Lucas selects Chicago Lucas selects Chicago as the museum location after plans stalled in San Francisco. The museum would house his significant art and movie memorabilia collection. The lot near McCormick Place is the original selection for the site of the Lucas Museum . (Alex Garcia/Chicago Tribune)

Lucas picks architects Lucas selects architect Ma Yansong, founder of the Beijing firm MAD Architects, to design the planned museum. Jeanne Gang , who heads Studio Gang Architects, will conceive the landscape around the building and design a pedestrian bridge linking the museum to Northerly Island. Architect Ma Yansong. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)

Museum's vision The museum launches a website that lays out Lucas' vision in much more detail. The museum will feature "popular art from illustration to comics, an insider’s perspective on the cinematic creative process, and the boundless potential of the digital medium."

Design revealed A conceptual plan for the proposed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is revealed. Sketches include a curvaceous, nearly windowless mountain of a building, topped by a glassy observation deck that would resemble a flying saucer. The first designs of Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, as seen from the south. (Lucas Museum of Narrative Art)

Friends of the Parks lawsuit Friends of the Parks files a lawsuit to block the proposed site for the museum, asserting that the city of Chicago and the Park District overstepped their authority in offering a lakefront location to Lucas. The site, now home to two parking lots just south of Soldier Field, was part of Lake Michigan until being filled in sometime during the 1920s, and therefore remains a specially protected waterway, the group claims.

Museum hires leader Lucas chooses Don Bacigalupi, president of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, as the founding president of the museum. The Crystal Bridges Museum was the creation of billionaire Alice Walton , a member of the family that owns Wal-Mart. Don Bacigalupi. (MDC Partners)

Judge blocks construction A federal judge orders that construction can't begin at the museum site until the court rules on the Friends of the Park lawsuit.

Legal setback for museum A federal judge rules that the Friends of the Park lawsuit can proceed, saying the preservation group "plausibly states a claim that the agreement violates the public trust doctrine."

Rauner signs law Gov. Bruce Rauner signs into law a bill that provides legal protections for both the Lucas Museum and the Barack Obama presidential library. The measure specifies that the Chicago Park District has authority to lease land for a library or museum even if it is "located on formerly submerged land." Since the location of the museum would be on landfill not existing when the lakefront was first put under protection, the measure is aimed at thwarting the Friends of the Parks lawsuit. Rauner speaks at an event after signing the Lucas Museum and Obama library legislation. (Derik Holtmann/Belleville News-Democrat)

Scaled-back plans After encountering blowback on the initial size of the building, museum officials unveil a scaled-back design. Included is expanded green space and a new parking structure on the west side of Lake Shore Drive. The move causes the Friends of the Parks to recalibrate its lawsuit, and a U.S. district judge to say the group doesn't have a "viable complaint" anymore. (Tribune Graphics)

Plan commission weighs in The Chicago Plan Commission approves the zoning changes needed for the musuem, clearing a hurdle for construction to begin. The vote came a day after the Chicago Park District approved a ground lease of $10 for a term of 99 years to allow the museum to be built on Park District land.

City Council gives OK The museum plans gets the blessing of the Chicago City Council as aldermen vote to approve zoning for the project. The vote occured without debate, but nine alderman were on record as voting against the plan. The vote took place after the Bears and the museum organization finalized long-term negotiations Wednesday on rules governing parking, Bears fan tailgating and advertising rules around Soldier Field and the museum.

Judge puts off bid to dismiss lawsuit A federal judge does not rule on the city's motion to dismiss the Friends of the Parks lawsuit.

Judge again denies motion to dismiss A federal judge denies the city's motions to dismiss the Friends of the Parks lawsuit, dealing a blow to the project and the goal of breaking ground in the spring of 2016. U.S. District Judge John Darrah ruled that Friends of the Parks makes a case that the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art would not benefit the public and that the project may violate the state's public trust doctrine.

Lucas looking at other sites Museum officials say they have been looking at locations other than Chicago, citing the "uncertainty and delay" caused by the Friends of the Parks lawsuit.

McCormick place idea Emanuel pushes a plan to keep the Lucas Museum in Chicago by moving it -- to the lakefront spot of the McCormick Place convention hall. The plan is given the thumbs-up by George Lucas' wife, Ariel Investments President Mellody Hobson , who said it was a way of keeping the museum in Chicago without upsetting those worried about the shoreline environment. The new location would also get rid of McCormick Place Lakeside Center, a much-maligned behemoth built in 1971. A revised plan puts the museum in the spot currently occupied by McCormick Place Lakeside Center. (Lucas Museum of Narrative Art)

Hobson speaks out Hobson issues a statement threatening to pull the project out of Chicago if the litigation isn't resolved soon. Mellody Hobson and George Lucas (Getty Images)

City resorts to rare legal manuever The Emanuel administration, stymied by the slow-moving lawsuit, resorts to an obscure legal maneuver to attempt keep the museum project afloat. City attorneys ask the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to toss the lawsuit on emergency grounds, arguing that the case has no federal jurisdiction and that the city will lost the project if the normal legal process plays out. Mayor Rahm Emanuel answers questions on the Lucas Museum. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Friends of the Parks continues lawsuit Friends of the Parks officials double down on their commitment to the lawsuit, despite rumors and media reports indicating divisions within the group. "Contrary to recent reports, our board remains fully united on the preservation of our lakefront and ensuring that the public trust doctrine is not ignored," Friends of the Parks Board President Lauren Moltz and Executive Director Juanita Irizarry said in a statement.