It may have been apparent to passersby since February, but it's now official: the $1-billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is now under construction in Exposition Park.
The museum, a legacy project for Star Wars and Indiana Jones creator George Lucas, will replace two parking lots along Vermont Avenue with a four-story, 115-foot-tall building featuring 300,000 square feet of exhibition space for Lucas' 10,000-piece collection, in addition to a library, two theaters, classrooms, and office space.
Architect Ma Yansong designed the almost spaceship-like structure, which will feature a futuristic metal skin. Open space is planned atop the museum in the form of landscaped terraces, with an additional 11 acres of new parks sitting beneath the building.
Completion of the Lucas Museum is anticipated in 2021.
The museum follows a spate of ambitious construction projects that have reshaped Exposition Park, including the $350-million Banc of California Stadium, the $270-million revamp of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and a proposed expansion and partial redesign of the Museum of Natural History.
