Crunch time for George Lucas as director prepares to finalise museum location
by Tom Anstey | 03 Jan 2017
In a saga beginning to rival his Star Wars franchise for length and drama, George Lucas appears to have finally sealed the deal to develop his Museum of Narrative Art following almost two years of legal disputes.
The well-known director is now set to select a location for the venue in either San Francisco or Los Angeles (both in California), after snubbing Chicago, Illinois.
According to The San Francisco Chronicle, Lucas and his board will announce their decision on 6 January, creating a permanent home for the director’s extensive personal collection of more than 40,000 paintings, illustrations and film-related items.
Originally set for Chicago, Lucas pulled the plug on those plans in June 2016, blaming delays over a lawsuit from a parks group opposed to development along the city’s waterfront.
In October, project architect MAD revealed two alternative museum designs – one for San Francisco and the other for Los Angeles.
The San Francisco proposal would cover an estimated 275,000sq ft (25,500sq m) in San Francisco Bay as part of a masterplanned district designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merril. For Los Angeles, Exposition Park near the city’s Natural History Museum has been earmarked, with the development having the same amount of interior space as the San Francisco project and up to seven acres of parkland around it.
The plans – financed by Lucas himself – are estimated to be worth around US$1bn (€962m, £815m) including development and endowment, with his collection also estimated to be worth more than US$400m (€385m, £326.2m).
George Lucas Star Wars Chicago San Francisco Los Angeles Museum of Narrative Art MAD Architects
MAD's proposal for the Los Angeles site
The LA museum would be located in Exposition Park, near the Natural History Museum
The San Francisco proposal
The second option would sit on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay
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In a saga beginning to rival his Star Wars franchise for length and drama, George Lucas appears to have finally sealed the deal to develop his Museum of Narrative Art following almost two years of legal disputes. The well-known director is now set to select a location for the venue in either San Francisco or Los Angeles (both in California), after snubbing Chicago, Illinois. According to The San Francisco Chronicle,
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