Universal Studios Back Lot

If you’ve ever watched a movie or TV show and wondered, “How did they get a Manhattan street or a European courtyard completely empty of people?” the answer may be that it wasn’t filmed on location at all, but on a movie studio’s back lot, like the one at Universal Studios in Universal City, California.

The Universal Studios Back Lot is one of the most famous and longest-operating film and television production sites in the world. It is a place where Hollywood history, technical innovation, and theme-park spectacle all converge. For more than 110 years, its 400 acres have hosted productions that shaped cinema history. Alfred Hitchcock even kept an office here.

The back lot traces its roots to 1915, when Universal founder Carl Laemmle opened Universal City in the San Fernando Valley, the first fully self-contained movie studio complex. In those early days, visitors could pay just 25 cents to watch silent films being shot. Over the decades, the complex expanded into a sprawling set-and-soundstage empire. Today, it features more than 30 soundstages (where shows like The Voice are filmed) and at least 15 distinct outdoor sets, from Little Europe to Whoville, the colorful home of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Visitors can even wander past the wreckage of a real Boeing 747, dismantled for Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds (2005), or stop by Amity Island, the seaside village from Jaws where “Bruce the Shark” still makes surprise appearances.

The back lot has been in continuous use since the silent era, which means that generations of Hollywood legends—from Hitchcock to Steven Spielberg to Jordan Peele—have filmed there. In all, more than 1,000 movies and TV shows have been shot on the grounds (not counting commercials, music videos, or theme-park-only productions). Among the most iconic are Back to the Future (1985), Psycho (1960), Jaws (1975), Spider–Man (2002), and Apollo 13 (1995). On the television side, Desperate Housewives, The Good Place, Leave it to Beaver, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Parks and Recreation all used the lot’s many streets and facades.

Today, anyone curious about movie magic or television trickery can get a behind-the-scenes look by hopping on the Universal Studios Studio Tour, where Hollywood’s past and present are on full display. It’s a place where you don’t just watch history on screen—you ride right through it.