Courthouse Square
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Courthouse Square is a backlot located at Universal Studios. It has been severely damaged by fire several times, including in 1957, 1990 and 2008. It was reconstructed after each incident, except the most recent; no announcement has been made as to the future of Courthouse Square following the June 1, 2008 blaze.
The set was composed of several facades that form an archetypal American town square with a courthouse as its centerpiece. The set was most famous for being featured as Hill Valley in the films of the Back to the Future trilogy, though the third film only features archival footage of it from the first two films; a new location was used for the old-west scenes for that film.
Prior to the Back to the Future series, the area was known as Mockingbird Square due to its role in the film To Kill a Mockingbird.
Contents |
[edit] Fires
A three alarm fire broke out at the Universal back lot in the early morning hours on June 1, 2008. It was reported that Courthouse Square was completely destroyed, though the Courthouse facade and town facade to the north are still standing. [1] The King Kong Atraction and New York Street were destroyed. [2] The set had previously been damaged by fire in 1990. [3]
[edit] Productions
Following is a list of productions that used the Courthouse Square set:[4]
- Ma and Pa Kettle (1949 - 1954)
- It Came from Outer Space (1953)
- Tarantula (1955)
- The Twilight Zone: "Where Is Everybody?" (1959)
- Inherit the Wind (1960)
- To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
- The Music Man (1962)
- Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
- Village of the Giants (1965)
- How To Frame A Figg (1971)
- The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (1978)
- Psycho II (1983)
- Simon & Simon (1981 - 1988)
- Knight Rider (1982 - 1986)
- The New Leave It to Beaver (1984 - 1988)
- Gremlins (1984)
- Back to the Future (1985)
- Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (film) (1988)
- Back to the Future Part II (1989)
- Sneakers (1992)
- Weird Science (1993)
- Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1994)
- Three Wishes (1995)
- The Nutty Professor (1996)
- Jingle All the Way (1996)
- Escape from L.A. (1996)
- Batman & Robin (1997)
- Amistad (1997)
- The Offspring: "Why Don't You Get a Job?" (1999)
- Bruce Almighty (2003)
- The Cat in the Hat (2003)
- Ghost Whisperer (2005 - present?)
[edit] References
- ^ http://micechat.com/forums/blog.php?b=412
- ^ http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ieKlEB60J43hDZ39AB9VmsPZ72sgD911DGL80
- ^ http://www.thestudiotour.com/ush/backlot/fire_1990.shtml
- ^ the studiotour.com - Courthouse Square - Universal Studios Hollywood
