanks movie Big.

FAO Schwartz was originally located near The Plaza on Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, but was relocated to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in 2015.

While the building itself is a real location, it isn't a toy store, nor is it in New York.

The brown stone building where the exterior scenes are shot, is actually located in Chicago, where the first film in the franchise was set.

The outside of Duncan's Toy Chest is actually the Rookery building, which you may also recognise from the 1987 movie The Untouchables.

All of the interior shots were filmed at the Uptown Theater.

Writer John Hughes has frequently filmed in the Windy City, also using Chicago's streets and buildings for Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles.

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