The Ranch: private studio or Lucas' residence?

Is Skywalker Ranch just George Lucas' private studio and HQ for THX sound, special effects, etc.? Or does Lucas actually live there? I've always been curious about that.

 

Lucas does live on the Ranch (at least he did back in 97), but whether he lives in the farmhouse itself is a question many have not been able to answer. He may no longer reside there, but frankly I think he still does. It's a great place

 

I don't think he actually lives there. The main white house is a workplace where he does editing and the art department is in the attic. You can actually see where he lives in one of the webdocs on the Episode I DVD where he's writing the script for TPM after taking his kids to school.

 

Well he might not live in the main building but the Ranch is huge anyways. He could live in one of the other countless buildings.

Also the Ranch is not the HQ for special effects (I guess you meant visual effects). ILM is located in San Rafael, Marin County. It's probably a 30 min - 1hr drive from the Ranch (depending on traffic I guess).

 

Yeah I always hear that the Ranch is in Marin County... but what city???

 

The Ranch is not in any city. It's basically isolated, certainly Lucas neighbors are a drive away. Nicasio is probably the closes "big" town to it, but as far as cities probably Novato, Gallinas and Terra Linda are the closest. by I-101.

 

I'm not sure what town his private residence is in, but it might be San Anselmo or Mill Valley.

He works at the ranch, but doesn't live there.

 

He lives there and works there.

 

No he doesn't. The Ranch is his corporate headquarters.

He's never lived there(except maybe during his divorce from Marcia when he might've landed in the doghouse).

He owns a private residence in the nearby area.

 

^ Are you sure? I've seen some pictures of a huge Victorian house there.

 

The huge Victorian house is the main residence but they serve more as offices and reception area. I thought he actually lived at the Ranch (there are at least a dozen buiding in the property) in a smaller and secluded house. But Shane has made me think that I was confused, since many of the pics of him with the kids at the Ranch were maybe Lucas taking them to work and not because he had a house inside the property.

 

The Main House gives a false impression. It's made to look that way because Lucas wanted all the buildings to give a false impression. He even created a history of the ranch, what each building used to be used for, etc.
The Main House looks like a house but is a corporate building. The "Winery" building is home to the famous Skywalker Sound. The Archives look similar to a nice barn.

That's one reason the ranch is so interesting.

He lives nearby.

I'm sure there are times when he might work late and crash on the ranch couch, but it's not an actual private residence.

Does anyone remember that 60 Minutes special he did around the time of TPM? They showed his real house, the interior anyway.

I think he still lives in the same house he did when he wrote Star Wars. 100 Parkhouse or something like that.

Pretty funny if you think about it. He has this big ranch, but lives in a modest house nearby with his family.

But that's Lucas for ya.

 

Yes I reember that part of the 60 Min. coverage. I think that image confused me a bit. While the main house is certainly not his residence there are maybe about a dozen other structures beside that and the Technical Building. It makes sense or him to reside at Mill Valley for example because of his children, though.