Hill Valley

Hill Valley, California, is the fictional setting for the Back to the Future films. In addition to the main plot, the series of films are well-known for the many sight gags, verbal innuendos and detailed set design, from which fans attempt to reconstruct a detailed and consistent history and geography of the area. Much of the popularity of the series of films is due to the multiple times that fans watch the films and still discover subtle gags that they hadn't noticed before.

Related Topics:
California - Back to the Future

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As it is implied in the movies, the town was first settled about 1850, and in 1865 became incorportated. By the 1880s the railroads had reached the town and the small settlement was growing. Construction of the courthouse began in 1885 and the Shonash Ravine Bridge in 1887. By 1955 the town was in its heyday, with a grass-covered town square right in front of the courthouse. A popular place to hang out was Lou's Café; other businesses included Ruth's Frock Shop, a Texaco gas station, Roy's Records, and the Essex Theater.

Related Topics:
1850 - 1865 - 1885 - 1887 - 1955 - Texaco - Gas station

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On Saturday, November 12 1955, at 10:04pm PST, lightning struck the clock tower, freezing the clock at 10:04 pm where it would remain for at least the next 60 years, despite many attempts to repair it. The Hill Valley Preservation Society believed it should remain stopped as a symbol of its history and heritage.

Related Topics:
November 12 - 1955 - Lightning

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By 1985 Courthouse Square was but a shadow of its former self. Since Twin Pines Mall opened, a lot of the businesses had relocated there or shut down, and the Square was full of adult book stores and second hand shops. On October 26th 1985, local inventor Doc Brown invented a time machine built into a De Lorean sports car, and his young friend Marty McFly was accidentally sent back to 1955. Marty interfered with his parents' first meeting but managed to get them back together, and using the lightning bolt that struck on November 12th got back to the future, only to discover that because of his interference, his father George McFly was now a confident sci-fi author rather than a geeky office worker.

Related Topics:
1985 - Doc Brown - De Lorean - Marty McFly - George McFly

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It is in the future though that Hill Valley regained its heyday. By 2015, the town square is once again a grassy park with a lake, and shops had returned to the square. The courthouse has been converted into a mall, and the clock is nostagically still stopped at 10.04pm. The future for this little town in California looks bright indeed.

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We also see an alternate history in Hill Valley. In 2015, Biff Tannen steals the time machine, goes back to 1955 and gives his teenage self a sports almanac with the results of every sports game from 1950 to 2000. Using this book, Biff became incredibly wealthy. In 1973 he murdered George McFly and married his widow, Marty's mother Lorraine Baines McFly. Gambling was legalised in 1979 and Biff turned the courthouse into a casino-hotel. Luckily, Marty and Doc went back to 1955 and got the almanac from young Biff, thus returning history to normal.

Related Topics:
Biff Tannen - 1950 - 2000 - 1973 - Lorraine Baines McFly - 1979

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Hill Valley is located in Northern California, 12 miles east of Grass Valley and with railway links to San Francisco. The town is nestled in rolling foothills, and (according to details in part 3) although there is a desert within walking distance of the town, the nearby lake freezes over in the winter.

Related Topics:
Grass Valley - San Francisco

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