| After Marty has a creepy encounter with his Mother and her family in 1955, he foots it across town over to Doc Brown's. After his initial suprise at seeing that Doc's future home is only the garage of his Mansion, he runs up the driveway at the Gamble house, only to end up two miles away at another Greene & Greene creation, the Blacker-Hill house! This house is nearly equally famous as the Gamble house in Craftsman circles, but less known in the public as it remains a PRIVATE RESIDENCE in a very exclusibe neighborhood.
The front door of the house is very similar to the Gamble house door, but not the same. And it's easy for the unbeliever to realize this is the same door that Marty McFly knocks on when he first finds Doc Brown with that contraption on his head.
Interestingly, instead of building the interior of Doc's mansion on a soundstage, they filmed the scenes inside the Blacker-Hill house. Appearantly they were barred from filming inside the Gamble house - Speaking with the staff there it seems that it had something to do with the crew equipment possibly ruining the floors. But for whatever reason, The Blacker-Hill house is the real deal. You can run up the Gamble house driveway, but if you want to knock on Doc's door you'd better take yourself southwest off of Oak Knoll. For some reason the adress of this house does not work in Mapquest, so I will provide a map for this location very soon. Stay tuned for that!
(Editor's Note: Remember DO NOT approach this house for any reason! The owners very specifically gave BTTFtour.com this message for BTTF fans everywhere: Take any pictures you want from the street, but do not come ON the porch or any of the rest of the property to try and get photos of the inside, or you will go to Jail. Even if you someone outside on the lawn, DO NOT bother them. This is the specific request of the residents.)
Update: We have learned that the "Friends of the Gamble House" occasionally organizes tours of the Blacker house. Contact the Gamble House for information on any possible upcoming tours. They are NOT held on a regular basis. In fact, I believe the last one was nearly a decade ago. But it may happen again. Read an article on the history of the house here. And another site with a few links here. See a partial photo of the interior here. And some photos and possibly one of the best articles Here.
The Verdict: Even though you can't get close to the famous doors, or even get a peep at the interior (which were the insides of Doc's house in the films), This location is still worth visiting. You can easily see the doors, and it's nearby the other locations so you're not far out of the way. Also, from the right angle, and with a decent zoom, you will get nice photos of those doors, no problem.
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