L.A. Feels the Force - Page 2

A January piece in the magazine was titled "Why Los Angeles Deserves the Lucas Museum" and concluded, "The Lucas Museum would beautify both cities, and its artifacts would enrich visitors' lives in either location, but here in Los Angeles, where we create so much of the world's popular culture, generations of filmmakers and writers would have ready access to a building that stands as a testament to working outside the system, building your own creative universe, and blending technology with storytelling."

Astonishingly, the magazine added a follow up note to the online version, declaring the article to be "clearly the difference-maker" in the board's decision announced a few days after its publication.

John King, urban design critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, reported on the museum a few times and said in an email Monday that he could only guess the reasons for the decision, but added that he doubts the museum board "hinged any aspect of their decision on a column in a lifestyle magazine."

One can certainly debate the magazine's boast, not to mention which city has a greater claim on cultural creativity, but another passage in that same article is probably closer to the smoking gun when it notes that L.A. gets nearly twice the number of visitors annually, 46.5 million to San Francisco's 24.6.

This reality is possibly alluded to in the museum board's statement that "South Los Angeles's Promise Zone best positions the museum to have the greatest impact on the broader community."

To which northerners might respond, so what? Did Luke and Obiwan decide to set up shop in the Death Star just because it was bigger and they'd have more neighbors?