I’ll be honest, I never thought much about Indiana as a movie destination until I started noticing familiar buildings and fields pop up in some of my all-time favorite films. Once I made the connection, I couldn’t stop seeing it everywhere.
From basketball courts to crumbling churches, Indiana has quietly served as the backdrop for some of Hollywood’s most unforgettable scenes. If you’ve ever watched a classic sports movie or a big-budget blockbuster and thought, “Wait, where is that?”, chances are the answer was right here in the Hoosier State.
These eight spots are proof that Indiana has been stealing the spotlight for decades, and most of us never even noticed.
1. Hinkle Fieldhouse (Hoosiers) – Indianapolis
If you’ve ever watched the movie Hoosiers and felt your heart race during that final championship scene, you were actually looking at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Built in 1928, this legendary arena at Butler University is one of the oldest college basketball venues in the country.
The moment you walk through its doors, you feel the weight of history pressing down from every wooden beam and worn bleacher seat.
The 1986 film used Hinkle as the setting for the state championship game, and it was a perfect fit. The building’s old-school charm, vaulted ceiling, and classic hardwood floor made it look exactly like the kind of place where a small-town team could pull off an impossible upset.
Gene Hackman and the cast filmed key scenes right here, and the energy of that space translated perfectly to the screen.
What makes Hinkle even more special is that it still hosts real college basketball games today. Butler’s men’s and women’s teams play here every season, so you can sit in the same seats that movie fans have been admiring for nearly forty years.
If you visit Indianapolis, stop by the nearby Broad Ripple neighborhood for great food options like Mesh on Mass at 725 Massachusetts Ave. The fieldhouse itself is located at 510 W 49th St, Indianapolis, and tours are sometimes available through the Butler Athletics department. Seeing it in person hits differently once you know its cinematic legacy.
2. The Hoosier Gym (Hoosiers) – Knightstown
Long before the cameras ever rolled at Hinkle Fieldhouse, the heart of Hoosiers was captured right inside a tiny gym in Knightstown, Indiana. The Hoosier Gym, located at 355 N Washington St, served as the home court for the fictional Hickory Huskers throughout most of the film.
It is one of those rare places where the movie version and the real-life version feel almost identical, and that authenticity is exactly what makes it so powerful.
Walking into this gym feels like stepping directly into 1954. The wooden bleachers creak, the scoreboard looks original, and the floor still carries that same worn-in warmth you see on screen.
Local volunteers and fans have worked hard to preserve everything, which means visiting today feels genuinely nostalgic rather than like a staged tourist attraction. Gene Hackman’s coaching speeches echo in your imagination the second you step inside.
Knightstown itself is a charming small town worth exploring. The Knightstown Antique Mall nearby is a popular stop for visitors who enjoy browsing vintage finds after their gym tour.
The Hoosier Gym hosts real youth basketball games and special events throughout the year, keeping the spirit of Indiana basketball alive in the most authentic way possible. Fans of the film travel from all over the country just to shoot a free throw on this court.
It is one of those experiences that makes you appreciate how a movie can transform an ordinary building into something truly extraordinary and deeply meaningful.
3. Notre Dame Stadium (Rudy) – Notre Dame
Few sports movies have made audiences cry as consistently as Rudy, and the stadium at the center of all that emotion is very much real. Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend served as the filming location for the 1993 film about Daniel Ruettiger, a young man who dreamed his whole life of playing football for the Fighting Irish.
The scenes where Rudy finally suits up and gets carried off the field on his teammates shoulders were filmed right there on that actual field, with real Notre Dame students filling the stands.
What gives this location extra power is that the story actually happened here. Rudy Ruettiger was a real person who attended Notre Dame and really did play in a game in 1975.
Visiting the stadium at 2010 SW Quad, Notre Dame, IN, means standing on ground where both history and Hollywood came together in a way that rarely happens. The golden dome of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart is visible just beyond the stadium, adding to the sense that this place carries something truly sacred.
The Notre Dame campus is stunning year-round and completely open to visitors. Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes on campus is one of the most peaceful spots you will find anywhere in Indiana.
The Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore nearby is a great place to grab a souvenir. Whether you are a football fan or just someone who loves a great underdog story, walking through this stadium is an experience that reminds you why some dreams are absolutely worth chasing no matter how long it takes.
4. League Stadium (A League of Their Own) – Huntingburg
Most people assume A League of Their Own was filmed entirely in big cities, but one of its most important locations was a small baseball stadium in southern Indiana. League Stadium in Huntingburg, located at 203 S Cherry St, served as Doubleday Field in the 1992 film, the home park of the Rockford Peaches.
The stadium’s classic wooden grandstands and intimate layout gave the movie its warm, sun-drenched, summertime feel that audiences instantly fell in love with.
Built in 1894, League Stadium is one of the oldest minor league ballparks in the country. When the production team discovered it, they recognized immediately that no modern stadium could replicate its character.
Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, and Rosie O’Donnell all played scenes here, and the field still carries that unmistakable vintage energy. Knowing that some of Hollywood’s biggest names once stood right on that grass makes a visit feel genuinely special.
Huntingburg is a small, friendly town with a lot of local pride surrounding its connection to the film. After visiting the stadium, check out the nearby Huntingburg City Park for a relaxed afternoon outdoors.
The town’s historic downtown area on Fourth Street features locally owned shops and restaurants worth exploring. League Stadium still hosts the Dubois County Bombers baseball team during summer months, so you can actually watch a live game in the same ballpark where one of the greatest sports comedies ever made was filmed.
That combination of history, Hollywood, and live baseball is pretty hard to beat.
5. Bosse Field (A League of Their Own) – Evansville
Evansville’s Bosse Field is one of the oldest professional baseball stadiums still in use anywhere in the United States, and it earned its Hollywood moment in A League of Their Own. The 1992 film used Bosse Field as a filming location alongside League Stadium in Huntingburg, and scenes featuring the fictional women’s league were captured within its brick walls and classic grandstands.
Bosse Field opened in 1915, which means it has seen over a century of baseball history before a single camera ever pointed at it.
What makes Bosse Field particularly interesting is that it never stopped being a working ballpark. Located at 23 N Main St in Evansville, it still hosts the Evansville Otters of the independent Frontier League.
Sitting in those wooden seats on a warm evening, watching real baseball under the lights, feels like a genuine time-travel experience. The movie connection adds a layer of magic, but the stadium earns its reputation entirely on its own merits and history.
Evansville itself is a lively city with plenty to do after a ballgame. The Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science at 411 SE Riverside Dr is one of the best regional museums in southern Indiana and worth a visit.
The riverfront area along the Ohio River offers beautiful views and walking paths. Food options are plentiful downtown, with locally loved spots scattered throughout the city center.
Bosse Field is one of those rare places where you can experience both cinematic history and genuine living sports tradition all in the same afternoon.
6. Old Lake County Jail (Public Enemies) – Crown Point
There is something genuinely thrilling about standing in front of a building that a real-life gangster once escaped from, especially when Hollywood decided to recreate that escape on film right at the same location. The Old Lake County Jail in Crown Point, located at 226 S Main St, is where the infamous John Dillinger broke out of custody in 1934 using a fake wooden gun.
Michael Mann’s 2009 film Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp as Dillinger, used this very building to recreate that legendary moment.
The jail is a beautifully ornate structure that looks like it belongs in a different century, which is exactly why it worked so well on screen. Its heavy stone construction and period-accurate details gave the filmmakers exactly the visual authenticity they needed without any major set dressing.
Watching Johnny Depp swagger through those corridors on film hits differently once you realize those corridors are completely real and still standing in a small Indiana town.
Crown Point has embraced its complicated history with Dillinger, and the jail has been converted into a mixed-use space that includes retail and event areas. The Lake County courthouse next door is also a stunning piece of architecture worth admiring.
The Square, Crown Point’s charming downtown area, features local restaurants and shops that make for a great afternoon visit. History buffs and film fans alike find this location endlessly fascinating because it blurs the line between true crime history and Hollywood storytelling in the most compelling way imaginable.
7. Rose Well House (Breaking Away) – Bloomington
Breaking Away is one of those quietly perfect movies that most people have not seen but absolutely should, and its soul lives on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington. The 1979 film follows a group of working-class teenagers in a college town, and the Rose Well House in Dunn’s Woods became one of its most iconic images.
This small limestone structure, built in 1908, sits in a grove of old trees and carries the kind of timeless beauty that filmmakers dream about finding on location.
The movie won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and its portrait of Bloomington feels so genuine because so much of it was actually filmed right here. The Rose Well House scene captures the quiet longing at the heart of the story, a young man caught between two worlds, watching a place he loves from the outside.
Visiting this spot today, you feel that same bittersweet quality, especially in the early morning when the light comes through the trees just right.
Indiana University’s campus is one of the most beautiful in the country, and Dunn’s Woods is the green heart of all of it. The nearby Indiana University Art Museum at 1133 E Seventh St houses an impressive collection worth several hours of your time.
Kirkwood Avenue just off campus is lined with great local restaurants and cafes perfect for a post-walk meal. Breaking Away gave Bloomington a cinematic identity it still carries proudly, and the Rose Well House remains its most quietly moving landmark for anyone who takes the time to find it.
8. City Methodist Church (Transformers: Dark of the Moon) – Gary
Gary, Indiana has one of the most dramatic abandoned buildings in the entire country, and Hollywood took notice in a big way. City Methodist Church at 577 Broadway was built in 1926 and served as a thriving religious and community center for decades before falling into disuse.
By the time Michael Bay was scouting locations for Transformers: Dark of the Moon in 2011, the building had transformed into something that looked almost alien, which made it absolutely perfect for a movie about giant robots destroying civilization.
The church’s towering Gothic Revival facade, crumbling stone walls, and cathedral-like interior gave the film a sense of apocalyptic scale that few sets could have manufactured. Scenes depicting a war-torn Chicago were partially filmed here, and the building’s natural decay required almost no additional set dressing.
There is something genuinely surreal about recognizing a Gary landmark inside a movie about Optimus Prime battling Decepticons in the streets of a major American city.
Visiting City Methodist Church requires caution since the building is structurally compromised and not officially open for interior access. However, the exterior alone is breathtaking and worth the drive.
Gary’s history as a once-thriving steel town adds layers of meaning to the church’s current state. The nearby Marquette Park at 1 N Grand Blvd offers lakefront views of Lake Michigan and is a beautiful contrast to the urban landscape surrounding the church.
City Methodist stands as a monument to both Gary’s complicated past and its unexpected role in one of Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster franchises.
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