The Americas, Editor’s Pick



Soon, the Windy City won’t just be a pilgrimage for lovers of sports, music and deep dish pizza – Star Wars fans will be flocking to Chicago to check out a new museum created by George Lucas.

Chicago city council approved zoning for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts, spearheaded by Star Wars creator George Lucas.

Chicago city council approved zoning for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts, spearheaded by Star Wars creator George Lucas. Image by Neon Tommy / CC BY-SA 2.0

Chicago’s city council recently gave zoning approval for a 300,000-square-foot museum called the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. The museum will contain Star Wars creator George Lucas’ collection of paintings, illustrations, movie memorabilia and more, according to The Chicago Tribune, and the artefacts will not be limited to just Star Wars memorabilia.

The plan is to locate the museum by Solider Fields, where the Chicago Bears play. The museum was in negotiations with the Bears, which resulted in the museum providing an increase in 1,300 parking spots and 200 spots for tailgating for Bears’ fans looking to enjoy the famous pre-game parking lot parties.

But the process isn’t completely in the clear, reports the Tribute. A non-profit group called Friends of the Parks has sued in order to stop the construction of the museum, arguing that the private project would be taking public land and is on a protected waterway.

The museum will not be open until 2018 at the earliest.