My latest article has landed over at Skywalker Sound, a triple header written with Clayton Sandell and Jamie Benning about the history, legacy and future of Skywalker Ranch, focusing on Skywalker Sound. The building has an incredible history that is equal parts fiction and reality, which you can read about by clicking here.
George Lucas would spend the 1970s based in San Anselmo, a small town in Marin County near San Francisco. In 1979, Lucasfilm would take on as its Southern California office what was once an egg-shipment warehouse on Lankershim Boulevard in Los Angeles, directly across from Universal Studios, where the company first found success with American Graffiti (1973).
While at the “Egg Company,” Lucas started sketching (on his preferred yellow legal paper) images and ideas for what would eventually become Skywalker Ranch. It was ultimately constructed in 1978 on the Bulltail Ranch property, a 2,500-acre former dairy farm in Marin County, which he had purchased with the proceeds from Star Wars: A New Hope (1977).
It was an idyllic setting for what would eventually become the hub of all things Lucasfilm. But before the first nail could be hammered or beam sawed, plenty of elements needed to be worked out.
