Lucas Picks LA

The announcement comes three months after the museum unveiled concept designs by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects for sites in Los Angeles and San Francisco, the two California cities vying for the coveted commission. Yansong was the architect of the Chicago proposal, which had the support of the mayor but met resistance from local organizations that opposed its lakefront siting. Lucas has expressed the desire to build the museum expeditiously, something the opponents in Chicago disallowed.

Although LA was not Lucas's first choice (in fact that was San Francisco, which turned down his proposal to build in the landmark Presidio), it makes perfect sense. Lucas may define his museum of "narrative art" as multifaceted, encompassing various types of storytelling, but in most people's mind it means films. Exposition Park, southwest of Downtown LA, is just ten miles from Hollywood, the epicenter of movie production.

According to a statement from the museum, the LA and SF sites offer "many unique and wonderful attributes, [but] 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." Furthermore, "Exposition Park is a magnet for the region and accessible from all parts of the city."

No anticpated groundbreaking or completion date was included in yesterday's announcement.