A cover up of a building that has been a centerpiece of the backlot. Trams always stop here.
This square was used regularly in Leave it to Beaver. Decades later, it became the centerpiece of Ghost Whisperer with Jennifer Love Hewitt.
“Come on up”- it has been refortified after two devastating fires took out this village.
Picture of road, bottom right is the road the DeLorean speeds down towards theater…
My Books make for popular reads in…any decade! Book 2–Uninvited Visitor, is a McFly Favorite.
Back to the Future …1985
Gremlins-1984 filmed in this square at Universal and the Warner Bros. Small Town Square. Snow scenes done in 100 degree summer days at Universal.
“Wonder why we don’t have a cartoon?”
This side street at Universal Studios Courthouse Square is featured in these two films a year apart. The Town Theater had an infestation problem!.
“What do ya mean I’m Fired?”…says Eric. “There’s a new kid in town stepping into the role of Marty McFly,” says Dr. Emmett Brown. History is made in Small Town Square.
Hill Valley’s Future was an Apocalypse…
But it would rise again! You to can pass through Hill Valley in a Glamour Tram.
My-How Time McFlies…
For me-it seems like yesterday when this trilogy was launched… I remember vividly Special Effects setting up for the DeLorean’s burning tire tracks. The car reached the speed needed to travel forward and backwards in time. I have been on so many sets in my life. I didn’t realize the significance of that evening’s events. At the time, we had no idea – this was going to be just one of three-major successes!
We weren’t sure ‘one’ was going to even get off the ground. Two weeks in-Eric Stoltz, the star, was fired. Michael J. Fox was ushered in as the “future.” Many gas station scenes were filmed already. They were shot in a filling station built across from the Courthouse in Universal’s Small Town Square.
Eric would move from here and make the film MASK, with Cher. A part he was excellent with.
A smashing success at the box office tilted the scales in favor of a trilogy. The Glamour Trams promoted all things Michael J. Fox and this was the most popular set for a tour picture stop.
Lions sat on each side of the clock tower as guests aboard these trams took deep breaths looking upwards. Toys could not sell fast enough. Everyone wanted the silver car. What we have here is… a marketing bonanza. I feel very safe to say that this film became an extraordinary success because of M.J.F. We even built a B.T.T.F Ride. Since replaced by The Simpsons Ride.
Since the trilogy was made, two fires, 10 years apart burned down this entire square…twice. Everything that is except…The Clock Tower building. Talk about a survivor, only one other building can say it survived both apocalyptic events. The other is at the end of New York Street. We lost 23 vintage picture cars in ‘fire one.’
This square becomes a Base Camp for films on New York Street. Trailers get squeezed into every nook or alley way. Tents sprout up like a Ringling Bros. Circus is in town. The delicious smell of catering satisfies every appetite. I grew old in this often-remolded square. I just didn’t realize it was happening. “It always has been and will continue to be …the longest, most popular town square in Hollywood History”
Written and lived by…Donnie Norden
Phantom of the Backlots 