Calif. city wins duel for museum showcasing "Star Wars" creator George Lucas
LOS ANGELES -- “Star Wars” creator George Lucas and his team have chosen Los Angeles over San Francisco as the home of a museum that will showcase his work.
After what organizers called an extremely difficult decision, they announced Tuesday that the museum will be built in Exposition Park in Los Angeles, where it will sit alongside other more traditional museums.
Lucas has been trying to build the museum, called The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, for nearly a decade, and is financing the project by himself.
In a statement posted to Twitter, the Board of Directors of the museum thanked Mayor Ed Lee of San Francisco.
“We have been humbled by the overwhelmingly positive support we received from both San Francisco and Los Angeles during our selection process,” the statement read. “Settling on a location proved to be an extremely difficult decision precisely because of the desirability of both sites and cities.”
— Lucas Museum (@lucasmuseum) January 10, 2017
The project became the subject of a rivalry between the two cities, with San Francisco offering Treasure Island in the middle of the bay as a home.
Mayor Lee said he was disappointed by the decision.
“I am disappointed, of course, but must respect the decision by Mr. Lucas, Ms. Hobson and the Board of Directors to site the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art at the existing Exposition Park in Los Angeles. I am pleased that the museum will be built in California for our state’s residents to someday enjoy,” a statement from Lee read.