“BREAKING AWAY" Filming Locations - Then & Now

This video features the various filming locations that were used for the 1979 classic "Breaking Away." All of the filming locations that were used for this movie were in and around the Bloomington, Indiana area.
A special thanks to the great people of Indiana University and the city of Bloomington, Indiana for allowing and helping me put together this video.
Some images and clips were used as "Fair Use" for educational purposes to create this video.
0:00 Intro
0:56 The Quarry
4:37 Dave riding down the street
7:55 The Stohler house (Dave’s house)
9:18 Moocher’s house
11:27 Campus Cars
13:29 Hanging out at the quarry
13:59 Mike and the guys cruising the campus
16:17 Mike runs over Rod’s frisbee
18:07 Watching football practice
20:51 Dave sees Katherine
23:03 Dave follows Katherine on his bike
24:07 Dave meets Katherine
24:44 Rod and Katherine driving
25:20 Dave learns the Italians are coming
26:48 Dave excitedly rides his bike
27:13 Dave kisses the mailman
28:10 Campus Street Car Wash
29:52 Dave and Cyril talking
31:52 Hanging out eating pizza
32:59 Dave and Cyril on the bike
33:28 Dave serenades Katherine
35:08 The guys walking in town
37:41 Mike and Rod driving on campus
38:48 The union bowling alley
41:20 The fight
43:09 Mike and Rod in the quarry
43:25 Dave and Moocher walking in town
45:16 Moocher and Nancy at the courthouse
46:36 Dave races through intersection
47:30 The Mill
49:21 Dave’s parents walking at night
49:46 Dave working at the car lot
51:12 The bike race
53:21 Mike drops off Moocher
53:27 Dave tells Katherine the truth
54:55 Dave and his dad talk by the library
56:10 The guys hanging out on Dave’s porch
57:10 Dave’s backyard shed
58:13 The original site of 10th Street Stadium
1:01:16 Dave and Katherine talk
1:02:26 The Race
1:03:22 Dave meets the French girl
1:04:15 Dave riding bikes with the French girl
1:05:54 Ending
Come See With Me

[@ladesigner8764]

I grey up in this town-remember the excitement the filming brought. Love my town, makes me homesick. Thank you.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

You’re welcome!

[@liljohngotti7806]

My birth place lol grew up about 20-30 mins away in Spencer but was always in Bloomington

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

I really like Bloomington. Very nice college town.

[@yanks1fan09]

One of the best movies of the 70's. I saw it about 10 times the first weeks it was out. My aunt had a store in NY that was next to a movie theater they let us in for free. I memorized all the lines.. lol.. loved Paul Dooley.. Hiya Big Shot.. Bonjourno Papa! Thank you for the tour.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thank you!

[@WelshRabbit]

I thought I was the only one who did that. I saw the movie about 16 times when it was still in the theaters -- and each time I dragged a different friend with me to see it (sometimes a bit reluctant, but who in 100% of the cases left afterwards loving the film).

[@HoosierVagabond]

HOLY SHIT, you have documented everything important to me, Breaking Away filming locations. I’ve been trying to hunt for 30 years. Yeah, the quarry and Stoller house… But you really did a great job pointing out details!!! Thank you!!!

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@hippiebits2071]

The amount of detail included in this is very impressive. Well done.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thank you very much!

[@stephensundstrom6379]

Very cool! Breaking away is one of my all time favorite films. Thanks for sharing these location shots.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thank you and you’re welcome!

[@mdean7a]

Nice!! One of my top 10 movies. Just watched it for the 50th time today! Great job 👍

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thank you!

[@lindagnat-mullin8108]

I think my Dad swam there as a young man, some 70+ years ago. 💖

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

I heard it was a fabulous place to go when it was accessible. That is outstanding that your dad got to experience it.

[@jannydots3870]

Why don’t they make films like this anymore. So happy to see so many others love this film too❤

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

I agree. And thanks!

[@jeffarms64]

I wish I had seen your video a few years ago. I took a solo trip to Bloomington a few years ago, and rode around on my MASI GC and visited probably 10 notable locations, Dave's house, the arboretum where the track was, etc. I think you'd agree that the campus and town are depicted in the film as they actually are. You could almost perform the movie live and everything is really laid out as it is in the move. Last thing BTW, I vistited the red sculpture in the frisbee scene. There is a small plaque to let you know that it is by the famous artist Alexander Calder. He's more famous for his large mobiles that hang in some of the greatest modern art collections in the world.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Glad to hear you did some visiting of the locations like I did. And yes, I would totally agree with you, it’s very much as it was depicted in the movie. That’s something I really liked about Bloomington and IU. What you saw in the movie is pretty much what you get in person. It has a very genuine quality to it for that reason. I would have loved to have gone to school there. Such a cool place. And thanks for the additional info.

[@steviem5279]

Thank you for this, it brought back a lot of memories from the movie. It's a shame about the quarry being filled in because of how important it was to the movie and sets the tone for the rest of the film. It also would have been pretty interesting if you were able to get the highway from where Dave streamed off the 18 wheeler but I do understand why that couldn't have been done. I'd love to go visit Bloomington to see the filming locations one day but this video was a great walk down memory lane.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thank you!

[@patrickt.randolph7043]

# 1 Film in "recent" US history~!!! Amazing characters and story!!!!!

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

I think it’s a very underrated movie. I really liked it but I have found that it often seems like it’s a movie that not a lot of people know about or have seen. But those who have really seem to like it.

[@johnclerk1195]

@@ComeSeeWithMe I'll have to wiki it to be sure, but it did win one Oscar for best screenplay. The writer is an IU alumn and he's gone on to do big things in the industry.

[@KGMaz]

My dad drove for yellow cab and he was one of the cab drivers the company hired to to take everyone to locations,me and my mom got to see w lot of the filming around town,I will never not watch this movie because old Bloomington is gone and it brings back memories!

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Very cool, thanks for sharing that!

[@mhammer5]

That tower is the old Bell telephone system microwaves I think for long distance calls, landline. I use to go to Michigan once a month back in 1968 to 1971 and we traveled up I-69 North and these towers, tall towers were about 17 miles apart I would see them the whole journey. In fact I recall a show I saw on PBS could have been a NOVA episode where they had the oddly shaped microwave antenna you see on the tower many times larger mounted horizontally instead of the smaller vertical mounted antenna you see here. The antenna I saw on the PBS program was so large a person could be inside and control the tilting of the antenna for space exploration. When I first saw "Breaking Away" was on HBO around when it came out. I was out maybe coming back from the store turned on TV and my first moment seeing the movie it was on for just a few moments and I did not look to see what I was watching and I saw Dave riding his bike. I said hell that looks like Indiana. I could tell by the architecture of the homes. Very similar to the homes where I grew up in Marion Indiana. I used to pass newspapers in our old neighborhood so I was familiar with the houses of that era. My curiosity is sparked. I might try and find that PBS program that has the giant antenna that resembles the smaller antennas. By the way in Marion where I grew up, left in 1976 the post office is constructed of the Indiana Limestone. It's beautiful stone. The Pentagon is of the same stone.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thank you very much for the info and the story, I appreciate it.

[@mhammer5]

Thanks. @@ComeSeeWithMe

[@leftlaneoutlaw5838]

Great job breaking down all those locations! It's a shame they filled in the quarry, what a beauty.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thanks! And I agree about the quarry.

[@marktalbott3835]

They filled in one quarry. Indiana is the limestone capital of the world and there are dozens of quarries down here. It's funny because when I was here and when my brother was here, I don't know anybody who went out to those quarries to swim or dive. You know that there is a selection of empire limestone always ready in case the empire state building needs a replacement piece.

[@bobfrapples1208]

@@marktalbott3835 I grew up in NW Ohio. We used to go swimming in quarries all the time. The one in Sylvania even had a diving board.

[@marktalbott3835]

Are you from Indiana? Or grew up here?

[@marktalbott3835]

@@bobfrapples1208 I wouldn't have thought those were limestone quarries. Didn't know there was limestone laid down in that part of the Midwest as there was here in southern Indiana. Just the shells of 400 million-year-olds sea creatures. So cool!

[@TheCream14]

Great job! Thanks for sharing this. One of my favorite movies!!

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thanks, and you’re welcome!

[@johnclerk1195]

So cool! Thanks for shooting this footage. I have been in the Stoller House in the middle 80s for a college party... Seeing all these places again is awesome! Thank's so much! I'll forward this on to friends of mine who would interested, including 2 to 4 from the party at Stoller's house. Trippy! LOL

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

That’s so cool you were in the house! I was excited to hear they shot the interiors inside the house and not on a set. That always makes the locations more authentic. Thanks for sharing that info.

[@brettl5604]

Thank you so much for making this video. I loved every minute of it. I would love to see one for Bad News Bears 1 & 2.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thank you very much, I appreciate it!

[@mikesmovingimages]

Thanks for a thorough tour!

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

You’re welcome, and thanks!

[@edalbanese6310]

Thank you for doing this! This movie has a special place in my heart as I grew up in Indiana. I went to the better school though lol..if you are from IN you know! Thanks again!

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thanks, and I’m glad you enjoyed it.

[@tomh1593]

Damn Great detective work. Things have changed a lot.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thank you!

[@gregeads7003]

I lived in Bloomington my teen age yrs in the mid 70s & most of the 80s. Grandparents lives there so. Anyways, I was always hanging out at the quarries. They were part of me, being in the wood @ 13 14 15 yrs old. Man, you couldn't hardly beat it. But like all great things Bloomington became just another town. And then the university/government of Bloomington turned the town into just another small/medium city. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice city. Clean mostly peaceful. But not a lot of fun. Not like it was.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

That’s really cook that you were able to hang out at the quarries. I could easily imagine how much fun they would have been to hang out at them having visited them. I would have been completely into that as well. I really liked how they were nestled in the woods, it was like a secret little haven back in there. I can’t speak about Bloomington the way you can, but I really do enjoy my visits there. I’ve been there a few times and always enjoy my stay. It’s a nice place. Thanks for your comment.

[@ladesigner8764]

It’s still a great town…all towns and cities change. I wish it could still be like it was in the 80’s too, but time marches on.

[@shanetrimble9265]

It's changed drastically

[@sharonfleener8840]

I moved to Bloomington when I was 17 and IU had just went undefeated in NCAA and at that time it was an awesome time to grow up. My grandmother Treadway owned one of the houses on Lincoln St in the beginning. Glad you got to be there. I had a blast at Rooftop and Empire Mill. I'm so homesick.

[@WelshRabbit]

Microwave tower used for phone long distance communications. Predated cell phone towers and cell technology. Generally considered obsolete now.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thanks for that info.

[@randyprice1831]

Great job! Breaking Away is one of my all time favorite movies. Thanks for taking the time to show how it looks now.!

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

You’re welcome!

[@randyprice1831]

@@ComeSeeWithMe, I know it would be an invasion of privacy but it would be so cool to see the inside of the house where Dave lived.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

It’s funny that you mention that because right after I was done filming the outside of that house, I met the guy who currently lives in it. He told me he’s only ever shown the inside of it a few times to people over the years who were interested in it for the filming locations. I really wanted to ask him if he would show me but I felt uncomfortable just asking him out of the blue. He was also with company and I didn’t want to be rude. Plus, if he really wanted to show me, I’m sure he would’ve offered because it was beyond obvious I would have liked to see it. After all, I was literally standing there looking at the outside of his house for the filming locations. He was a really cool guy though and confirmed that the interior shots were indeed filmed inside that house. He seemed very comfortable with people coming by to see his house just as long as they are respectful.

[@randyprice1831]

@@ComeSeeWithMe Thanks for the reply. I totally understand your position, however, it would be neat to see the inside today. Thanks again for all your GREAT work revisiting the filming locations. I've watched some others who have attempted to do what you did but your time and effort was terrific!!! I really appreciate what you did. Regards, Randy Price

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thank you!

[@stuartwhobson]

that gate at the 0th street stadium was part of the stadium

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thanks for the info.

[@randyguess3124]

Excellent

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thanks!

[@SnapperX3]

I think that is a different pine tree. The original likely removed when they renovated Franklin Hall.

[@dawnhilderbrand3619]

You didn't talk about Heltonville where part of the movie way tape at. My old house in one of the scenes.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

What scene was your home featured in?

[@gingerannamae6308]

Awesome movie. 😁

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

I agree!

[@woodyhueston6500]

31 words in it //

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Are you saying you had 31 words in the movie? If so, please share what scene and who you were in it. I’d love to hear about it.

[@woodyhueston6500]

@@ComeSeeWithMe /// the car wash owner //

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

No kidding!!! That’s awesome! And I love that part! Thanks for sharing.

[@shanetrimble9265]

Cool

[@shanetrimble9265]

Don't forget to punch the time clock shorty.

[@marktalbott3835]

I love what you've done here. The improvement I would make is talking about the streets and street names and intersections. To those of us who were here at the time of filming and hundreds of thousands of alumni who know the town, it would be cool to hear the street names to give us a better reference point. All the same you've done. Great work. I drive through this city every day and now I'll have more things to look out for.

[@ComeSeeWithMe]

Thank you very much. I appreciate it. I always enjoy my visits to Bloomington. Very nice town and area.

[@marktalbott3835]

@@ComeSeeWithMe it's one of the best college towns in the country. One of the prettiest campuses of any large school. Unfortunately our basketball team sucks ass. Lol