Hard to believe this place is real

Architecture
Written By Doug B

In a jaunt around the SF Bay Area, I discover the place that inspired George Lucas’ fictional world, Naboo.

The Marin County Civic Center, designed by the inimitable Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Marin County Civic Center, designed by the inimitable Frank Lloyd Wright.

Immediately there’s a very romantic, if not Roman, elegance and feel. You simply can’t tell if you’re entering a mid-century casino or an intergalactic courthouse. Perhaps both await?

Immediately there’s a very romantic, if not Roman, elegance and feel. You simply can’t tell if you’re entering a mid-century casino or an intergalactic courthouse. Perhaps both await?

The interior spaces simulate a self-contained atmosphere; one reminiscent of the many structures of science fiction, where indoor vegetation thrives without explanation.

The glass ceilings provide a sense of prospect to the sparse sky while the dim, warm hallways provide refuge from the unknown. Symmetry abounds.

Looking skyward from within the library, the ceiling displays a luxurious pairing of concrete and light that creates an otherworldly enclosure. There is a feeling of religious reverence rewarded to the ancient knowledge contained within the pages it shelters.

Looking skyward from within the library, the ceiling displays a luxurious pairing of concrete and light that creates an otherworldly enclosure. There is a feeling of religious reverence rewarded to the ancient knowledge contained within the pages it shelters.

A distant but omnipresent spire reaches out into the sky, perhaps reaching out to others not unlike this one. Its scale and presence hint at what it might be like to visit a future place tethered to a space elevator.

A distant but omnipresent spire reaches out into the sky, perhaps reaching out to others not unlike this one. Its scale and presence hint at what it might be like to visit a future place tethered to a space elevator.

Doug B
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