The HUGE Geography Problems You Never Noticed in 'Home Alone 2: Lost In New York'

If you've ever seen a movie that takes place in New York, you should know that these movies aren't always filmed in New York. But when it comes to Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, a majority of the film WAS filmed on-location here in NYC, my hometown.

And I've watched this movie MANY times since I was a kid and I grew up in New York. But after poking around a little, it turns out that the geography problems of Kevin in NYC are actually quite disastrous.

So, I'm gonna tell you a bunch of the locations featured in the movie (not all) and the problems that come with it.

Laguardia Airport

Address: Queens, NY 11371

Kevin McCallister first lands in NYC at Laguardia Airport and he realizes that his family is in Miami, and he's in New York. But here's what you see out the window:

I'm a New York native, and even those who aren't familiar with the Big Apple know that the skyscraper on the far left is the Empire State Building. Now, I haven't been to Laguardia in nine years, but from a map, it doesn't seem like you'd be able to see Midtown Manhattan from this angle.

Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge

Address: Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, New York, NY 10044

This bridge has been featured in several other films, such as Spider-Man and Now You See Me, but Kevin is seen riding a taxi down the bridge. This makes sense, because LGA is in Queens, and he is essentially taking the bridge from Queens to Manhattan.

Radio City Music Hall

Address: 1260 6th Ave, New York, NY 10020 (on 50th and 6th)

Well, Kevin could have taken the cab to this neighborhood, and therefore, being at Radio City Music Hall makes sense. But I don't know why Kevin's taking a picture of the building across the street from Radio City instead of the actual Radio City. I mean, THEY have the Rockettes.

Now, I go to this area a lot, and there's nothing interesting across the street from Radio City. I wasn't born yet in 1992 to see what was across the street back then, but I'm sure it still wasn't anything that looked better than a Rockette.

Empire Diner

Address: 210 10th Ave, New York, NY 10011 (on 22nd)

When Kevin gets a flyer from a Santa, he is in front of the Empire Diner, a real diner that still exists in New York today. He likely walked down here from Radio City, but NYC is cold in the winter. Maybe I'm just lazy, but I wouldn't walk that far.

The Empire Diner has also appeared in Men In Black II and Law & Order.

Quong Yuen Shing & Co.

Address: 32 Mott St, New York, NY 10013

This is a little place in Chinatown where Kevin picks up some firecrackers. The building is still open, to my knowledge, but Quong Yuen Shing & Co. closed in 2003. But again, it's winter, and it's almost an hour long walk from Empire Diner to this area of Chinatown.

Battery Park

Address: New York, NY 10004

Kevin arrives in Battery Park to look at the famous Statue of Liberty through binoculars, which no longer exist there because why would anyone pay 25 cents to look at a statue clearly when you can't take a picture of it in this day and age?

World Trade Center Observation Deck

Address: World Trade Center, New York, NY

So, at this point, you're telling me that Kevin went from Midtown to Chelsea to Battery Park to the top of the World Trade Center on foot in winter? Also, he's a little kid that is allowed to go up to the top of this building alone?

Now, obviously, the WTC no longer exists in New York.

Plaza Hotel

Address: 768 5th Ave, New York, NY 10019 (on 59th)

Now, at this point, I feel like Kevin took a taxi to this area of Manhattan. We know that Kevin decides to take a stay at Suite no. 411 in the Plaza Hotel while in New York, and this is a real hotel that still exists today.

OH — OH HELL NO!! NO!!!

Wollman Rink

Address: 830 5th Ave, New York, NY 10065 (near 62nd)

This scene has Harry and Marv near Wollman Rink in Central Park. Marv skates around, and falls, while Harry discloses his plan to rob Duncan's Toy Chest. And speaking of which...

Duncan's Toy Chest

Address: N/A

The exterior of Duncan's Toy Chest is actually the Rookery Building in Chicago, IL and the interior shots were filmed at the Uptown Theater. However, it is said that the massive toy store is based off of the now-closed FAO Schwarz in NYC.

Although FAO Schwarz is reopening at a new location, back in 1992, the store was at 767 Fifth Avenue in NYC, which is actually across the street from the Plaza. So, Kevin didn't need to take a limo to Duncan's Toy Chest. He could have just walked.

This location on 59th will be our location for Duncan's Toy Chest. And we saw in the film that the store isn't that far away from the Plaza, so it's all good.

Bethesda Fountain

Address: 72 Terrace Dr, New York, NY 10021 (near 72nd)

Kevin gets kidnapped by Harry and Marv, but he escapes to Central Park, where he goes near the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain. I love this area of the park, and it's been featured in a few other films and TV shows.

Rob McCallister's House

Address: 51 West 95th St., New York, NY 10025

We see the address in the movie, but the scenes were actually filmed in the Universal Studios backlot in Los Angeles, on a set known as "Brownstone Street".

After no one responds, we see Kevin walking down the Upper West Side, down Central Park West, and he runs into the Pigeon Lady nearby. They befriend each other and go to...

Carnegie Hall

Address: 881 7th Ave, New York, NY 10019 (on 57th)

This is a world-renowned concert venue that Kevin and the pigeon lady go to. And I'm not gonna completely reject the idea that the two of them could walk from 95th down here. But this is about to get ridiculous.

St. Anne's Hospital for Children

Address: 525 W 120th St., New York, NY 10027

After Kevin leaves Carnegie Hall, he passes the fictional St. Anne's Hospital for Children. This building is actually part of Columbia’s Teachers College. I repeat — it's winter. And Kevin goes from 57th street to 120th street on foot? Just to look at a kid in a window?

"You can mess with a lot of things. But you can't mess with kids on Christmas."

This is about to get ridiculous.

Kevin then runs down to 95th, which is over a mile away from the hospital. He sets up all his booby traps and heads down toward Duncan's Toy Chest, which, as we've established, is around 59th street. This means Kevin walked about two miles down to the toy store.

He walked thirty-six blocks and multiple avenues down to the toy store, gets Harry and Marv's attention, and they chase him all the way back up to 95th?!

Harry and Marv were chasing Kevin for two miles? And they didn't even break a sweat?! Now, if we add up the distance Kevin went from 95th to Carnegie Hall to St. Anne's to 95th to the toy store and back to 95th, that's approximately TWELVE MILES that Kevin walked in that one night.

It's even more if you take the fact that Kevin went from The Plaza to 95th in the first place. How much stamina does this little kid have?! But this isn't over yet; Kevin beats down on Harry and Marv, and they get arrested in Central Park. We later see Kevin here ––

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Address: Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 10111 (btwn 49th and 50th)

We later see Kevin wishing upon the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, which is right by Radio City Music Hall. Do you realize that the distance between Kevin's spot in Central Park where he set off fireworks and this famous tree is another 2.6 miles?!

Jeez, how far can Kevin walk in one night? I don't doubt that the kid has a bunch of stamina, but the amount he was walking when he first came to New York AND the amount on the night he beat down on Harry and Marv in WINTER is not believable. Nevertheless, I love this movie.

So, what's your favorite Christmas movie? Is it Die Hard? Is it Elf? Home Alone? Whatever you love, have fun this Christmas.