The clocktower that became famous after appearing in the classic eighties movie, Back to the Future seems to suffer continuous dangers and threats other than Doc Brown's ungraceful foot and freak lightening storms. The set, as it stood before dawn this morning, was not the exact structure upon which Christopher Lloyd saved the space time continuum, but rather a replica. The original building burned down in a backlot fire. No- this is not some paranormal altering of the temporal universe by Biff Tannen. In August of 1990, the entire square was devastated by the blaze, but miraculously, the clocktower itself survived. The area was reconstructed and has since been used in films and television series including Bruce Almighty, Gremlins and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You would think that such a popular and useful shooting location would be well-kept and preserved, but in September of 1997, another backlot fire destroyed the area almost completely. Both times, clocktower square was rebuilt for future films to utilize and tourists to gawk at as they passed it by. On a side note, whilst the cast and crew were not able to use the original set in the third installment of Back to the Future due to the 1990 fire, an alternate was constructed in Sonara, CA. After production was completed, the structures were left up at the request of the area head. However, in 1996, the Sonara clocktower was struck by lightning and burned down.
The King Kong warehouse has a somewhat less colorful history, yet has become just as popular a sight for visitors to Universal Studios over the past two decades. The building was part of the Universal backlot tram tour (along with the clocktower); constructed specifically for the purpose of entertaining tourists in March of 1986. The tram bearing passengers would approach the building as guides commented on the scent of bananas in the air around them, and would subsequently be witnesses to Kong's wrath as he destroyed New York City around the vehicle. The animated monkey was at the time the world's largest animatronic figure standing thirty feet tall and weighing seven tons. Just a year after he was built, a 1987 fire destroyed many sets around the building, but Kong was fortunately spared.
It is almost guaranteed that Universal will rapidly begin on reconstruction of the now infamous Clocktower Square. At the present time, reports indicate the the tower itself was spared the worst of the damage. As for Kong; the backlot entertainment undergoes frequent renovations based on current projects and trends. Universal may choose to resurrect the giant ape, but it would be my guess (and hope) that they will pioneer a new sight for some of the park's 25,000 daily visitors. Or maybe, another on-site fire house.
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