‘Sixteen Candles’ house in Evanston sells for $1.6M

Home from iconic John Hughes flick sold for a little less than asking

Molly Ringwald and 3022 Payne Street in Evanston, Illinois (Getty, Redfin)
Molly Ringwald and 3022 Payne Street in Evanston, Illinois (Getty, Redfin)

A suburban Chicago home that was the setting of the iconic John Hughes film “Sixteen Candles” has sold for more than $1.5 million.

The 5,000-square-foot home at 3022 Payne Street in Evanston, which was the family home of Molly Ringwald’s character in the 1984 coming-of-age movie, sold for $1.625 million after about six months on the market, NBC Chicago reported.

Many scenes from the movie — in which lead character Samantha Baker’s family forgets her 16th birthday due to her older sister’s upcoming wedding — were filmed in and around the home.

Built in 1931, the home has undergone multiple renovations. It has an updated powder room, grand dining room and living room, as well as a kitchen with breakfast nook and all-new appliances. The backyard has an outdoor kitchen, stone fireplace seating area with a TV and a jacuzzi. There is also an attached, heated, two-car garage.

Upstairs, the second-floor primary suite has an updated bathroom with a walk-in shower and closet space. Three additional bedrooms, two more bathrooms, an office and laundry area are also located on the second floor. The top floor has space for a rec room or office as well as the fifth bedroom and a full bathroom. The finished basement also has space for a rec room as well as a half bathroom and additional laundry space.

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The home has changed hands multiple times over the years, most recently selling for $1.135 million in July 2018.

Another Chicago site that was the setting for scenes in a John Hughes film recently landed on the market as well. A Richard Driehaus mansion on Chicago’s Gold Coast where certain scenes in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” were filmed was listed for just under $6 million in September. In 1986, the house was used to film a brief exterior shot of the fictional Chez Quis restaurant where Matthew Broderick’s titular character takes his best friend and girlfriend to eat.

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— Victoria Pruitt