Yoda be there…ready are you to bask in his glory?

August 4, 8:06 AMSF Travel ExaminerEd Uyeshima

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the SF Travel Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

A Jedi Master in the Presidio mist (Photo: Ed Uyeshima)

Being the Grand Master of the Jedi Order is not as cushy a job as rumor has it despite the residuals he may get from all the“Star Wars” merchandise. After all, Yoda had to put up with petulant upstarts like Anakin and Luke Skywalker and had the comparative disadvantage of wielding a light saber shorter than everybody else’s. Surely it couldn’t have been easy being such an unflagging role model for 900 years, especially with just three fingers on each hand. That’s why it’s so encouraging to come upon the Yoda fountain in the front courtyard of Building B of the Letterman Digital Arts Center, a handsome three-year-old complex which houses Industrial Light and Magic, LucasArts and Lucasfilm.

For a moment, I was taken back to my own apprenticeship years ago when I saw “The Empire Strikes Back” about a half-dozen times. In his big-screen debut, Yoda was a deceptively comical munchkin who was reluctant to teach Luke in the ways of the Force. Sounding a tad like an estrogen-deprived Miss Piggy since Frank Oz voiced both characters, he attained more gravitas in the most recent trilogy, but I preferred him the way he was or more accurately, what he was going to become - old and benign-looking in a swamp. The fountain picks up on this cue by placing a life-size replica, all 26 inches of him, on an Art Deco-style pedestal with water running off of it from all four sides. It’s a genuine treat to see, but one has to wonder if the Force would approve of all the random pennies thrown at his unpedicured feet.

Regardless, while you’re there to genuflect a Jedi Master, you should take time to enjoy the rejuvenated grounds of the Presidio as the Digital Arts Center takes up about 23 acres. Right behind the fountain, the Building B Lobby is open to the public during regular business hours and contains a replica of Darth Vader among other Lucasfilm props and costumes from the “Star Wars” film series. From the top of the campus’ gently sloping hill, you get quite a panoramic view of the bay highlighted by the ornate dome of the Palace of Fine Arts, which is just across Richardson Avenue. Imagine all the special effects that are being concocted inside the buildings as you traverse the winding walkways and bucolic lagoon on the way down to the highway. But above all else, see the fountain and absorb his intergalactic wisdom. Obi-Won Kenobi will thank you by making you a Jedi Knight, or at least that’s what he told me.

Campus of the Letterman Digital Arts Center (Photo: Ed Uyeshima) 

LOCATION: One Letterman Drive, Building B, which is the third building on the right as you enter the complex from the Lombard Gate of the Presidio at Lyon Street.