The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has announced (finally!) that it will be opening in Los Angeles. San Francisco was in contention to host the museum until the very last second, but ultimately Exposition Park, part of the South Los Angeles Promise Zone, has won out.
According to a press release announcing the decision, the museum’s board of directors ultimately picked L.A. because they feel that our city “best positions the museum to have the greatest impact on the broader community, fulfilling our goal of inspiring, engaging and educating a broad and diverse visitorship.”
UPDATE: The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously (14-0) to approve the $1.5 billion venture, which will showcase the expansive collection of filmmaker George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson. Construction is slated to begin in early 2018 with a 36-month timeline for completion in 2021.
As a byproduct of the very lengthy and unusual process Lucas’s camp went through before picking a location, we actually already know what to expect from the design. L.A.-based architect Ma Yansong drew up plans for a dramatic, swooping structure that will fit snugly in alongside the Coliseum and near the existing Museum of Natural History and California Science Center.
Lots of construction is underway in the area already from the forthcoming stadium for the L.A. Football Club as well as the USC Village mixed-use development with dining and retail offerings set to serve the onslaught of visitors the Lucas Museum is sure to bring into the neighborhood.
George Lucas himself attended USC and has stayed actively involved with his alma matter in the decades since. The museum’s board didn’t mention that connection as a reason for selecting the Exposition Park site, but we can’t think that Lucas will mind the proximity either.
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