SATURDAY NOVEMBER 12TH 1955 BACK TO THE FUTURE WHY? SPAIN (SAINT JAMES)? - Secreto Masonico

"Ladies and gentlemen, as mayor of Hill Valley, it gives me great pleasure to dedicate this clock to the people of Hill County. May it stand for all time!"

—Mayor Hubert, September 5, 1885

Marty looks up at the courthouse clock in 1955.

The Hill Valley Courthouse and Clock Tower, also known as the Hill County Courthouse was a structure in Courthouse Square in Hill Valley, California.

The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard

Description

Hill Valley Courthouse

The Hill Valley Courthouse and clock tower were of a common construction and architectural style seen across the United States in the 1800s and 1900s. It was composed of red brick, concrete, and white trim. Two black cougar statues flanked the clock. The clock dial used "IV" for the number four, instead of "IIII" which is usually found on clocks with Roman numerals (except for Big Ben in London). On each quarter hour, the clock would chime.

History

The courthouse underwent several changes over the course of its 130-year history. It was first constructed in 1885. On September 3, 1885, it almost experienced its first hanging by Buford Tannen before Dr. Emmett Brown intervened. A ceremony held during the September 5th Hill Valley Festival started the clock at 8:00 pm. It would be completed the following year alongside the Shonash Ravine Bridge project.

From the 1880s until at least the 1950s, the building was the county courthouse with a lush lawn with walking paths that led from the building to the corners of the block.

Note: The following section is considered non-canon or is disputed in canonicity.

The courthouse was used as a shelter during the San Francisco Earthquake during 1906.^[1]

Up until some point in 1929, there was a ladder leading up to the top of the Courthouse, but it was removed due to some jumping incidents.^[2]

In 1931 when Emmett was 17 he worked at the courthouse as a junior clerk with his father as the judge at the time. Also before Marty McFly went back to June 13, 1931 to find him while he was in Edna Strickland's apartment he sees a picture of him dead on the steps of the courthouse in a newspaper (while looking for the date that he was stuck in back in the past).

On August 25, 1931, Einstein was stranded on the roof of the Courthouse after riding Emmett's rocket-powered car. He was saved by Doc shortly after.

On October 12, 1931, Emmett was sulking at the top of the Courthouse. After a lightning strike, he got tangled on a rope tied to the statue, only to be saved by Marty. On the night after, Marty would run into Arthur McFly and Trixie Trotter before leaving 1931.

Shortly after discovering Doc's grave in 1955, the duo head to a library containing historical documents which by a large establishing shot, holds a large resemblance to the inside of the courthouse [Back to the Future 3, 15 minutes and 15 seconds in]. The space is fronted by three stories of windows similar to the placement, shape, and style of the windows on the façade of the courthouse. The marble floored atrium is flanked by two wood trimmed stairwells leading to halls on either side. The library sits in the middle. If this is indeed the courthouse, it is one of two times the main interior is shown in the movies [Back to the Future 2, 20 minutes and 58 seconds in].

Non-canon or disputable information ends here.

The clock tower was struck by lightning during an electrical storm on November 12, 1955. This fused the clock's internal mechanism and had stopped the clock at 10:04 pm permanently. Despite efforts trying to repair or replace the damaged clockwork, the Hill Valley Preservation Society kept it in this condition as part of the town's history and heritage. Though the courthouse's lightning rod could provide sufficient electrical grounding to absorb lightning strikes, it had completely severed. Originally, the tower was simply struck by lightning and the clock rendered useless, but after Marty visited 1955, a experiment involving hooking a cable up to the antenna was created by Doc to send Marty back to the future.

Over time, many unsuccessful efforts were put into place to replace the clock tower from the current mayor in office.

In 1985, the Department of Social Services occupied the building, and the lawn had been replaced by a parking lot.

In 1985A, the courthouse had been turned into Biff Tannen's Pleasure Paradise Casino & Hotel, with over twenty-seven floors. This was undone in 1985B after Marty burned the Grays Sports Almanac in 1955 using a matchbook he had taken from the Pleasure Paradise.

Note: The following section is considered non-canon or is disputed in canonicity.

In an alternate 1986 where Hill Valley is a repressed dystopia, the clock tower has become Citizen Brown's monument to cold efficiency and order. Marty crashes the DeLorean into a billboard showing Citizen Brown embracing the clock tower. Brown's office is located in the room directly behind the clock face. In this timeline the clock is actually functioning, meaning that in this timeline, First Citizen Brown promptly repaired the damage done by the lightning strike in order to maintain his symbol of efficiency.

The new clock tower in 1990.

In 1990, in the revised timeline, a new clock was installed on the Hill Valley Courthouse, despite efforts from the Hill Valley Preservation Society.

Non-canon or disputable information ends here.

The 2015 courthouse and its large, futuristic-looking darkened windows form the background of this publicity shot of Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Freddie posing with the DeLorean time machine on the set of Back to the Future Part II.

In 2015, in the original timeline, the courthouse had large darkened windows at the front and had become a shopping mall with underground shops with a lush garden and a decorative pond in the courtyard. The clock, however, was still non-functional after sixty years. On October 21, Griff Tannen and his gang were chasing Marty through the town square on hoverboards, believing him to be his future son Marty Jr. They ended up crashing into the building, which resulted in the gang being arrested and thus preventing the robbery that would've put Marty Jr. in jail.

Gallery

Vezelay and Saint Maximin, an incredible “war” for the relics of Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene did not immediately have a great aura in the history of the Church. It was not until the 7th and 8th centuries that she began to be favored in monastic circles, where the accent was placed on repentance and forgiveness by welcoming sinners there. The life of the saint – a sinner who became an ascetic – then merges with the traditions concerning the life of Mary the Egyptian. She was a prostitute of the six century who would have done penance in the desert, on the other side of the Mediterranean.
In the 11th century, the monasteries, under the influence of the order of Cluny, took on social and economic importance. There is also a tremendous cult around all kinds of relics brought back from the Holy Land or purchased in Constantinople. Having relics of great saints is important at this time. It is because there are relics that pilgrimages are organized and pilgrimages pay off. In Vézelay at the beginning of the 11th century the monastery was in full decline. Wishing to promote his abbey, Abbot Geoffroy (1037-1052), friend of the pope, ambitious and close to princes “discovered” (“invented” is the term of use) and exhibited the relics of Mary Magdalene. Pilgrims flock.

Relic of Mary Magdalene, Vezelay basilica

In 1050 Mary Magdalene officially became the patron saint of Vezelay abbey.

Over the 11th and 12th centuries, the abbey, many times enlarged and rebuilt, was transformed into a magnificent sanctuary, with splendid Romanesque portals. It was an important stopover on the way to Compostela. The city took advantage of the influx of pilgrims. In the 12th century, its population amounted to 10,000 inhabitants, a considerable number for the time. Vézelay then became a center of great importance for the West.
Under the protection of the powerful dukes of Burgundy, in 1146, Saint Benedict preached the second crusade there. King Louis VII, Queen Eleanor and a crowd of nobles, prelates and people gathered on the hill.
In 1190, Richard Coeur-de-Lion and Philippe-Auguste met there at the start of the third crusade.
In 1217, François d’Assise chose the hill of Vézelay to found the first Franciscan establishment on French soil.

Saint Bernard preaching the 2nd Crusade, in Vézelay, in 1146, Émile Signol – Public domain

How the relics of Mary Magdalene arrived in Vézelay ?

Natural curiosity, but unsatisfactory answers.
We accepted the idea that it was Gérard de Roussillon who would have organized the transfer of the relics during the foundation of the abbey, relics that we would have gone to look for in Saint-Maximin where we knew that the saint had her burial. .
The bishop of Autun launched a prohibition against the pilgrimage. We then asked for the arbitration of the Pope. Pascal II, who by a bull given in 1103, broke the prohibition of the bishop and invited all the French to make the pilgrimage of Vézelay. The pilgrimage then took off, these were the great hours of Vézelay.
However, doubt persisted, not about the burial of Mary Magdalene in Provence, but about the transfer of her relics to Vézelay and their authenticity. We didn’t have much to show as relics in Vézelay, where we talked about them a lot without ever really presenting them in public.

“Presentable” and “indisputable” relics were needed. It was then that in 1265, relics were exhumed in Vézelay, kept in a box which would have been deposited in the crypt in 920 more than three centuries earlier. A certificate of authenticity in the box proves this!. “…under the high altar, a metal chest, long square, which contained some relics wrapped in two veils of silk, with a certain quantity woman’s hair”. There was also a letter from a King Charles certifying that “in this coffer is contained the body of the blessed Mary Magdalene”. (Act drawn up by Gui de Mello, bishop of Auxerre and Pierre, bishop of Panéade.)
Saint Louis officially recognized the relics and went to Vézelay for their elevation in 1267.

Vezelay basilica

St Maximin basilica

Nevertheless, the doubt still persisted.
Twelve years later, in 1279, Charles II, Prince of Salerno, nephew of Saint Louis, who had come to Saint-Maximin on pilgrimage and had carried out a solid investigation, was convinced that the tomb of Mary Magdalene was in the crypt. where Saint Maximin had once buried her.
He organized excavations which led to the discovery of several sarcophagi. In the so-called “Sidoine’s sarcophagus” was discovered the body of Mary Magdalene with an inscription on a wooden tablet on which appeared simply: “Here lies the body of Saint Mary Magdalene.”

And finally, for the Abbey of Vézelay, the miracle will not take place.

Indeed, Pope Boniface VIII definitively put an end to this “battle” between the 2 cities when he recognized the authenticity of the relics discovered by Charles II at Saint Maximin.
Vézelay will have to submit to the spiritual authority of the Pope. At the end of the 13th century, it is the beginning of the decline of the pilgrimage of Vézelay.The reliquary in the crypt of Vezelay contains a piece of her rib bone, given by the Dominican monks of St Maximin.

Notre Dame: The Da Vinci Fire

Written by Goro, April 15, 2019

Town Theater

History

Appearances

Hill Valley Courthouse

Contents

Description

History

Gallery

Vézelay, Saint Maximin and the relics of Mary Magdalene

Vezelay and Saint Maximin, an incredible “war” for the relics of Mary Magdalene

In 1050 Mary Magdalene officially became the patron saint of Vezelay abbey.

How the relics of Mary Magdalene arrived in Vézelay ?

And finally, for the Abbey of Vézelay, the miracle will not take place.