San Francisco officials have rejected a proposal from George Lucas to create a museum at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge.
This decision was reached on Monday, after the Presido Trust’s seven-member board unanimously voted against the plan. The Star Wars director personally devised the project which would have existed on an 8-acre site that overlooked San Francisco Bay. This area has been leased to the Sports Basement, a sports retailer, since 2004.
Lucas wanted to showcase his vast collection of popular art in the building, and he has already confirmed that he is willing to spend $700 million to build and support the museum. Lucas’ property includes work by Maxfield Parrish and illustrations by Norman Rockwell.
However, despite this rejection, the stewards at the national park have insisted that they will help Lucas find another location for his museum.
Nancy Hellman Bechtle , the Chairwoman of the board, admitted at a news conference, “We simply do not believe any of the projects would be right for this location. We didn’t think any of them quite hit the mark.”
David Perry, a spokesman for the filmmaker, noted that the Lucas Group were surprised to hear that the museum could exist in other areas of the park.
Perry stated, “This is something that caught us completely by surprise. For four years, we have been told that the only site available is the Sports Basement site, and we have worked and reworked our plan to make it work. Now, literally in the past few hours, we hear there is an alternative site.”
However, despite this setback, Perry confirmed that Lucas will work closely with the trust in order to find a new location for his proposed museum. “I know that they take their stewardship of the Presidio very seriously,” he remarked. “A lot of people have asked us to dance, and we will start calling them back.”
Two other would-be developers were also battling with Lucas to build their proposals on the site. One was led by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and other was by architecture firm, WRNS Studio.
Conservancy President, Greg Moore, stated after the decision, “We are grateful to the trust board for taking the long view about this park site… by making a decision they believe is in the best interest of the American people. The trust has come to a decision that is considerate of the transformation that is occurring here over the course of the next several years.”