Hill Valley (Back to the Future)


Hill Valley is a fictional town in California that serves as the setting of the Back to the Future trilogy and its animated spin-off series. In the trilogy, Hill Valley is seen in four different time periods – 1885, 1955, 1985, and 2015 – as well as in a dystopian alternate 1985. The films contain many sight gags, verbal innuendos and detailed set design elements, from which a detailed and consistent history of the area can be derived.
The city name "Hill Valley" is a joke, being an oxymoron. However, an early script for Back to the Future Part II mentioned that Hill Valley was named after its founder, William "Bill" Hill.

Production

For Back to the Future, the producers considered filming the town square scenes in the real city of Petaluma, California, but soon realized it would be prohibitively expensive and impractical to alter a real place to suit the different eras. Instead, filming was completed on the Universal Studios backlot, where they had more control. The town square set was called Mockingbird Square after the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, but was later known as Courthouse Square. It had been used for many films and television shows dating back to 1948's An Act of Murder, including the first 1959 episode of the sci-fi series The Twilight Zone, called "Where Is Everybody?"
The Hill Valley courthouse can be seen in the movies Bruce Almighty, Gremlins, Bye Bye Birdie, Sneakers, The Offspring's music video "Why Don't You Get a Job?", an episode of Major Dad entitled "Who's That Blonde", and an episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The clock tower was a removable addition, one of many ways in which the Courthouse building has been redressed over the years to suit the needs of a production.
Many of the cars that appear in the 2015 scenes are either modified for the film or concept cars. Examples include Ford Probe, Saab EV-1, Citroën DS 21, Pontiac Banshee Concept, Pontiac Fiero and Volkswagen Beetle. Cars reused from other science fiction films include the "Star Car" from The Last Starfighter and a "Spinner" from Blade Runner. Griff's car is a modified BMW 633, which was never sold in the convertible form seen in the film.
For Back to the Future Part III, Hill Valley 1885 was filmed in Sonora, California. The producers were able to use the land rent-free under an agreement to leave the set buildings on site. All buildings except the clock tower were left intact after production completed.
On November 6, 1990, an arson fire on the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot destroyed much of Courthouse Square, the setting in which all the other time periods were filmed. The Courthouse survived the devastation and other facades were reconstructed. Another fire on September 6, 1997 damaged Courthouse Square. The backlot facades were rebuilt, with the exception of the facades used for Hill Valley 1885.
On February 14, 1999, a fire at Whittier High School, California, where some, mostly exterior scenes were filmed, destroyed the men's gym there. On June 1, 2008, another fire destroyed part of the rebuilt Courthouse Square backlot and damaged the clock tower.

Real-life locations

Other real-life shooting locations of Hill Valley landmarks include:
According to an 1885 Central Pacific Railroad map in Back to the Future Part III, Hill Valley is located in Northern California in the Sierra Nevada. Dialogue in Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III places it in "Hill County", a fictional county in California.
After Marty decides against racing Needles at the end of Back to the Future Part III, the zip code 95420 is visible on the letterhead of the printout Jennifer brought back with her from 2015 announcing Marty's termination from Cusco. This zip code corresponds with Caspar, California, an unincorporated community in Mendocino County.

Fictional history

The following information is taken directly from places and events shown or mentioned in the three films:

Early settlement

The town of Hill Valley was first settled in 1850 and incorporated in 1865. By the 1880s, it was connected by railroad to San Francisco. Construction of a new county courthouse was well underway in 1885, the setting of Back to the Future Part III, in which a new clock was dedicated for the building. The Shonash Ravine Bridge was completed in the summer of 1886, around the same time the ravine was renamed Clayton Ravine in memory of Clara Clayton, a school teacher who died from falling into the chasm. In a revised timeline where Doc Brown saved Clara's life, the town renamed it Eastwood Ravine when it is believed that "Clint Eastwood" fell into the ravine.

Town square

By 1955, as seen in the first two Back to the Future films, the area around the courthouse has developed into the downtown of Hill Valley. In front of the courthouse is a grass-covered town square, with stores, two movie theaters, Essex and Town, and cafés on the surrounding streets. Downtown also features a Texaco station, a Bank of America branch, and a Studebaker dealership. A key moment in the town's fictional history takes place on Saturday, November 12, 1955, at 10:04 p.m. PST, when lightning strikes the courthouse's clock tower, freezing the clock at 10:04. The clock is never repaired and becomes a local landmark, left in its non-functional state at the behest of the Hill Valley Preservation Society. In the revised timeline, the broken piece of ledge from Doc Brown's successful attempt to channel lightning from the clock tower is likewise never repaired, as can be seen when Marty returns to 1985 and in 2015, but not in the alternate 1985.
In Marty's original timeline, many of the town square businesses have moved or closed down by 1985. The new businesses which replaced them include a second-hand shop, a yoga studio, and an adult book store, and the Studebaker dealership becomes a Toyota dealership, but is still owned by the Statlers, though the Texaco station and Bank of America branch remained. The Essex movie theater now shows porno movies while the Town Theater is used for church services, and the courthouse is in a state of disrepair, and at night at least one homeless person sleeps on the town square park benches.
The grassy park outside of the courthouse has been converted into a parking lot. "That was always one of the major elements of the story even in its earliest incarnation," screenwriter Bob Gale says in The Making of Back to the Future, "was to take a place and show what happens to it over a period of thirty years. What happened to everybody's home town is obviously the same thing. They built the mall out in the boonies, and killed all the business downtown, and everything changed."
By the 21st century, the downtown area has experienced a revival. The courthouse has been converted into the Courthouse Mall. Businesses have begun to move back into and around the town square and the parking lot has been replaced by a pond. The clock on top of the courthouse is still preserved at 10:04 and the mall's logo is an illustration of a lightning bolt striking the clock tower. The Town Theater/Assembly of Christ building has been converted to an art museum with a mural painted on the front side of the building above the marquee. The Texaco station remains, while the Toyota dealership is now a Pontiac dealership, though in reality General Motors discontinued the Pontiac brand in 2010 as part of its bankruptcy.
Signs that say "Welcome to Hill Valley" are seen in 1955, 1985 and 2015. Both 1955 and 2015 signs have symbols representing the Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions clubs. The 1955 sign has the logos of the YMCA, Jaycees, and Future Farmers of America while the 2015 sign has those of the Neighborhood Crime Watch eye logo and the 4-H Club clover logo. The "Welcome to Hill Valley" sign in 1985 does not contain any signage representing any clubs and mentions the name of Mayor Goldie Wilson.
In the alternate 1985, Marty is seen walking over the sign, which has been knocked down and an 'E' has been spray painted over the 'I' in HILL VALLEY making the name HELL VALLEY. This sign does not display the name of the mayor but instead the words "A Nice Place to Live" as seen in 1955. A sign referencing US Highway 395 is shown next to the Town Square in 1955.