George Lucas selected L.A. over San Francisco to be home to his $1 billion museum, with the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art set to feature pieces from personal collection, including memorabilia from Star Wars and other films.
The museum’s board of directors released the following statement: “After extensive due diligence and deliberation, the Board of Directors of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is pleased to announce plans to build the museum in Exposition Park in Los Angeles. We have been humbled by the overwhelmingly positive support we received from both San Francisco and Los Angeles during our selection process. Settling on a location proved to be an extremely difficult decision precisely because of the desirability of both sites and cities.”
Lucas had previously unveiled two different designs for his proposed Museum of Narrative Art, one for Los Angeles’ Exposition Park and a similar proposal for the same museum to be built on San Francisco’s Treasure Island. At one point, Chicago was also in the running, but those plans were scrapped after facing a legal challenge. The Boards chose the L.A. location on Tuesday.
“Now we turn our attention to finalizing the details and building what we believe will be one of the most imaginative and inclusive art museums in the world — a global destination that all Angelenos and Californians will be proud to call their own,” the board of directors statement reads.