Star Wars creator George Lucas has reportedly picked the Windy City for the base of his museum. While Los Angeles and San Francisco had been in a campaign war over the museum, Lucas went with Chicago.
A spokeswoman for the museum confirmed the decision to the Chicago Tribune. It was first reported by The Sun-Times.
The museum’s board is expected to meet on Wednesday for a vote to make it official. In addition, the name will likely be changed from Lucas Cultural Arts Museum to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
If the Chicago Plan Commission approves the plan, the museum would be located between Soldier Field and McCormick Place. An architectural presentation would be due in the fall, especially if the museum hopes to open in 2018.
Lucas’ decision to leave the Bay Area, where he grew up and the place he romanticized in American Graffiti, behind as a potential location for the museum is surprising. However, he now spends part of his time in Chicago and is married to Chicago native and Ariel Investments president, Mellody Hobson.
“Choosing Chicago is the right decision for the museum, but a difficult decision for me personally because of my strong personal and professional roots in the Bay Area,” Lucas said Wednesday.
While both LA and San Francisco lobbied for the museum, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel also sought to have the museum there and he won out.
The museum will host a mix of Star Wars memorabilia and artifacts with Norman Rockwell work. The overall theme is storytelling, hence the word “Narrative” in the museum’s name.
image courtesy of Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com