“We decided to call it Hill Valley, which was kind of an oxymoron that nobody ever really gets,” jokes Back to the Future’s co-creator and producer, Bob Gale. When considering the look they wanted for Hill Valley, Gale and co-creator/director, Robert Zemeckis, both from the Midwest, wanted it to feel like an archetypal, middle-America town. “The one aspect that we did deal with a lot was the idea that the town itself had to be a character in the movie,” says Gale.

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of time traveling teen, Marty McFly, and the film — released July 3, 1985 — that turned a DeLorean into the coolest car an '80s kid could ever want, we revisited Back to the Future’s original L.A. shooting locations to see how they look in 2015.

Please respect that some of these locations are on private property. Do not trespass or disturb the owners. Special thanks to Universal Studios Hollywood. Stay tuned for our coverage of the five-day Back to the Future event, We're Going Back, this October that will feature BTTF trilogy screenings at the original filming locations, hoverboard riding, cast and crew Q&A's, and much more. All photos by Jared Cowan. Follow him on Twitter at @JaredCowan1. Back to the FutureBTTF