George Lucas & his American Graffiti Hometown of Modesto

George Lucas, the legendary movie maker, grew up in the sleepy town of Modesto, California and drew from his experiences to produce "American Graffiti" in 1973. On this episode of History Hunters, Jeff will take you on a tour of town and all things George Lucas.

#georgelucas #americangraffiti #modesto #starwars

[anthonyboatner]

I've been living in modesto for about 14 years now and I'm always impressed with how much modesto has contributed to Hollywood and pop culture.

[ednagreen]

For those who are not native Californians, you think of Los Angeles or San Francisco. It's refreshing to see the "small town" atmosphere of Modesto. Thank you for the tour.

[spacedode]

I have lived in Modesto all my life, there are only a handful of us who love Modesto and appreciate it for its history and it’s devotion to preserving the Graffiti tradition.

[lisaburns]

I saw American Graffiti 25 times when it came out. Modesto is a great town. Thanks for the tour!

[lanceolson]

Now that is a wonderful history lesson of modesto. What a different time it was. Thank you for showing the good side of a once wonderful town.🚗

[dvnenetworkingsolutions]

A lot of people forgot Modesto’s rich history. Good to see ppl still cherish the memories.

[johnrambo]

George Lucas: talented, creative and unique, but also seems humble and approachable. He seems to want to maintain normalcy in the midst of his fame. Very cool. Great video about Lucas and Modesto.

[LukeSkydragon]

Hey Pokemon Go player from Modesto here and I have played along the cruise route for years! Always been a fan of Star Wars (my father introduced me to Lego Star Wars at a young age and I have read 200+ of the expanded universe novels). It is always great learning to read the many signs along the cruise route downtown if you have the time. I've walked by many of the locations you've highlighted hundreds if not thousands of times and it was really fun to learn a little more about the locations I did not already know about.

As for the guy who smelled like weed there are a ton of them as sadly most other cities in the state actually bus a lot of their homeless population out here. Weed is the least worrisome drug for one of them to be on. I've met a lot of them in my years of walking 18+ hours most weekend days grinding my little video game and a lot of them are actually pretty friendly given that they often don't have a very firm grasp of reality.

If your a local and you've been downtown on a weekend anytime from early 2017 to the beginning of COVID you've probably seen me walking lol. My biggest surprise was where the burger drive in was (on 9th) is right along my route to walk from MJC to the bus station! If you know anything about Pokémon Go I have gold "gym" badges on almost the entire downtown area. Cheers!

[cindykdelk]

I so enjoyed this walk down memory lane. I asked you about this last year and here it is! I was born in Modesto City Hospital, went to John Muir and Downey High, cruised McHenry in the 60's/70s and been to almost every place you highlighted. I even worked at Web's drive-in on 10th, (although you didn't show that one). I went to my first movie in downtown Modesto, soooo many memories, thank you, thank you for this one! I always love your work, this one is special to me.

[zukov]

I've just watched American Graffiti two days ago!!! Greetings from Brazil!!! Thanks for showed that beautiful city!!!

[timswanger]

My best friend and I stood in line for seven hours to see The Empire Strike Back opening day at Briggsmore theater in 1980. We were 14.

[christinabent]

I moved to Florida in October and I’ve been missing home so much. This video today brought my spirits up. Modesto will always have such a special place in my heart. Can’t wait to come back home someday.

[sebastiangarcia]

I miss Modesto.. back in the 2000’s we would cruise on mchenry all the way to down town, those good old days 👌🏽

[Thebeastgrizz]

Well done. My grandparents moved here (Modesto) in the late 20's... My family has been in this house since then. The house is close to downtown/McHenry mansion(library). My father went to school with George. In that b/w pic you showed briefly of the opening of StarWars, briggsmore 7.. my brother and I are several people back from the door.. complete with bowl haircuts, 70's flaired pants etc. That day changed my life, I was 11. I left modesto, traveled the world after high school(Thomas Downey High), lived with tribes all around the world.. all because of the different beings that were portrayed in StarWars peaked my interest. Then settled in as a professor and raised my family in my family home... Met George a few times in the past. Always gracious. I try not to fanboy at 55... still hard. Thanks again for this episode.

[demisemedia]

Hot and sunny Modesto ☀️ Back in the late 90s and early 2000’s I would visit my cousins home in Modesto. We’d skateboard to the mall in 105 degree heat during the summer! Good times. R.I.P. Sid

[stevelinscome]

Thanks Jeff and Sara! '71 Downey grad here! My senior year, I remember hearing about a previous student(Lucas) who was filming a movie in the new B.A.R.T.(before it opened). Turned out to be THX 1138. The yellow '32 Ford's license is THX 138. 50 years have past since then. Wow!
Lots of memories there for me.

[vonwebber]

Wife and I just watched your video. What a blast from the past that was. You hit all the spots I hung out when I was a kid. Where to start, when you walked the halls of Downey High, looks the the same as my Freshman year there. Lived over by Standiford Elementary, would ride my bike to my cousins that lived a few streets over from Ramona, from there, I would walk to Downey for school. Briggsmore Theater, how that has changed. I remember when it opened, showed Sound of Music for a long time before they showed other movies. A & W downtown, OMG, looks the same too. My parents are also at buried at Lakewood, seeing all that in one video sure brought out a lot of emotions.
Nice job as always, was fun seeing Modesto again. Want a chuckle? Last time I remember it snowing in Modesto, was 1978 or 79, where I'm at now, we had 18 inches overnight. Not exactly cruising weather, LOL

[DrAlvinEng]

Nice video! Our Family moved to Modesto in 1989 where I joined a Cardiology Practice and worked in cardiology until 2005. I know a fellow physician who was married to one of George's sisters. I've never met Mr. Lucas through this physician as I was told he was a very private person. An interesting look back on the history of Modesto. Many of those old locations are now unrecognizable to me, but was still interesting trying to picture their locations in my head now!

[churchofpos]

Parts of American Graffitti 2 was filmed in my home town- Fremont, CA. I can remember signing up to try and be an extra in the movie, but never got called up. Like Modesto, many of the venues not longer exist in Fremont.

[haeleyalexandra]

This is great to see! I have lived in Modesto for over 20 years. Cool to see the awesome history of a lot of places that have been a huge part of my life. Thanks so much for sharing