George Lucas to build $1 billion museum in Los Angeles

The Star Wars director had previously toyed with locations in both San Francisco and Chicago

(AFP/Getty Images)

George Lucas has chosen Los Angeles as the location to build his long-planned $1 billion museum of narrative art.

The museum will display the director's vast collection of 10,000 pieces of Hollywood memorabilia, including pieces from his own Star Wars films, and work by acclaimed artists such as Norman Rockwell; now set to be housed in a newly constructed building in LA's Exposition Park.

Lucas had originally chosen San Francisco, being the home of Lucasfilm HQ, but was forced to look towards other locations after he failed to agree on a location with officials; Chicago was later also ruled out, after a lawsuit claimed the city didn't have the authority to grant the intended lakefront location, part of a specially protected waterway.

Still toying with the idea of a location in San Francisco Bay, TIME now reports that the board of directors has announced finalised plans to build on the LA location, stating that the choice: "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."

"Now we turn our attention to finalizing the details and building what we believe will be one of the most imaginative and inclusive art museums in the world," the board added.

Lucas himself has stated he will dedicated $1 billion in funding to the project, including building costs.