A longtime reader, Greg Holmes of Ace Jackalope fame, was at a theater screening the 1985 hit movie “Back to the Future” when he saw something familiar.
In a scene were Marty is in 1955, there is a sign for the Blue Bird Motel in downtown Hill Valley. Here’s the original image, but I’ve taken a close-up of the scene to show the sign better.
Compare that to the main sign for the historic Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico:
The resemblance is so close, I doubt it was a coincidence. This was in the days before the Internet, so someone in the film’s design department either saw a photo of the Blue Swallow sign in a book or encountered it personally in a road trip.
Incidentally, the film’s in-the-past location also includes a sign advertising the motel, except it says “Bluebird” instead of “Blue Bird.” Its resemblance to the Blue Swallow isn’t nearly as obvious.
It’s not certain who came up with the Blue Bird Motel idea, as the list of production design credits is substantial and there’s no indication who came up with it. I’m not advocating the owners of the Blue Swallow file a copyright lawsuit, as their chances of winning appear slim. And the statute of limitations probably expired long ago. But I found it interesting, anyway.
(Image of the Blue Swallow Motel sign in 2013 by Larry Myhre via Flickr)