Top 15 Attractions and Activities in Terre Haute, Indiana

In 1926, downtown Terre Haute in western Indiana became the intersection for two long-distance highways, the East-West US 40 and North-South US 41.

These two roads crossed at 7th and Ohio in Terre Haute, and the city adopted the moniker, The Crossroads of America.

Terre Haute developed in the 19th century as a rail hub, significantly influencing the city’s culture. A notable figure in this history is the prominent socialist, Eugene V. Debs, who in the 1880s played a key role in transforming railroad brotherhoods into organized entities for collective bargaining.

Visitors can explore Debs’s residence, which has been preserved on the Indiana State University campus, located on the north side of downtown. ISU, known as the alma mater of Larry Bird, also features the Hulman Center, where his 1978-79 Sycamores achieved an unbeaten season.

1. Downtown Terre Haute

For those who have not visited Terre Haute recently, the recent revitalization of the downtown area may be impressive.

Centered around Wabash Avenue, this commercial district reflects a common narrative of decline beginning in the mid-1960s, followed by a remarkable revival in the 21st century.

True to its designation as the Crossroads of America, the city showcases stunning historic architecture, from imposing brick industrial structures to the elegant French Second Empire design of the Vigo County Courthouse (1888), notable for its delicate mansard roof.

Concentrated within a few blocks along Wabash Avenue, Cherry Street, and Poplar Street are more than 20 independent eateries, a collection of museums, two galleries, numerous bars and live music venues, alongside several specialty shops.

2. Swope Art Museum

One of the most distinguished structures welcoming you downtown is the Swope Block at 7th and Ohio Street, completed in an Italian Renaissance Revival style in 1901.

The museum’s namesake, Michael Sheldon Swope (1843–1929), was a successful jeweler and Civil War veteran who spent much of his life in Terre Haute.

His legacy facilitated the establishment of a premier museum in the Swope Block, which opened its doors in 1942 and continues to offer complimentary public admission.

The original collection is extensive, featuring works by the Hoosier Group of Impressionists, Grant Wood, Edward Hopper, and Zoltan Sepeshy.

Over the past 80 years, the museum’s collection has expanded to include modern and contemporary pieces by Alexander Calder, Warhol, Eva Hesse, and Robert Indiana, alongside many established artists from the Terre Haute region.

The annual Wabash Valley Exhibition highlights art from Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio, while the Student Art Exhibition, established in 1967, is another yearly highlight.

3. Terre Haute Children’s Museum

Located downtown on Wabash Avenue is a renowned children’s museum, filled with engaging, hands-on exhibits designed to educate and inspire children through play.

The museum caters to children up to the age of 12, with specific attractions tailored for various age groups. Younger visitors will delight in the Toddler Zone and experiential sections like The Kitchen and Ag-Citing, where they can engage in grocery shopping roleplay and driving a tractor.

The Health Zone introduces older children to the workings of the human body through advanced multimedia, while Fiddling with Physics offers a dynamic, interactive experience with concepts such as air pressure, electric circuits, and electromagnetism.

Additionally, there is an indoor ropes challenge course available on weekends and Fit Gym, which emphasizes the significance of maintaining an active lifestyle.

4. Vigo County Historical Museum

The third element of the downtown museum triangle is the headquarters of the Vigo County Historical Society, located in a captivating four-story manufacturing building constructed in 1895.

Founded in 1922, the society has amassed a vast collection of artifacts, presented in meticulously curated exhibits focusing on themes such as Transportation, Business & Industry, Haunted Legends, and Historic Hauteans.

One exhibit highlights a unique aspect of local history: Terre Haute is the birthplace of Coca-Cola’s distinctive contour bottle, designed by the city’s Root Glass Company in 1915.

Root was one of ten glass companies selected nationwide by the Coca-Cola Company to create a distinctive bottle and was chosen as the winner in 1916.

5. CANDLES Holocaust Museum

Terre Haute is home to Indiana’s sole museum dedicated to the Holocaust, situated a mile south of downtown on US 41, established in 1995.

CANDLES, an acronym for Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors, is rooted in a nonprofit initiative launched in 1985 by human experimentation survivor Eva Mozes Kor (1934-2019) and her twin sister, Miriam Mozes Zieger, to find other surviving Mengele twins.

This deeply personal and poignant museum chronicles the genocide and the issues surrounding eugenics from Kor’s individual perspective.

Kor adopted a unique and controversial position of forgiveness towards the Nazis as a means of healing, which the museum challenges visitors to confront.

6. Deming Park

Traveling east from downtown Terre Haute, the impressive Ohio Boulevard culminates at this expansive 177-acre park.

The Deming family were pioneers in the region, owning extensive tracts of land around Terre Haute. To fund the construction of this grand boulevard, they sold Deming Park to the city.

The park offers an array of facilities, including an arboretum, an 18-hole disc golf course, a playground, a public pool, and ample options for fishing, picnicking, tennis, and basketball.

A particularly charming feature is the Spirit of Terre Haute, a miniature railway operational on weekends from April through September and daily during summer vacation.

7. Eugene V. Debs Museum

The influential trade unionist and five-time Socialist Party of America nominee for President, Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926), was born in Terre Haute and resided there for most of his life.

Debs’s two-story residence, constructed in 1890, is located on the ISU campus. He and his wife, Kate, enjoyed relative prosperity, as she inherited considerable wealth from a wealthy relative.

In guided tours by appointment, you can explore the residence’s interior, which features a blue porcelain fireplace imported from Italy and mahogany furnishings in the parlor and dining room.

The house contains an extensive collection of Debs memorabilia, including a portion of his personal library. Debs died while imprisoned after being sentenced for sedition following his 1918 speech opposing America’s involvement in World War I. His funeral was held at the house and attended by 5,000 mourners.

8. Square Donuts

Nestled beside the Vigo County Historical Museum at 935 Wabash Avenue is a local institution for sweet treats, operating since 1967.

The name, Square Donuts, accurately reflects the product, with the unique shape conceived by Richard Comer, Sr. (1934-2015).

From the outset, he utilized a square cutter to create his donuts, and with the assistance of his wife, Patricia, and their four daughters, the business flourished.

Square Donuts has two locations in Terre Haute and three in Bloomington. The downtown branch offers a diverse selection of donut varieties, including powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, sprinkles, maple icing, strawberry icing, peanut butter icing, and chocolate icing.

Additional temptations include cake donuts, tractor tires (glazed cake cruller), as well as cream, custard, and jelly-filled donuts, long johns, and cinnamon rolls.

9. Wabash Valley Railroad Museum (WVRM)

Historically, Terre Haute served as a major rail hub, and this museum, situated in a former Terre Haute & Indianapolis freight depot, provides insights into the city’s railway history.

Visitors can learn about the railroad industry dating back to the 1880s while observing contemporary mainline operations from an elevated platform.

The WVRM offers extensive interactive opportunities, allowing guests to practice morse code on a telegraph, fill out a train order at the operator’s desk, and even manage a train in one of the switching towers.

Knowledgeable, volunteer guides share the history of the depot’s architecture and vintage rolling stock.

10. Hulman Center (Larry Bird)

Located just steps from downtown Terre Haute, the striking structure of the Hulman Center stands out on the ISU campus, being a multipurpose arena inaugurated in 1973.

The arena, seating 10,200, has recently undergone a $50 million renovation, offering an excellent venue for witnessing the Sycamores men’s and women’s basketball teams in action.

The men’s team last participated in the NCAA Division I tournament in 2011, and historically, their most notable season was 1978-79 when Larry Bird led an undefeated squad to their first tournament appearance, along with the AP and UPI national championships.

A statue of Bird greets visitors by the entrance, unveiled in 2013. The Hulman Center also hosts significant events, ranging from WWE performances to concerts by renowned artists such as Shania Twain, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and Johnny Carson.

11. Fowler Park

Situated ten miles south of downtown Terre Haute, Fowler Park encompasses over 450 acres of natural landscape managed by Vigo County Parks and Recreation.

The park has been gradually acquired from 1967 to 1995 and features woodlands, two lakes, trails, a campground, two picnic shelters, and an educational historical village. The largest lake, Fowler Lake, spans over 25 acres, complete with a boat launch and swimming beach during summer months.

This lake is stocked with channel catfish, redear sunfish, bluegill, black crappie, and largemouth bass, making it a prime location for fishing activities. The educational Pioneer Village showcases a working replica of a 1800s gristmill, powered by a sluice from the lake.

12. National Road Heritage Trail

Terre Haute is situated on the National Road, the first federally-funded national highway in the United States, which serves as a scenic byway stretching from Cumberland, Maryland to Vandalia, Illinois.

This 620-mile route was constructed between 1811 and 1837, becoming the second road in the nation to be surfaced using the innovative Macadam process. Today, much of the National Road is aligned with U.S. Route 40.

At the Twigg Rest Area, just east of Terre Haute on US 40, visitors can follow the original path of the National Road via a 6-mile greenway leading directly to the Indiana State University campus downtown.

The trail features many informative interpretive signs and meanders through a tranquil green corridor shaded by lawns and trees.

13. Dobbs Memorial Park

East of Deming Park lies another exceptional outdoor area on the periphery of Terre Haute. Dobbs Memorial Park features multiple attractions, including a Nature Center, a Native American Museum, a 25-acre State Nature Preserve, and a three-acre pond.

The park boasts three miles of trails, guiding visitors through areas of pine woodland and both old growth and second growth forests, as well as restored wetlands.

The Nature Center features native live animal displays and engaging exhibits on local wildlife, tracking, plants, environmental issues, and broader scientific themes.

Additionally, the wildlife observation area includes one-way glass for unobstructed views of various birds and animals, while the center offers a variety of public programs throughout the year.

Furthermore, the Native American Museum is unique in the Midwest as it is operated by a parks and recreation department, providing insights into the lives and traditions of Northeast Woodlands peoples, complemented by an Heirloom Garden outside.

14. Indiana Theater

Across Ohio Street from the Swope Block is the illustrious Spanish Revival facade of the Indiana Theater, which debuted as a movie palace in 1922. Designed by John Eberson (1875-1954), this venue exemplifies the architect’s “atmospheric theater” style.

The auditorium creates the ambiance of an Andalusian courtyard by night, while the lighting throughout the outer rotunda and magnificent interior lobby ballroom serves to transition from day to night.

In its early years, the theater hosted both films and vaudeville performances, featuring notable artists such as Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, and the Marx Brothers.

Since 2013, the Indiana Theater has been undergoing long-term restoration and is available for events. For an interior glimpse, guided tours are offered, with options ranging from 30 to 90 minutes.

15. Tilson Auditorium

Another reason to visit the attractive ISU campus is to experience this performing arts venue located within the grand Tirey Hall.

Completed in a Collegiate Gothic style in 1940, the Tilson Auditorium is a classic proscenium arch theater that accommodates 1,450 guests, serving as the home for the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra and the ISU Symphony Orchestra.

The School of Music at ISU maintains a website with a calendar of events, showcasing a captivating array of recitals, concerts, and special performances, ranging from dance to circus acts.