LOS ANGELES, Jan 11: “Star Wars” creator George Lucas has zeroed in on Los Angeles as the future home of his USD 1 billion Museum of Narrative Art.
Mayor Eric Garcetti has termed the project as a turning point for the city and the area around Exposition Park, reported Variety.
The museum, which will be the home to Lucas’ extensive collection of art and film memorabilia, will be constructed in the park adjacent to USC.
It will be located adjacent to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Natural History Museum, and a museum of African-American history and art.
“I believed in the vision for the Lucas Museum, and we went after it with everything we have — because I know that LA is the ideal place for making sure that it touches the widest possible audience.
“I am deeply grateful to Mellody and George, and to our educational, governmental, and cultural leaders for their extraordinary support in helping us bring the museum home. Now it’s time to build the vision,” Garcetti said in a statement.
The mayor said he got the news the museum would come to LA from Lucas’s wife, Mellody Hobson. Construction is set to begin this year near the corner of Vermont and Exposition avenues and to be completed in 2020.
The collection includes about 10,000 paintings, illustrations and other items, with works from Norman Rockwell, NC Wyeth, Thomas Hart Benton and many others, along with mementos from many films, including “Star Wars.”
Lucas has been looking for a home for his collection for more than a decade. He faced community opposition in first San Francisco and then Chicago, his wife’s hometown. (PTI)
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