<P> 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 they filmed it on the Universal Studios backlot , where they had more control . The main location , once called Mockingbird Square after the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird but now known as Courthouse Square , had been used for many films and television shows . One notable example is the very first episode of the sci - fi series The Twilight Zone , called `` Where Is Everybody ? '' in 1959 . The Hill Valley courthouse can also be found in the movies Bruce Almighty , Gremlins , Bye Bye Birdie , Sneakers , The Offspring 's music video `` Why Do n't You Get a Job ? '' , an episode of Major Dad entitled `` Who 's That Blonde '' and even in an episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer . The clock tower itself 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 . </P>
<P> 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 they filmed it on the Universal Studios backlot , where they had more control . The main location , once called Mockingbird Square after the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird but now known as Courthouse Square , had been used for many films and television shows . One notable example is the very first episode of the sci - fi series The Twilight Zone , called `` Where Is Everybody ? '' in 1959 . The Hill Valley courthouse can also be found in the movies Bruce Almighty , Gremlins , Bye Bye Birdie , Sneakers , The Offspring 's music video `` Why Do n't You Get a Job ? '' , an episode of Major Dad entitled `` Who 's That Blonde '' and even in an episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer . The clock tower itself 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 . </P>
where was the clock tower in back to the future filmed
where was the clock tower in back to the future filmed
Universal Studios backlot
Universal Studios backlot