4 Ohio Towns Where Famous Movies Were Filmed

Ohio has long played a behind-the-scenes role in American filmmaking, offering everything from historic city streets and iconic government buildings to small-town Americana. Two of its major cities, Cleveland and Cincinnati, are frequently used as stand-ins for towns like New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., thanks to their familiar architecture, film-friendly locals, and Ohio Film Tax Credit. When it comes to movies made in Ohio, the first film that springs to mind is the powerful prison drama turned meditation on friendship, hope, and endurance, “The Shawshank Redemption,” starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins.

Ohio has also produced several famous actors, including Paul Newman from “Cool Hand Luke” (1967) and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969), Halle Berry, and Steven Yeun, of “The Walking Dead” fame. One of Hollywood’s most influential directors was also born in Cincinnati: Steven Spielberg, whose credentials include “Jaws” (1975), “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982), and “Schindler’s List” (1993).

Cleveland

Marvel film enthusiasts will be thrilled to learn that there are several real-world spots in Cleveland tied directly to “The Avengers” (2012) and other Marvel films. Cleveland Public Square, a 10-acre park in the heart of downtown Cleveland, was used extensively in the flick, particularly during the penultimate battle scenes, where its streets and surrounding buildings doubled as New York City, allowing fans to walk through a real-life superhero set. See the Fountain of Eternal Life statue, one of the city’s most recognizable public artworks, which appeared prominently in the film. Other attractions in the area include the Cuyahoga County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, dedicated to the 9,000 county residents who served in the American Civil War.

Another iconic landmark from the film is The Arcade Cleveland, America’s inaugural indoor shopping center, once known as “Cleveland’s Crystal Palace.” First opened to the public in 1890, it was the city’s first building to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the stunning 19th-century, 9-story, glass-roofed arcade is a high-end, historic shopping center.

“The Avengers” isn’t the only famous movie filmed in Cleveland. The city has also played host to the holiday favorite “A Christmas Story” (1983), with its now-iconic house preserved as an attraction in the Tremont neighborhood. Book a tour of the house, or for serious holiday film lovers, an overnight stay is available. Take home a piece of movie history by purchasing a full-size Christmas leg lamp to display in your living room window from the museum + gift shop across the street from the original Parker family home.

Mansfield

Super fans of Stephen King probably already know that “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994) was based on his novella “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption,” but may not know that the bulk of the film was shot in and around the town of Mansfield. In particular, the gritty prison scenes were shot in Mansfield’s top attraction, the Ohio State Reformatory. The landmark building offers several Shawshank-related tours: the 90-minute “Hollywood Meets History Tour” inside the prison, and the 150-minute “Shawshank Bus Tour,” which includes the reformatory tour and a tour of 10 different film locations used in the film, known as The Shawshank Trail.

If you prefer to explore the area on your own, download a map for a self-guided driving tour of 16 filming locations and snap photos at the four designated Shawshank selfie photo ops along the way. If you’re into old-timey general stores and vintage collectibles, stop at the Olivesburg General Store and admire the original ceiling lights from the critically acclaimed 1994 film while you stock up on old-time penny candy, retro merch, Ohio-made jams and jellies.

Enjoy another dose of nostalgia at the Richland Carrousel Park, which opened in 1991 as the first new, hand-carved carrousel to be built in the U.S. since the 1930s. It features 30 horses and 22 menagerie animals, including bears, ostriches, rabbits, cats, and a mythical hippocampus from Greek and Roman mythology, a sea creature with the head of a horse and the tail of a fish.

Cincinnati

Standing in for 1950s Manhattan, Cincinnati was used as a stand-in for the acclaimed artsy film “Carol” (2015), starring Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett. Much of the movie was filmed in Over-the-Rhine (OTR), one of the largest historic districts in the United States, named for 19th-century German immigrants who saw similarities between the Miami and Erie Canal and Germany’s Rhine River. “Traffic” (2000), starring Michael Douglas, Benicio del Toro, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, also used the historic district as a stand-in for a fictionalized inner-city in and around Los Angeles.

Today, the OTR neighborhood is a vibrant cultural hub on the National Register of Historic Places, known for its most extensive collection of well-preserved Italianate architecture in the country. Some of the history collected in the 360-acre district, which includes about 1,200 historic buildings, consists of the Music Hall, home to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Opera; the brewery district showcasing the city’s rich German brewing heritage; and the oldest continuously operating market in Ohio, Findlay Market.

Once a vital travel hub, the stunning Art Deco Union Terminal is home to the Cincinnati Museum Center, which includes the Cincinnati History Museum, the Museum of Natural History & Science, Duke Energy Children’s Museum, and an Omnimax theater all under one roof. Another must-see attraction in Cincinnati is the Cincinnati Art Museum, which is in scenic Eden Park with sweeping views and a historic atmosphere that feels like stepping onto a movie set.

Columbus

The blockbuster action film, “Air Force One” (1997), starring Harrison Ford as the President of the United States and Gary Oldman as the terrorist leader, was filmed in and around the state capital, Columbus, Ohio, with many of the town’s historic buildings doubling for government facilities. Fans of political thrillers can immerse themselves in film-worthy locations around Columbus, including the historic Ohio Statehouse, a well-preserved example of Greek Revival Doric architecture completed in 1861 at the beginning of the Civil War, the on-site Capitol One Café, and the Statehouse Museum.

A top attraction in Ohio’s largest city is the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA), founded in 1878 as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts. The museum specializes in American and European modern and contemporary art, with works by Georgia O’Keeffe and European masters such as van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Renoir. After the museum, enjoy a stroll along the riverfront and the 1.5-mile scenic Scioto Mile, where you can see the iconic Scioto Mile Fountain, and various sculptures and art installations along the trail.

From Superheroes To Shawshank: Ohio On The Big Screen

Ohio has played a starring, and often behind-the-scenes, role in dozens of popular American films, using the state’s mix of historic streets, small-town charm, and urban landscapes as “city-doubles” for places like New York, Los Angeles, and Washington. From Cleveland’s Public Square, featured in “The Avengers,” to Mansfield’s Ohio State Reformatory, the real-life prison of “The Shawshank Redemption,” and Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine district, which stood in for 1950s Manhattan in “Carol” and inner-city Los Angeles in “Traffic,” the state is full of film-friendly locales. Columbus rounds out the list with “Air Force One,” with cultural landmarks such as the Ohio Statehouse, the Columbus Museum of Art, and the Scioto Mile, making Ohio a rich destination for movie fans, lovers of history and the arts, and pop culture aficionados.