While the average person might not have access to a full-fledged tour of Lucasfilm headquarters in San Francisco, it is possible for anyone to see a little bit of this ultimate Star Wars fan location. Read on to see what the general public has access to and what the full access tour includes for the lucky few.
Sneak Peek at Lucasfilm Headquarters: A Must Visit for Star Wars Fans
Recently I was invited on a Disney press trip that included a visit to Skywalker Ranch and Lucasfilm headquarters to interview the cast of Rogue One. It’s an amazing perk of my job that has me pinching myself sometimes. This trip actually marked my second visit to Skywalker Ranch in San Francisco. While there is no access or tours available at Skywalker, the public can sneak a peek at Lucasfilm Headquarters in San Francisco.
Lucasfilm Headquarters is located in the San Francisco’s Historic Presidio National Park in the Letterman Digital and New Media Arts Center. The 23-acre campus includes public park space, a collection of statues celebrating Bay Area legends of moviemaking and randomly a Starbucks. There are plenty of reasons to head to San Francisco’s Historic Presidio National Park even if you are just stopping by on your way to visit the Golden Gate Bridge. In fact, I recommend spending a few hours at the Walt Disney Family Museum, essential for all Disney fans.
The Lobby at Lucasfilm Headquarters
Just be sure to allow a half hour to stop by Lucasfilm Headquarters and grab a picture of the life-size Yoda statue out front. The iconic Yoda fountain marks the main entrance of the complex. If you are there during the week, you can head into the lobby to see lots of fun Star Wars memorabilia including a life-size Darth Vader.
Let’s not forget about the life-size Boba Fett.
Check out this dress worn by Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano, at the San Diego Comic-Con this summer. The design is entire design is made from LEGO bricks.
Our tour guide thought they’d be getting some Star Wars Force Awakens memorabilia in the lobby area soon.
Tour of Industrial Light & Magic Offices Lucasfilm Headquarters
If you have business with Lucasfilm or have a friend or family member that works there, you can ask them to arrange a tour for you. If not, take a look at some of the fun pictures I took while on my tour a few weeks ago. Not everything was Star Wars; in fact, a lot of the memorabilia was from films that Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) worked on. ILM is Lucasfilm’s VFX and animation studio.
In fact, my favorite item on the tour wasn’t Star Wars related at all. It’s the actual Vigo the Carpathian painting from Ghostbusters 2. I tried to go for a dark and evil look like Vigo but I was too excited and geeking out at seeing the actual picture, so I kept smiling. Doesn’t it look like Vigo is mad at me?
Or perhaps he was mad that he has to stare at models of Slimer across the hall, every day. I’d be mad too!
Do you recognize this creepy cool artifact? It’s the smashed Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?.
There is a really awesome hallway that connects two of the buildings. It’s full of more artifacts including this scale model of the Golden Gate Bridge from The Hulk. It sits in front of a gorgeous view of the actual Golden Gate Bridge.
More Movie Artifacts at Lucasfilm Headquarters
Vintage movie posters from George Lucas’s personal collection line the hallways. I can’t even imagine working in such a cool building, so inspiring and distracting at the same time!
Naturally, they have a gift shop full of lots of Star Wars merchandise. Other than some Star Wars items sold out elsewhere, the real gems are the ILM merchandise that can’t be purchased anywhere else. We also found a few official Star Wars Force Awakens crew shirts.
I realize not everyone can get a full tour of Lucasfilm headquarters, but there really is plenty of cool Star Wars stuff to see in the lobby. It’s definitely worth stopping by the next time you are in the Presidio District. My family and I were in San Francisco on a multi-generational adventure recently and missed this gem. I can’t wait to take my boys to see Yoda and the lobby on our next trip to San Francisco.
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Thank you for sharing this. I have question: do you know is it is allowed to take child ( 3 year old) to tour in ILM? ( the extended one) I have opportunity to visit it but don’t want to overuse kindness of friend who works there so thought to search answer here before I ask them:)