The suspense has been as epic as “Star Wars,” but after months of intense speculation, George Lucas’ Museum of Narrative Art on Tuesday chose Los Angeles as its home over San Francisco.
The filmmaker’s personal collection of fine and popular art, including ephemera related to his “Star Wars” franchise, will fill a futuristic new museum in L.A.’s Exposition Park, which beat out a competing plan on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. The rivalry had pitted two cities in the competition not only for Lucas’ collection and the tourism it will bring, but also for the thousands of jobs that backers say it will create.
Lucas has said he will fund the project to the tune of about $1 billion, including building costs, his art and an endowment of at least $400 million.
“It feels like this incredible gift has come home. I always thought Los Angeles was the natural place to spread the vision of George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, to make art and creativity accessible and inspirational to the next generation,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said of the filmmaker and his wife. “It’s a natural place to have this museum in the creative capital of the world and in the geographic center of the city. It’s a banner day for L.A.”
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