Maps of Movies
Back to the Future (1985)
Where Back to the Future says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
Hill Valley never existed: the town square is a Universal backlot, the school and mall are real, and the 1955 mansion is a landmark in Pasadena
View on the map
Scenes and places
Marty's house in the Lyon Estates (1985)
Marty lives here with his depressed mother Lorraine, his older siblings and his meek father George, who is bullied by his supervisor Biff. The home life he wants to escape sets up everything that follows.
Set in The McFly family home, Hill Valley — The suburban house where Marty lives with his mother, his siblings and his father.
A fictional Hill Valley street, played by a suburban neighborhood in northern Los Angeles.
Filmed at Arleta, Los Angeles — Marty's home and the surrounding Lyon estates were filmed in this Los Angeles neighborhood; the exact house is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Marty's audition at Hill Valley High (1985)
Marty's band fails a music audition. He tells his girlfriend Jennifer that, whatever his ambitions, he is afraid of turning out like his parents.
Set in Hill Valley High School (1985) — The high school of the fictional town of Hill Valley.
A real high school in Whittier stands in for Hill Valley's school.
Filmed at Whittier High School — The real Whittier High School is the film's Hill Valley high school. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The Twin Pines Mall parking lot (1985)
That night Marty meets his eccentric scientist friend Doc Brown here. Doc unveils a time machine built from a modified DeLorean, and Marty ends up driving it at 88 miles per hour.
Set in Twin Pines Mall, Hill Valley — A mall parking lot where Doc Brown shows off his time machine.
A real mall in City of Industry plays the Twin Pines mall.
Filmed at Puente Hills Mall, City of Industry — The real Puente Hills Mall serves as the Twin Pines mall. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Arriving in 1955 on the Peabody farm (1955)
Marty arrives in 1955 and finds he has no plutonium, so he cannot get back to 1985. He is stranded with a time machine that will not go home.
Set in Twin Pines Ranch, Hill Valley (1955) — Farmland on the edge of Hill Valley where Marty first lands in 1955.
A Disney-owned movie ranch north of Los Angeles stands in for the 1955 farm.
Filmed at Disney's Golden Oak Ranch, Newhall, Santa Clarita — The Twin Pines ranch of 1955 was filmed at Disney's Golden Oak Ranch. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Hill Valley town square, 1955 (1955)
Exploring a burgeoning Hill Valley, Marty meets his teenage father and finds that Biff was already bullying George. The town has changed, but some things have not.
Set in Courthouse Square, Hill Valley — The town square with the courthouse clock tower, at the center of the story.
A backlot set at Universal Studios, not a real town.
Filmed at Courthouse Square, Universal Studios Lot, Universal City — The clock tower and town square are structures on the Universal Studios Lot. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The Pasadena houses of 1955 (1955)
After the car accident, Marty wakes to find Lorraine looking after him, and she becomes infatuated with him. That is the opposite of what should happen between his parents.
Set in Lorraine's and George's 1955 homes, Hill Valley — Houses of the 1955 neighborhood where Marty's parents grew up.
Filmed in a residential area of Pasadena; no street address is given.
Doc Brown's 1955 mansion (1955)
Marty tracks down a younger Doc and convinces him he is from the future. Doc explains that only a lightning bolt can supply the 1.21 gigawatts needed, and Marty shows him a flyer about the coming strike.
Set in Doc Brown's 1955 home, Hill Valley — The mansion where the 1955 Doc Brown lives and works.
An arts-and-crafts landmark in Pasadena, with interiors shot in a second house.
Filmed at Gamble House, Pasadena — The exterior of Doc's 1955 home is the Gamble House. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Filmed at Robert R. Blacker House, Pasadena — The interiors were shot at the historic Blacker House. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Hill Valley High in 1955 (1955)
Marty's early attempts to get his parents acquainted fail. He earns Biff's animosity, and Lorraine's infatuation with him deepens.
Set in Hill Valley High School (1955) — The same high school, thirty years earlier.
The same real school in Whittier, dressed for 1955.
Filmed at Whittier High School — The same school stands in for Hill Valley High in the 1955 scenes. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The Enchantment Under the Sea dance (1955)
Lorraine asks Marty to the school dance, and the plan goes awry when Biff's gang locks Marty in the band's car. When the band's guitarist hurts his hand, Marty takes his place on stage.
Set in Hill Valley High School dance — The school dance where Marty's parents must meet.
The dance scene was filmed in a church basement in Hollywood.
Filmed at Hollywood United Methodist Church, Hollywood — The school dance was filmed in the church's basement. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The race to the courthouse (1955)
With his future no longer in jeopardy, Marty hurries to the courthouse to meet Doc. He begins his drive past a lamp post outside the Greek Theatre.
Set in The road to the courthouse, Hill Valley — A road Marty drives to reach the courthouse clock tower.
Filmed in Griffith Park near the Greek Theatre.
Filmed at Greek Theatre, Griffith Park, Los Angeles — Marty begins his drive to the courthouse in Griffith Park, passing a lamp post outside the Greek Theatre. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The clock tower and the lightning (1955)
The courthouse is the one place where a lightning strike can supply the power Marty needs to travel back. Everything he and Doc have worked toward comes down to the clock tower.
Set in Courthouse clock tower, Hill Valley — The courthouse clock tower, the place where the lightning is due to strike.
The same Universal backlot set as the town square.
Filmed at Courthouse Square, Universal Studios Lot, Universal City — The clock tower and town square are structures on the Universal Studios Lot. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Characters
- Marty McFly — A Hill Valley teenager and aspiring musician.
- Doc Brown — An eccentric scientist experimenting with time travel.
- George McFly — Marty's meek father, a nerdy 1955 high schooler.
- Lorraine Baines McFly — A 1955 teenager who grows into Marty's unhappy mother.