Finally, George Lucas’ itinerant Museum of Narrative Art has found a home.
On Tuesday, the museum’s board of directors announced their intent to build the $1 billion project in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park. The board had been considering both San Francisco and Los Angeles since the summer, after plans for Chicago’s lakefront were scrapped.
“Settling on a location proved to be an extremely difficult decision precisely because of the desirability of both sites and cities,” they said in a statement. “While each location offers many unique and wonderful attributes, South Los Angeles’s Promise Zone 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.”
Designed by Ma Yansong, founder of MAD Architects in Beijing, the 275,000-square-foot museum—from above, reminiscent of a spaceship—will feature a landscaped roof level and parkland beneath. It will house the Star Wars creator’s personal collection of fine and popular art, movie ephemera, theaters, a restaurant, and 4,200 square feet of library space.
“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,” said the museum board, calling the museum “a global destination that all Angelenos and Californians will be proud to call their own.”
The museum is expected to open in 2021.
