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Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Bill Clinton sitting on sofas in a lamp-lit lounge, talking
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who wrote it, at a Camp David screening, January 1998. Barbara Kinney, White House photographer · Public domain
Robin Williams smiling with his head tilted, in a white T-shirt and dark jacket
Robin Williams, Sean, 1998. John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com · CC BY-SA 2.0
A young Ben Affleck grinning, in a striped shirt, dark tie and jacket
Ben Affleck, Chuckie, 1998. John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com · CC BY-SA 2.0

South Boston · Cambridge · Toronto · 1997

Good Will HuntingA problem on a corridor blackboard, a Southie bar, and a bench by the lagoon

The film says Boston and Cambridge. A good part of it is Toronto. Solve the hallway problem below and every tree you draw is a real place.

Where this comes from

A corridor at MIT · the first week of term

The hallway problem.A problem on a corridor blackboard asks for every homeomorphically irreducible tree of size ten. Will, the janitor, works it out.

Draw all the homeomorphically irreducible trees with n = 10.

In plain words: ten dots joined by nine lines into one tree, no loops. No dot may have exactly two lines, because you could rub it out and the shape would barely change. Trees that are only turned or flipped count once.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10

Scratch paper · thirteen sketches, three of them wrong

The board is clean. Pick a sketch from the scratch paper.

Chalk a tree onto the board to open a place.

Ten trees, ten places: a bar in Southie, a bench in Boston, two colleges across the river, and the Toronto buildings that played them.

There are ten such trees. Once the jargon is translated, Scientific American says, the task is simple enough to give to children.

Where this comes from

South Boston and Charlestown

Southie.The bar on the corner of L Street, and the college up the road where Sean teaches.

Black-and-white photograph of the brick L Street Bathhouse in snow
The L Street Bathhouse, a few blocks down L Street from the tavern, in an undated city photograph. Boston Redevelopment Authority · CC BY 2.0

658 East Eighth Street, at L Street, South Boston

L Street Tavern

  • The South Boston bar where Will drinks with Chuckie Sullivan and their friends is the L Street Tavern, 658 East Eighth Street, at L Street.
  • The tavern keeps Good Will Hunting things on show, among them a table from the film and a photograph of Robin Williams with Matt Damon.
  • Jack and Susan Woods ran it for nearly three decades and sold it in 2024. The new owners said it would stay open and keep its neighbourhood traditions.
  1. 1997Will, Chuckie and their friends drink at the L Street Tavern in South Boston.
  2. 2014The day after Robin Williams died, someone left a can of corn at the tavern, a nod to his Oscar speech.
  3. 2024After nearly three decades the Woods family sells the tavern in 2024; the new owners promise to keep its traditions.

Still a neighbourhood bar. Go in for a drink, and ask to see the table from the film.

Where this comes from
The tan main building of Bunker Hill Community College under a summer sky
Bunker Hill Community College, Charlestown, August 2025. Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0

Rutherford Avenue, Charlestown

Bunker Hill Community College

  • Bunker Hill Community College, on Rutherford Avenue in Charlestown, is the college where Sean Maguire teaches.

Sean Maguire teaches at Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown.

A working college on Rutherford Avenue. Walk round the outside; the campus is for students.

Where this comes from

Where was it really?

Across the border.Much of the film was shot in Toronto for financial reasons, though the publicity was all about Massachusetts.

BostonToronto

Five scenes, as the story tells them.

  • On screen

    The MIT lecture hall

    Cambridge, Massachusetts

    Shot somewhere else. Cross the border to see where.

  • On screen

    Skylar’s room at Harvard

    Cambridge, Massachusetts

    Shot somewhere else. Cross the border to see where.

  • On screen

    The college dorms

    Cambridge, Massachusetts

    Shot somewhere else. Cross the border to see where.

  • On screen

    The Harvard bar

    Cambridge, Massachusetts

    Shot somewhere else. Cross the border to see where.

  • On screen

    The job he turns down

    Boston, Massachusetts

    Shot somewhere else. Cross the border to see where.

Where this comes from
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Toronto

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MIT · 24 March 1998

Two Oscars, and a third.The film wins two Oscars: best original screenplay for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and best supporting actor for Robin Williams.

The next night MIT students light the windows of a 16-storey building in the shape of an Oscar, about 185 feet tall, as the film’s third.

The screenplay is by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, both from Cambridge, and was published in 1997 with an introduction by Gus Van Sant.

  • On 24 March 1998 MIT students lit the windows of the 16-storey Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Building in the shape of an Oscar, about 185 feet tall.
  • It was a tribute to Good Will Hunting’s “third Oscar”, the night after it won two.

See it from the lawns on the east side of campus, a short walk from Killian Court.

Where this comes from
Gus Van Sant leaning on the back of a cane chair
Gus Van Sant, director, 1993. Gorup de Besanez · CC BY-SA 3.0
A tall concrete tower with a white dome on its roof
The Green Building, MIT, January 2016. Daderot · CC0
MIT

Walk MIT yourself

Cambridge · Free · Welcome Center weekdays 9am–4pm

Pick up a campus map at the Welcome Center, 292 Main Street in Kendall Square (9am–4pm, Monday to Friday), or use MIT’s online walking tour, then find the Great Dome and the Infinite Corridor.

Plan a visit

Boston Public Garden · the lagoon

The third bench.Sean takes Will to a bench by the Public Garden lagoon for a talk.

At the western end of the Lagoon Bridge. Turn north and follow the water.

On 12 August 2014, the day after Robin Williams died, hundreds of people left flowers at the bench and wrote in chalk on the path around it.

Where this comes from
The suspension footbridge over the Public Garden lagoon, with willows and blue sky reflected in the water
The Lagoon Bridge in the Boston Public Garden, April 2026. Christian David · CC BY-SA 4.0
Swan Boats moored under the Lagoon Bridge in summer
Swan Boats at the Lagoon Bridge, August 2017. Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0

A public park. Start at the western end of the Lagoon Bridge and walk north along the water.

The Newbury Boston

The Newbury Boston

Back Bay, Boston · Rates on booking · stay offers on the hotel’s site

A hotel at One Newbury Street, on the corner of Arlington Street, that calls the Public Garden its front yard. The bench is a short walk across the garden.

Check rooms
Swan Boats of Boston

The Swan Boats

Boston Public Garden · April–September · back in April 2027

The pedal boats that circle the lagoon past the bench. They run daily from April to September and are closed for the season until April 2027.

Plan a ride

Off the board and onto the map.12 places in two countries: a bar, a bench, two campuses and the Toronto buildings that played them. Here is where they all are now.

A columned building with a great dome behind a lawn where visitors walk
MIT’s Maclaurin Buildings and the Great Dome over Killian Court, August 2017. Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0

Where it is now

12 places you can visit. The Upfront Bar & Grill has gone; a fast-food restaurant has its address. The student houses and residences are seen from the street.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Still a neighbourhood bar. Go in for a drink, and ask to see the table from the film.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working college on Rutherford Avenue. Walk round the outside; the campus is for students.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public park. Start at the western end of the Lagoon Bridge and walk north along the water.

  1. Black-and-white photograph of the brick L Street Bathhouse in snow
    The L Street Bathhouse, a few blocks down L Street from the tavern, in an undated city photograph. Boston Redevelopment Authority · CC BY 2.0

    658 East Eighth Street, at L Street, South Boston

    L Street Tavern

    The South Boston bar where Will drinks with Chuckie Sullivan and their friends is the L Street Tavern, 658 East Eighth Street, at L Street.

    Still a neighbourhood bar. Go in for a drink, and ask to see the table from the film.

    Where this comes from
  2. The tan main building of Bunker Hill Community College under a summer sky
    Bunker Hill Community College, Charlestown, August 2025. Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0

    Rutherford Avenue, Charlestown

    Bunker Hill Community College

    Bunker Hill Community College, on Rutherford Avenue in Charlestown, is the college where Sean Maguire teaches.

    A working college on Rutherford Avenue. Walk round the outside; the campus is for students.

    Where this comes from
  3. The suspension footbridge over the Public Garden lagoon, with willows and blue sky reflected in the water
    The Lagoon Bridge in the Boston Public Garden, April 2026. Christian David · CC BY-SA 4.0

    The Lagoon, Boston Public Garden, off Arlington Street

    The bench in the Public Garden

    Sean takes Will to the Boston Public Garden for a talk on a bench by the lagoon.

    A public park. Start at the western end of the Lagoon Bridge and walk north along the water.

    Where this comes from

Stay

On the corner of the Public Garden.

The Newbury Boston calls the garden its front yard; the bench is a short walk across it.

The Newbury Boston

The Newbury Boston

Back Bay, Boston · Rates on booking · stay offers on the hotel’s site

A hotel at One Newbury Street, on the corner of Arlington Street, that calls the Public Garden its front yard. The bench is a short walk across the garden.

Check rooms

Go there

Swan Boats, MIT on foot, and the film tours.

The Swan Boats on the lagoon, a walk round MIT from its Welcome Center, and film location tours in Boston and Toronto.

Swan Boats of Boston

The Swan Boats

Boston Public Garden · April–September · back in April 2027

The pedal boats that circle the lagoon past the bench. They run daily from April to September and are closed for the season until April 2027.

Plan a ride
MIT

Walk MIT yourself

Cambridge · Free · Welcome Center weekdays 9am–4pm

Pick up a campus map at the Welcome Center, 292 Main Street in Kendall Square (9am–4pm, Monday to Friday), or use MIT’s online walking tour, then find the Great Dome and the Infinite Corridor.

Plan a visit
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Boston and Cambridge

Live marketplace results for film and TV location tours in Boston. None is a Good Will Hunting tour as such: check each itinerary.

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Toronto film location tours

Toronto

Live marketplace results for film location tours in Toronto, the city that played much of Boston. Check each itinerary.

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Compare tours

What’s on

The regatta on the Charles.

Three days of racing on the river below Dunster House.

Checking current event dates…

Take it home

The original poster, the screenplay, the soundtrack.

A 1997 US one-sheet from our store, the screenplay Damon and Affleck wrote, and the soundtrack CD.

Printed Originals · Our poster store

Good Will Hunting (1997)

An original 1997 US one-sheet, 27 x 40 in, rolled, in mint condition.

In stock

View poster
Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

Good Will Hunting: A Screenplay

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck

The published screenplay, with an introduction by Gus Van Sant (Miramax Books, 1997).

Find the book
eBay · Ad / affiliate

Good Will Hunting: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture

Various artists · CD, Capitol Records, 1997

The soundtrack album as released in the US on 2 December 1997.

Live marketplace search · listings and condition change

Find a copy

Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

Board wiped. Your move.

Where this comes from

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

12 of 12 places · 22 of 22 Moments

  • L Street Tavern

    658 East Eighth Street, at L Street, South Boston

    • The bar

      Will, Chuckie and their friends drink at the L Street Tavern in South Boston.

    • A can of corn

      The day after Robin Williams died, someone left a can of corn at the tavern, a nod to his Oscar speech.

    • New owners

      After nearly three decades the Woods family sells the tavern in 2024; the new owners promise to keep its traditions.

  • Bunker Hill Community College

    Rutherford Avenue, Charlestown

    • Sean’s college

      Sean Maguire teaches at Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown.

  • The bench in the Public Garden

    The Lagoon, Boston Public Garden, off Arlington Street

    • The bench

      Sean takes Will to a bench by the Public Garden lagoon for a talk.

    • Flowers and chalk

      On 12 August 2014, the day after Robin Williams died, hundreds of people left flowers at the bench and wrote in chalk on the path around it.

    • What they wrote

      Among the chalk: “R.I.P. Funny Man”, “Carpe Diem” from Dead Poets Society, and “It’s not your fault”, written by the Somerville comedian Rachel Vandersteur.

  • MIT: the Maclaurin Buildings and Killian Court

    Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

    • The hallway problem

      A problem on a corridor blackboard asks for every homeomorphically irreducible tree of size ten. Will, the janitor, works it out.

    • Ten trees

      There are ten such trees. Once the jargon is translated, Scientific American says, the task is simple enough to give to children.

    • The janitor

      Will mops floors at MIT; the outside of the college is the McLaurin Building.

  • The Green Building, MIT

    Ames Street, MIT, Cambridge

    • Two Oscars

      The film wins two Oscars: best original screenplay for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and best supporting actor for Robin Williams.

    • The third Oscar

      The next night MIT students light the windows of a 16-storey building in the shape of an Oscar, about 185 feet tall, as the film’s third.

    • Written by the two of them

      The screenplay is by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, both from Cambridge, and was published in 1997 with an introduction by Gus Van Sant.

  • Dunster House, Harvard

    Memorial Drive, Cambridge

    • Skylar’s college

      Movie-Locations names Dunster House as Skylar’s college.

  • The Smith Campus Center (once Au Bon Pain)

    1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Harvard Square

    • Explaining the gift

      Will tries to explain his gift to Skylar at Au Bon Pain in Harvard Square.

    • Au Bon Pain closes

      Au Bon Pain in Harvard Square closes in spring 2016 after 32 years; the plaza is fenced off and its chess tables come out.

  • Whitney Hall, University College

    85 St George Street, University of Toronto

    • Skylar’s room

      Skylar’s Harvard residence is Whitney Hall at the University of Toronto.

    • Mostly Toronto

      Much of the film was shot in Toronto for financial reasons, though the publicity was all about Massachusetts.

  • McLennan Physical Laboratories

    255 Huron Street, University of Toronto

    • The lecture hall

      The MIT lecture hall is the McLennan Physical Laboratories in Toronto.

  • Wycliffe College

    5 Hoskin Avenue, University of Toronto

    • Dormitories

      Dormitory interiors are Wycliffe College in Toronto.

  • Crown Life Building

    120 Bloor Street East, Toronto

    • The job he turns down

      The glossy corporate world Will rejects is the Crown Life Building on Bloor Street East.

  • The Upfront Bar & Grill site

    106 Front Street East, Toronto

    • The Harvard bar

      Will takes apart a history student in a “Harvard” bar that was the Upfront Bar & Grill on Front Street East, Toronto.

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