I recently came across the 1989 movie Uncle Buck on TV and I was completely sucked in.
But it wasn’t the storyline or the 1980s oversized vibe – from hair, to eyeglasses, to shoulder pads – that grabbed me. It was Evanston and the house on Lincoln Street, otherwise known as the Uncle Buck house, which plays the role of the family home.
Even though I’d seen it before, I settled in and watched Uncle Buck simply for the sights, from that big, white house to the iconic Evanston streetlights amid the tall trees.
It’s fun to see local places you know on the big screen. It’s like being almost famous.
I was aware of several movies, like Uncle Buck, filmed in Evanston, but after some digging, I found even more. I hadn’t known that parts of Class, Major League and Lucas were shot here.
I’ve linked to a more complete list at the end, but here’s a smattering of movies with Evanston footage. (I didn’t include TV shows.) A lot of these are the work of John Hughes, who graduated from Glenbrook North High School and set many of his films in the area:
Uncle Buck – This movie features Lincoln Street between McDaniel Avenue and Bennett Avenue and stars John Candy in the title role.
Sixteen Candles – A house on the 3000 block of Payne Street is where Molly Ringwald’s character lives in this 1984 teen comedy. The scene in which the character played by Anthony Michael Hall is erratically driving a girl home from a party was filmed on Central Street.
She’s Having a Baby – The young couple in this 1988 film, played by Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern, live on Salem Lane in the New England Village neighborhood. Evanston Hospital also has a bit part.
Dennis the Menace – This 1993 film features two houses on the 1600 block of Ashland Avenue. It also includes scenes at Lincolnwood Elementary School.
Home Alone trilogy – All of the Home Alone movies include Evanston, and I recently watched each one to take a closer look. In the original, which came out in 1990, I couldn’t tell which scenes were shot here.
In the 1992 sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Haven Middle School, including its auditorium, is the site of a school holiday program.
In Home Alone 3, released in 1997, the 3000 block of Normandy Place and nearby neighborhoods play a prominent role, although Evanston isn’t mentioned. The town is called North Devon Park and the police cars say North Shore Police.
Curly Sue – In this 1991 film, Haven Middle School is Curly Sue’s new school.
Rookie of the Year – Twelve-year-old Henry becomes a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs in this 1993 film. Haven Middle School plays the role of Henry’s school.
Road to Perdition – This 2002 film, set in 1931, features the Evanston History Center at the Charles Gates Dawes House on Greenwood Street.
According to Peter Hawley, director of the Illinois Film Office, people in the industry are very familiar with this site. “A lot of location scouts have the Dawes House on their radar. It’s a period piece, it’s right on the lake and it’s film friendly,” he said. “It’s been in Empire and Chicago P.D. too.”
The Weatherman – Nicolas Cage plays a Chicago TV weatherman in this 2005 film. His estranged wife lives in a house on Lincolnwood Drive near Lincoln Street. I saw this movie when it came out and thought the Evanston Mini Mart shown in it was the White Hen on Ewing Avenue (later a 7-Eleven and now Mack’s Bikes), but it was actually a 7-Eleven on Montrose Avenue in Chicago.
Flags of Our Fathers – In this 2006 film about World War II, a house on the 800 block of Colfax Street is the home of a fallen soldier.
The Express – This 2008 film about the first Black Heisman Trophy winner, Ernie Davis, includes scenes shot at Northwestern’s Ryan Field.
Contagion – A vacant lot at Lincoln Street and Orrington Avenue, now filled with homes, was used as a field where people gathered to get supplies in this 2011 medical thriller. The RoundTable covered this in a 2010 story.
Saint Frances – This award-winning independent film from 2019 is full of Evanston scenes, including Northwestern’s campus, Sheridan Road, the Noyes Cultural Arts Center and various local parks.
I didn’t include movies set in Evanston that were filmed elsewhere, like the 2003 version of Cheaper by the Dozen, which was filmed in California except for a few shots of the lakefront. Mean Girls was also set in Evanston but filmed elsewhere.
I sheepishly asked Hawley, a Northwestern graduate, why it’s exciting to have movies filmed nearby and see places you know on a screen.
“Even though the Chicago area is no secret to Hollywood, the film and TV business feels new to us in the Midwest. It’s still a bright, shiny thing,” he said. “I get excited about it, too.”
For a complete overview of movies filmed in Evanston, see the IMDb list.
Want to see your home on the big (or small) screen?
If you want your house or other property to be considered for filming, you can submit it through the Illinois Film Office website. Hawley said there are currently 27 Evanston locations in their database, including homes, schools and train stations.
Set Scouter also compiles filming locations. According to the company’s website, it connects producers and agencies with spaces to create commercials, films and branded content.
When I checked the Set Scouter website and searched for properties in Evanston, I got 41 results.
What do scouts want in a location? “They have a certain aesthetic in mind or they want something very specific like a 16th century manor,” said a representative from Set Scouter. “The location needs to align with the script.”
Practical things like parking and lots of space inside a house are also helpful, as is a property without a lot of clutter.
~Nancy E. Anderson
Your article brought back fun memories of two John Hughes films. My daughter Elizabeth Edwards was an extra in the playground scene in “Curly Sue”, filmed at Haven when she was a student there. In the same film, I was hired as an extra playing my violin in the hotel orchestra scene in Chicago. We filmed all day long for a 10 second scene! We also watched a few scenes from “ Uncle Buck” being filmed on Lincoln Street. What fun it was to be there!
Way back in 1993 I ran into a friend standing in line at the bank. He was depositing a location fee check for using his house in “Dennis the Menace”.