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9303 Roslyndale Ave. · Arleta (Pacoima), CA |
OK, so the next thing we see is actually the courthouse square and the famous clock tower, but I think I'll hold your suspense a little longer and save that for the climax of the film. Thus, I skip straight to Marty's house.
My visit to Marty's house was the first in a series of stops comprising a full day of Back to the Future sightseeing and I began my journey encouraged by the fact that gas was down a full four cents to a mind-blowing $1.65 a gallon.
(If you're reading this sometime in the future when gas prices have gone down to a reasonable level, or when the government has finally released its secrets regarding water-powered cars, gas prices were extraordinarily high during this time, especially in Southern California.)
It was quite easy to spot Marty's house upon arrival, because, unlike most of the sites from the movie, this one still looks almost exactly as it did when it was filmed, except maybe for a basketball hoop. And, naturally, the colossal electrical towers still stood menacingly in the background, depicting a raw technological age, illustrating the loss of America's simpler beauty, and perhaps foreshadowing the 1.21-gigawatt predicament to come.
But, the house's perpetual facade didn't prevent neighbors from overlooking it. One local, assuring me that no one would mind if I did some photo taking, thought I was actually interested in the house next door. He seemed completely unaware that one of the most successful movie franchises in history was created partially on his street.
The tree-lined street, incidentally, looks pretty nearly as it did in the film, too. You can stand at the end and easily picture the final scene in which the newly hover-converted DeLorean races toward the camera.
And for those of you who didn't know, that final scene about something being wrong with Marty's kids was purely a joke. At the time, there wasn't any plan for a sequel. The "to be continued" you see at the end didn't appear until Back to the Future was released on video. According to Michael J. Fox, he had no idea that anyone was even considering a sequel until witnessing those three words on tape. Surprised, he said, "My first thought was to call my agent."
Next: Twin Pines Mall
