Courthouse Square, Filming set at Universal Studios backlot, California.

Courthouse Square is a backlot set at the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California, built as an archetypal American town square. Its centerpiece is a brick courthouse facade with a projecting portico of four fluted columns and a triangular pediment holding a round clock face. Symmetrical brick wings with rectangular windows extend to either side.

The set was built in 1948 for the film An Act of Murder and has served hundreds of productions since then. Fires in 1957, 1990, and 2008 damaged or destroyed parts of the lot, which was rebuilt each time afterward.

The square appears as Hill Valley in Back to the Future and as Kingston Falls in Gremlins, two films that many visitors recognize immediately. Several generations know these backdrops from their childhood or youth, which makes the location a popular photo spot.

Access is through the theme park admission, which includes guided tours of the studio grounds. Visits take place in groups because the square continues to be used as an active filming location.

The set was built for the 1948 film An Act of Murder, and before Back to the Future it was known as Mockingbird Square after its use in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Fires in 1957, 1990 and 2008 damaged it, and it was rebuilt each time; the June 1, 2008 blaze spared the courthouse facade and the town facade to the north.