CHICAGO — Discussion continues about the precise location of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is expected to open in 2019 or 2020.
The $400 million museum is currently planned for Chicago’s lake shore museum campus. However, according to a report in today’s Chicago Sun-Times, the Friends of the Parks group is encouraging legendary filmmaker George Lucas, who conceived the museum, to consider locating the museum atop area rail yards in a similar manner to Millennium Park.
Once completed, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will celebrate the power of visual storytelling through collections and exhibitions of narrative painting, illustration, photography, film and cinema arts, animation and digital art, accoromg to the museum’s news release boilerplate.
The museum was originally to be located in San Francisco, but the museum was relocated after four years of negotiation with The Presidio Trust over land where the museum was to be located in San Francisco. Officials in Los Angeles also may a play for the museum.
“San Francisco coughed up the ball. We grabbed it,” the Sun-Times quoted Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel as saying. “… There’s a tremendous educational, cultural and economic gain for the city. … I’m glad it’s not in Los Angeles. I’m glad it’s in Chicago. I’m going to keep working on trying to keep it here. But as you know, other cities are very interested.”