Lucasfilm Headquarters a Fun San Francisco Excursion for Star Wars Fans

Tucked into the quiet military-post-turned-national-park, among the cedar trees, and overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, lies San Francisco's Presidio. And within the Presidio lies a little bit of magic.

While the Presidio is a treasure unto itself, she holds two gems worth making a day trip for: the Walt Disney Family Museum (which Melissa covered for us in a two part review earlier - read pt. 1 and pt. 2), which we posted on a while back, and the Letterman Digital Arts Center. The Arts Center is a sprawling, four building campus that serves as Lucasfilm's Headquarters and houses Industrial Light and Magic and the Animation Department.

Although it's a working studio and there are people behind closed doors creating amazing things from Ewoks to entirely-too-scary Jurassic Park dinosaurs, Lucasfilm is willing to let you set foot on this hallowed ground.


An Honored Place For Yoda


As you pass through the guard station, parking is free and near the thing you're going to WANT to see: the Yoda Fountain. Folks, this may be the tallest Yoda I've ever seen. While his actual BODY isn't tall, he's perched way high on a pedestal (as he should be) making him, what I consider to be, the World's Tallest Yoda. Yeah, I realize that's kind of an oxymoron, but I never imagined looking UP to a Yoda before. It's adorable and totally a Kodak moment.

Just beyond the fountain, visitors are allowed inside the lobby. There you'll find plenty of comfy seating, surrounded by a small library. Giant coffee table books abound on various Star Wars topics, from the creation of to character bios.


Movie Props Decorate The Lobby


Against the library wall, you'll find a very foreboding, life-size Darth Vader, which is more than slightly intimidating. Next to him, there's a life-size Boba Fett, blaster at the ready. The lady at the reception desk wasn't overly enthusiastic about answering questions about the props in the room, but I'd be willing to wager those things were used in the movies at some point.

Now, the library: this part cracked me up because I'm sure George Lucas had a hand in what books were selected for the shelves. The books are interspersed with very fantastic character models and artifacts. On one row of the shelves, you might find The Movie List Book, which seems about right, down from Flannery O'Connor's short stories, which is a great, yet one-of-these-things-is-not-like-the-other, choice. One of my favorite titles on the shelves was Here's to the Friars, which was on Darth's personal reading shelf.


Books On The Lucas Shelves Are Artfully Selected


All in all, if you're in San Francisco, a trip to Lucasfilm HQ is super fun for Star Wars and Movie Geeks alike. There are awesome props, comfy couches, and gorgeous scenery, which makes for the perfect afternoon of pretending like you work for George.

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Thanks so much to our friend Jen from MickeyFix.com for sharing her fantastic adventure! If you haven't visited her site before you should be sure to check it out, she's got a lead on all the Disney stuff you never knew you needed!