Before visiting Bloomington for the Little 500 Bicycle race, we highly suggest you watch the 1979 movie Breaking Away, the Academy Award winning, coming-of-age movie about post-high school friends that grew up as 'townies' (aka 'Cutters') in a college town and prove themselves during the annual Little 500 Bicycle race.
Musical Arts Center
The Musical Arts Center (MAC), home to the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Opera and Ballet is seen many different times in the film. The Frisbee scene is the first interaction with Rod calling the gang “Cutters.” Opera, ballet and a variety of performances occur at this facility. The statue by Alexander Calder in front called ‘Peau Rouge Indiana’ stands out in each scene.
📍101 N. Eagleson Avenue
Sample Gates
The Sample Gates is where Dave is sitting on the ground practicing Italian, when he first spies Katherine coming out of a building. At the time of filming, a street wound through campus and he followed her to return a notebook she dropped. Sample Gates is now one of the most recognizable and photographed spots on campus.
📍E. Kirkwood & Indiana Ave.
Biology Greenhouse
As Dave tries to catch up with Katherine he rides by the Biology Greenhouse, a conservatory with nearly 800 different species of plants. Also, home to the Corpse Flower (stinky plant) affectionately nicknamed Wally, known for its terrible smell and the fact that it only blooms every four to ten years.
📍1001 E. Third St.
Cox Arboretum
Cox Arboretum in the center of campus was the original 10th Street Stadium and hosted football games and Little 500. This is the location where the Little 500 bicycle race was filmed. The original limestone gate is still present with a plaque commemorating Little 5 riders, but today it is a serene greenspace with paths that lead to the heart of campus. Check out the Metz Carillon located nearby which is a mechanical keyboard instrument which makes sound though 65 cast bronze bells, is 128 feet high and played by played by the University Carillonist.
📍10th & Fee Lane
Bill Armstrong Stadium
Since 1981, Bill Armstrong Stadium has been the site of the Little 500 Bicycle Race. In 1988 the inaugural Women’s Little 500 was held. The quarter mile cinder track has seen some of the most exciting cycling in the world.
📍1606 N. Fee lane
Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium may have seen the biggest transformation of all filming locations. With the gang sitting on the hill watching football practice, Mike talks about being a good high school quarterback, having to watch the college team from afar and not being able to realize his dreams. The stadium has gone through several renovations over the years and while now there are no open endzones, the east and west stadium seats are very recognizable. Memorial Stadium is home to the 2025 College Football National Champions who finished the season with a perfect 16-0 record.
📍1001 17th St.
Indiana Memorial Union
Filmed inside the Indiana Memorial Union is the restaurant scene where Cyril, Mike and Moocher get into a fight with Rod, while Cyril’s fingers are stuck in a bowling ball. You can still bowl, eat and enjoy many photos from the movie which adorn the walls, and see the stained-glass windows that were broken in that scene. Located at the Quarry Pie restaurant on the main level of the Indiana Memorial Union.
📍900 E. 7th St.
Rose Well House
The Rose Well House, located in the Old Crescent area of the Indiana University campus, is one of the oldest remaining structures on campus. This is where Dave meets Katherine to tell her he is in fact, not an Italian exchange student. This site has become a campus tradition for couples to kiss at the stroke of midnight and according to campus lore, a woman was not considered a true coed until she had undergone this rite of passage.
📍Kirkwood & Indiana Ave.
Downtown Bloomington
Many scenes were filmed in Downtown Bloomington. While businesses have come and gone, the Monroe County Courthouse still stands proudly in the center of it all. Some notable sites in the file are the marquee of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, still active today hosting many live performances and events throughout the year. Breaking Away is shown annually at the theater.
Main Cast
Dennis Christopher as Dave
Daniel Stern as Cyril
Dennis Quaid as Mike
Jackie Earl Haley as Moocher
Robyn Douglass as Katherine
Hart Bochner as Rod
Breaking Away runs frequently on the AMC channel or you can stream on almost every platform. To learn more and get tickets to the Women’s and Men’s Little 500 Bicycle Race, click here.
