Boyhood Alley recognized with sign unveiling

A crowd gathered around the alley south of the Hays County Historic Courthouse on Wednesday to celebrate its renaming.

The alleyway is now named Boyhood Alley in tribute to director Richard Linklater’s film “Boyhood,” which filmed scenes in that same alley and across San Marcos.

San Marcos City Councilmember Maxfield Baker said naming the alley after “Boyhood” just made sense.

“We had other famous alleys that people gravitate to and that have become cultural centers, I think it's this amazing opportunity to share that with the rest of the world,” Baker said. “Let everybody know how important arts are to San Marcos. We have so many creative people here and doing things like this shows people that we're willing to invest not only in just dollars and cents, but actually naming things after the legacy that you bring here to San Marcos. So I'm just thrilled that Jordan [Buckley] and Lost River Film Festival brought this to us. I was so excited to see my colleagues vote unanimously to name this alley Boyhood Alley.”

Renaming the alley after “Boyhood” was originally proposed by Lost River Film Fest in partnership with Judge Ruben Becerra’s office. The idea was then brought up to the San Marcos Convention and Visitor Bureau.

The name proposal received unanimous support from several groups, including SMCVB; John Fleming, Dean of the College of Fine Arts & Communications at Texas State University; the Downtown Association; the Office of Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra.

The San Marcos City Council voted 6-1 on Sept. 20 to designate the unnamed alley alongside The Marc as “Boyhood Alley.”

Boyhood Alley is the backdrop in a scene from the film where friend Jill (Evie Thompson) reveals to protagonist Mason (Ellar Coltrane) one of his schoolmates has a crush on him.

“Thank you to the City of San Marcos, It's a real honor to have the ally named after our film,” said Cathleen Sutherland, a producer of the film. “As you heard, it took a long time in the making. It was very well received and you know, San Marcos played a role, the City of San Marcos had its role in the film and the development of the character … It's just, it's really nice to be honored in this way.”

Jordan Buckley, who was among those who voiced support for the alley’s renaming, said cinema has been used for evil in San Marcos, pointing out blackface performance taking place after the first screenings of films in the 1900s. But Buckley said “Boyhood” showcases a different side of film.

“Cinema has been used as a force of evil for a long time, especially in our city. But then you see things like ‘Boyhood’ that really embrace humanity and really uphold the values of family, and growth and maturation,” Buckley said. “It really shows a whole different light of the power of cinema. I really do think that for me, ‘Boyhood’ is one of the most incredible films made in the long history of motion pictures and we’re incredibly fortunate here in San Marcos to have played one small part in that really remarkable film.”

Following a brief press conference Wednesday, supporters unveiled the street sign marking Boyhood Alley with cheers.

The sign’s unveiling came ahead of the Lost River Film Festival, which begins Thursday and stretches through Sunday. A full schedule of events can be found at TheLostRiverFilmFest.org.

Additional reporting by Zoe Gottlieb