Skywalker Ranch

Skywalker Ranch is the name of the workplace of film director and producer George Lucas in secluded but open country near Nicasio, California in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, although Lucas is not related to the road's namesake, a turn-of-the-century landowner in the area.cite web | url = http://www.startribune.com/389/story/26653.html | title = Skywalker Ranch: George Lucas creates a magic world in real life | work = Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune | author = Strickler, Jeff | date = 2002-05-18] The Ranch is not open to the public and keeps a low profile from the road.

Assembled parcel by parcel since September 1978, [cite web | url = http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1059915,00.html | title = 'Star Wars' Timeline | date = 2005-05-10 | author = Labrecque, Jeff] Skywalker Ranch has cost Lucas up to US$100 million, according to the "Wall Street Journal". After neighboring ranchers complained that Skywalker Ranch was polluting the environment, Lucasfilm acquired 3,000 acres (12 km²) of adjoining land for a total of over 4,700 acres (19 km²). Only 15 acres (60,000 m²) have been developed. [cite web | url = http://www.marinij.com/westmarin/ci_5564105 | title = Lucas can build additions, bridge on Skywalker ranch | work = Marin Independent Journal | date = 2007-03-31]

The Ranch contains a barn with animals, vineyards, a garden with fruits and vegetables used in the on-site restaurant, an outdoor swimming pool and fitness center with racquetball courts, the man-made "Lake Ewok", a hilltop observatory, a 300-seat theater called "The Stag" as well as multiple theater screening rooms, and parking that is mostly concealed underground to preserve the natural landscape.cite web | url = http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/223819_skywalker12.html | title = Inside the secure world of Skywalker Ranch | work = Seattle Post-Intelligencer | author = Arnold, William | date = 2005-05-12] Skywalker Sound was moved onto the ranch in 1987, now occupying the Technical Building. [cite web | url = http://www.skysound.com/about_history.html | title = Skywalker Sound: History | accessdate = 2007-05-20] The Main House has a company research library under a stained-glass dome. Skywalker Ranch has its own fire station, which is part of the Marin County Mutual Aid system, and is often called on to assist firefighters in nearby Marinwood.

Skywalker Ranch is intended to be more of a "filmmaker's retreat" than a headquarters for Lucas's business operations. The headquarters of Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, and LucasArts are located in Lucas's Letterman Digital Arts Center in the Presidio of San Francisco. Lucas does not live on the Ranch.

Big Rock Ranch

Big Rock Ranch is a later Lucasfilm development in Marin county on Lucas Valley Road adjacent to Skywalker Ranch. The county's planning commission approved this facility in September 1996 [cite web | url = http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/CD/main/mcbds/plng/devproj/lucsr-1.html | title=Lucasfilm, Ltd. Master Plan and Use Permit with construction | date=1996-09-25 | accessdate=2007-10-28] and construction was completed in August 2002.cite web | url=http://www.cmaincsf.com/services/bigrockranch1.html | title=CMA - Big Rock Ranch Project | publisher=CMA | accessdate=2007-10-28] However in November 2004, Lucas announced that the 250 employees of the ranch were to be moved to the Letterman Digital Arts Center.cite web | url=http://www.ptreyeslight.com/stories/nov25_04/lucasfilm_move.html | title=Lucasfilm to transfer much of its workforce | author=Kravets, Jim | work=Point Reyes Light | date=2004-11-24 | accessdate=2007-10-28 ]

The ranch comprises 1061 acres (4.3 km²), of which 43 acres (17 hectares) are developed with 317,000 sq ft (29,500 m²) of office space. Before the Presidio move in 2005, Big Rock Ranch housed the marketing, licensing, distribution and online divisions of Lucasfilm. It is currently the headquarters of the animation division as of 2007.cite web | url=http://www.starwars.com/theclonewars/blogs/f20070921/index.html | title=Clone Wars at the Ranch | author=Vilmur, Pete | date=2007-09-21 | accessdate=2007-10-28]

References

External links

* [http://skysound.com/qtvr/qtvr_tour_stag.html Virtual Tour of the Stag Theater]
* [http://www.insideskywalkerranch.com/skywalker-ranch-tour.htm: A detailed tour description by a rare visitor from the press] (1986)
* [http://www.legendcreekaviary.com/skyranch Chris Pope's Skywalker Ranch Virtual Tour]
* [http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/CA3191/ Regular land map of Skywalker Ranch] : from [http://www.clui.org/clui_4_1/ The Center For Land Use Interpretation]