Seattle-area Star Wars collectors among group planning museum for film-related memorabilia

Four massive collections of Star Wars memorabilia, including two in the Seattle area, could come together under one museum roof in a plan that’s sure to intrigue geeks across the galaxy.

The Saga Museum of Star Wars Memorabilia, announced over the weekend during a fundraiser at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture, would be a public, nonprofit space dedicated to sharing the fun and excitement of the science-fiction film series through “educational, aesthetic, intellectual, and cultural exhibitions and programming for multiple generations.”

The collections are among the largest in the world, comprising more than 1.5 million objects, from toy action figures to film props and everything in between. GeekWire got a look at one such personally assembled assortment in May 2023 at the North Bend, Wash., home of Lisa Stevens and Vic Wertz.

Stevens and Wertz are longtime collectors who have dedicated much of their home and adjacent warehouse space to displaying and storing their collection. They’re joined in the museum effort by three others:

• Steve Sansweet: The executive chairman and founder of Rancho Obi-Wan, a nonprofit museum located in Petaluma, Calif., north of San Francisco, that opened to the public in 2011. Sansweet’s collection is certified by Guinness World Records as the largest Star Wars memorabilia collection in the world. He was the director of content management and head of fan relations for Lucasfilm for 15 years.
• Gus Lopez: The former longtime Amazon executive calls his home collection in Seattle “Bobacabana.” Lopez is the creator of the Star Wars Celebration Collecting Track and co-author of several Star Wars books. He was a GeekWire Geek of the Week back in 2017.
• Duncan Jenkins: Known for for his presentations at Star Wars conventions, Jenkins’ comprehensive collection in Kansas City, Mo., is called “The Sithsonian,” and has a focus on international and unique memorabilia.

The team of collectors launched a campaign to raise $2 million for a two-year planning phase, in which they’ll identify what city might become home to such a venture — Seattle? San Francisco? — and who will construct it. They’re hoping to build a 200,000-square-foot space with rotating exhibits, a store, cafe, 300-seat theater, research center, meeting and conference rooms, outdoor and rooftop gathering spaces, and more.

“We want The Saga Museum to be a place where everyone, from hardcore fans to casual visitors, can experience the magic of Star Wars in new ways,” Rancho Obi-Wan President Anne Neumann said in a statement. “It’s an opportunity to explore how these stories have impacted not just pop culture but the world at large.”