CHICAGO (WLS) — More than a decade after George Lucas unveiled plans for a Chicago museum south of Soldier Field, the proposed site remains a parking lot. Meanwhile, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is set to welcome visitors in Los Angeles next week.
Lucas initially envisioned the museum as a major new attraction for Chicago’s Museum Campus and South Side, near the site that now houses the Obama Presidential Center. The privately financed project, supported by Lucas and his wife, Melody Hobson, was expected to draw tourists and generate economic activity for the city.
“Between the two of them was to invigorate tourism, tourism dollars, visitors to the city which was a real number one agenda for the Mayor Emanuel,” said former Alderman Tom Tunney, who chaired the City Council’s Zoning Committee during former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration.
Tunney said the proposal had considerable backing at City Hall.
“I think this would have been really amazing catalyst for future growth,” he said.
Still, the plan encountered fierce resistance from Friends of the Parks, which took the dispute to court. The group contended that building the museum at the proposed lakefront location would violate Chicago’s Public Trust Doctrine, requiring lakefront-connected land to stay open and accessible to the public.
“That parking lot by Soldier Field is a landfill, so it’s submerged land and therefore the public trust doctrine applies,” said Mary Lu Seidel, a preservationist consultant for HW Community Builders.
Friends of the Parks suggested alternate sites beyond the lakefront, but Lucas remained focused on locating the museum within Museum Campus. Following a two-year court fight, Lucas and Hobson withdrew the Chicago proposal and took the project to another city.
The 300,000-square-foot Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will open to the public in Los Angeles next week.
Looking back on the museum’s difficult journey to completion, Lucas said, “This one almost broke my will.”
The facility includes 100,000 square feet of gallery space devoted not only to Lucas’ filmmaking career and “Star Wars,” but also to exploring how people tell stories through art and images.
For opponents of the Chicago proposal, the outcome preserved a key principle governing the city’s lakefront.
Ten years after the proposal sparked debate, the former museum site remains a parking lot. As Chicago considers the future of the Museum Campus, Tunney said it is important for city leaders to work with Friends of the Parks on major projects affecting the lakefront.
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